Your Workout Attitude?

[ElkNut1]

Good stuff guys, thanks a bunch for responding! I'm sure there are plenty of others reading your comments & comparing themselves to much of this!

I'll be 62 in a couple of weeks, I've worked out most my life to stay in Elk shape, it's a huge motivator for me & being able to hunt with my 38 year old son. I noticed that 45 & earlier my workouts were done because I wanted to. Now as I get older it's more of I have to! (grin) Many will see as the years pass by! Personally I don't like having limitations to where I'd hunt or how far, still want to pack out any critters that hit the ground, this takes a workout routine of sorts to be able to be physically conditioned to do so, I'm sure several here can agree with that.

You guys are doing awesome, keep up the good work. God willing we'll all be hunting to 80! (grin) I might have to resort to strictly treestand hunting elk by then! I'd be happy with that at that age! (grin)

ElkNut1

 

[justinspicher]

Even though I absolutely despise working out, I still do it, as a regular part of my lifestyle, just as I have for the past thirty years of my life. I know I'll continue to work out, even though I hate it. I just hate being fat and struggling in the mountains more.

 

[Stickinit]

I'm 55 and plan on hunting til I drop. I have been active my whole life running,hiking,and skiing. I just try to keep moving. I did the gym thing from about age 30 to my mid 40's. I still run a few times a week, and hike with a weighted backpack. I think that helps tremendously. I don't mind the pain, and embrace the suck. Some of the best hunting stories revolve around sheer misery.

 

[Stwrt9]

I'll be honest I don't work out like i used to, for one having 2 young kids makes it really tough to find the time. Back when i was still playing baseball i used to work out 6 days a week and my workouts were a couple hours long with running and lifting. Now if i could work out for an hour and that would be a lot. I know part of it is finding the motivation to get back into the swing of things and part of it is just being lazy and making excuses. For me it's tough as it was part of my job to work out and be in great shape to be able to perform and now i'm content just being active and spending more time with my family when i'm not hunting. I need to get back in better shape, luckily i'm only 35 and have been relying on some of my youth but that is quickly running out as i'm not 25 anymore!

 

[KurtR]

I am 37 and have a hard time getting started every day but after i am done working out i love the feeling i get. Having a goal helps me keep going every day and being out enjoying the mountains with out hurting like hell is a great pay off.

 

[JustinSmith1754]

I'm 39, and workout at least 5-days a week. Generally gym / weights every morning before work for 1-hour. I try to get a cardio workout for 30 minutes to an hour at least 3-days a week on top of the gym (usually running or hitting a bag in the evenings).

I love it. I'm in the best shape of my life at 39. Ran my first endurance race this year at St Jude marathon in Memphis. My motivation...a bull elk on my back!!!

 

[BKhunter]

I'm 33 and work out 3-4 times a week mixing cardio and weight training. I usually go after work but I have to get into the morning thing as the more "Life Happens", the more I miss work outs. I used to try and go heavy but now I try and do circuit training. I'm really starting to put emphasis on the circuit training with moderate weight, as this year will be my first western hunt and I know coming from NYC I will need to be as physically ready as possible.

 

[SWOHTR]

I have to get into the morning thing as the more "Life Happens", the more I miss work outs.

Exactly! After reading articles and taking advice from others, I quickly came to the conclusion that I had no good reason to NOT train in the morning. My energy levels were highest then and it was the only time of day that something was not scheduled for, or could be scheduled for. Plus, on the occasions where you get home at a reasonable time and you have no commitments that evening, it makes relaxing a lot easier and nicer.

-Joe

 

[JWP58]

30yrs old. I've been working out since jr high, it's a habit, it's just part of my day. Since moving west and hunting the mountains I've dialed back weight lifting, and concentrated on cardiovascular endurance. I still lift, but I'm focused more on strength and less hypertrophy (no need to haul big muscles up a mountain ).

I've found for me high intensity and knocking out a workout is the way to go.

 

[Burnt Reynolds]

I just turned 40 a few weeks ago and my sports history is varied: 5x NCAA all-american swimmer in college followed by massive fat build up, then got into mtn biking/racing and got thin again. Started my company and fattened up somewhat. Have always hated the gym and in my late 20s decided something was better than nothing everyday. Walks turned into runs, turned into bike/runs and working a heavy bag at home and bodyweight type stuff, biking to work and doing trail run races and some sprint triathlons. Enter kids and a 30 mile commute to work and I've been forced back into the gym which I loathe. Nowadays my week looks like this: Monday - Thursday I hit the gym on my lunch hour and on the weekends do about 3.5 miles with 30lbs pack on a loop out my back door with about 600 feet of ascent. While certainly better than nothing I'm currently trying to come up with a plan that is challenging and fun. I can still run a 23 minute 5k which isn't too bad I suppose but I need something new because my current regime is too damn annoying.

The good news is that given my propensity to drink beer and eat pizza my routine over the last several years has undoubtedly made my time in the mountains more enjoyable. My brief stints laid up due to injuries have totally sucked. I like feeling fit, I'll keep at it one step at a time.

 

[fngTony]

I'm 37 with a busy life. Wife and I both work full time and she is in school too. Two kids who have karate three nights a week. Not much time for a hour or two at the gym.

Sufuring is part of my routine which I get mentally and physically at work.

My motivation is to not be like my father in-law who just lets nature take it's course. I love the man like my own father but I see how his children are bummed out that he cannot hunt the way we do. I don't want my kids to view me that way. He's 65 but physically 80. My other motivation is reading about members here who are older yet can whoop my ass on the mountain, I want to be that person in the future.

