Hunting Season Workout

Vince

Handloader
May 26, 2012
4,330
725
Here it is the second month of the new year.

Since my fiasco of a hunt last deer season, due to being old, out of shape, and a weakling, I'm working out now in preparation for this year's upcoming hunting season. I don't know what, if anything, you all do to get in shape but I've started with low impact stuff that doesn't require much financial expenditure.

I wear my hunting pack and boots and hit the wife's treadmill, squats with pack on, and lunges with the pack on. My weakest part is my legs and my arthritic knees cost me my deer hunt this year I'm ashamed to say. I've vowed to not have that happen again. It's been twenty years since I've been in a gym and I'm not in much of a hurry to go in to another one. So I look for low impact, no swimming or bicycle, exercises to strengthen my legs. Any ideas beyond what I'm already doing?

I've hit the "Old Fart" category at work and just hangin' on. I try to use my brain and not my brawn these days. What all do you all do to stay in shape for hunting season?

Biker
 
Seems to me that you're doing well. Maybe add some upper body stuff, like pushups and some "plank" exercises to help strengthen the core. Maybe some balance exercises, they help build the little supporting muscles in the ankles & knees.

I go with the seasons, breaks things up for me.

Cross-country ski in the winter.

Bicycle and hike spring & summer.

Snow really isn't looking good at my cross-country ski club, so I'm on the mountain bike and hiking early this year.

Have a short routine I do pretty much every morning - so that even if the schedule for the rest of the day falls apart, I can still get a little workout it: deep knee bends, pushups, crunches every morning.

Usually I walk to work, it's about a mile. No big deal, but over the year, it helps. Take the stairs rather than the elevator. That sort of stuff.

I do lift regularly, almost every day before work. Break that up too though to keep from