When school is in I resort to taking advantage of even five minutes of anything that doesn't require equipment. We have a treadmill that I use with a weighted pack.

When school is out I hit the local trails that have some incline. Blessed to live at the edge of the mountains. Summer is when I'll hit the local recenter to feel the burn.

My main focus is cardio, legs, back, flexibility. Don't care how big my biceps are just to stay in tone to lessen strains and injuries.

 

[Poser]

I spent a few years pushing interval training year around, but have taken a decidedly different approach in the last year and a half. Conditioning shape is very fleeting. It comes (assuming a baseline level of fitness) and goes rather quickly. Instead of "training to hunt" year around, I've focused on making my body as strong and bulletproof as possible through pure strength training for the majority of the year. Through this approach, I feel significantly less prone to injury in general. In the last 4 years, I've maintained and hunted at various body weights ranging from 165 lbs to 205 lbs. lower body weights were more conditioning focused. Higher body weights were more strength focused. I feel and perform much better at 200+. Taking a strength approach, I don't buy into the notion "having to haul a heavier body around." Any increase in body weight in offset significantly by increases in strength. A 100 pound pack is relatively light when you are used to moving considerably higher numbers. Time until muscular failure can be increased most efficiently through increases in strength. With a solid strength base and some regular outdoor activity throughout the year, "getting in shape for hunting" only requires a couple of weeks of specific conditioning and I spend the rest of the year without aches, pains and nagging injuries.

On a side note, I don't buy into the "bro hunter" body building trend one bit. You are going to perform better at more of a 12-18% body fat range than <10%. Bodybuilding is not performance training, it's aesthetics.


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[SWOHTR]

I spent a few years pushing interval training year around, but have taken a decidedly different approach in the last year and a half. Conditioning shape is very fleeting. It comes (assuming a baseline level of fitness) and goes rather quickly. Instead of "training to hunt" year around, I've focused on making my body as strong and bulletproof as possible through pure strength training for the majority of the year. Through this approach, I feel significantly less prone to injury in general. In the last 4 years, I've maintained and hunted at various body weights ranging from 165 lbs to 205 lbs. lower body weights were more conditioning focused. Higher body weights were more strength focused. I feel and perform much better at 200+. Taking a strength approach, I don't buy into the notion "having to haul a heavier body around." Any increase in body weight in offset significantly by increases in strength. A 100 pound pack is relatively light when you are used to moving considerably higher numbers. Time until muscular failure can be increased most efficiently through increases in strength. With a solid strength base and some regular outdoor activity throughout the year, "getting in shape for hunting" only requires a couple of weeks of specific conditioning and I spend the rest of the year without aches, pains and nagging injuries.

On a side note, I don't buy into the "bro hunter" body building trend one bit. You are going to perform better at more of a 12-18% body fat range than <10%. Bodybuilding is not performance training, it's aesthetics.

+1

Pure truth here! I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this. I've put on about 7-8 pounds of muscle in the last few months and feel great.

-Joe

 

[Rmauch20]

I work out your round. Weights 3-4 times a week and short cardio sessions. My cardio is run a Half mile then walk a 10th and then run another half a pretty good pace. My second job is mudtender for a bricklayer so that keeps me pretty active even on my days off.

 

[TripleJ]

I'm 42 and have been doing Crossfit for 5 years. I now do that 4 mornings per week and run 1-2 mornings a week. I'm in better shape and stronger now than I have been in a long time.

 

[njdoxie]

If misery doesn't find you in your preparation, it will find you on the mountain.

Excellent line, need to add that to motivational arsenal, for those hard days.
With that being said I know some excellent elk hunters, that don't work out, it's like they're naturally in shape, I'm not in that group, at all, my deconditioned state is horrible.

 

[bigdesert10]

I'm in my 30's, I weight train 5-6 days a week for about an hour before I go to work. I hated it at first, but now I look forward to my next workout as soon as I finish one and have to go to work. I alternate between heavy weight, low rep sets for strength, and higher rep sets with moderate weight for endurance. My workouts are based around classic core barbell lifts - bench, squat, overhead press and deadlift - supplemented with various other free-weight exercises. I also stretch when I'm at home in the evenings.

 

[4rcgoat]

Just turned 41,try to go 5 days,lots of leg work and interval training. Focus a lot on strong shoulders and core. Been a carpenter for over 20 years so my job is pretty active. Blessed to live at the base of a beautiful mountain range so lots of hiking with weight. What really keeps me motivated is the people i work with, most of them drink like a fish, smoke like a chimney, and dont eat right. Not one of them can go to places on the mountain that i can. Also love some good music for motivation,some hard,heavy fast music can get me pretty jacked!

 

[michaelc10]

Working out in the gym, not my favorite thing to do. But I know at 54 if I dont keep it up my health and my time in the mountains will suffer. I know in my later years I will be happy I did.God has blessed me in keeping me healthy. I guess doing my part isn't such a big deal.

 

[mtwarden]

I workout year round as well; I love to hunt deer and elk, but I also love to trail run, backpack, snowshoe, backcountry ski- anything that gets me into the mountains

I usually sign up for a half dozen trail races a year (15-30-ish miles) not so much because I love to race or compete, but it definitely helps keep my training focused and they are usually in nice settings and usually fun (but not always )

I'll typically run 4-5 times a week and strength train twice a week; weekends I typically get in a long run, but quite it's often a snowshoe trip or long day hike or backcountry ski trip in lieu of the long run- time on your feet, in rough country is what I find to pay dividends, also rewarding at the same time

I don't see myself veering much of this course, it's second nature now and something I enjoy immensely

oh yeah- just turned 59 and already planning/training for my third go at the 100 mile + Bob Marshall Open this May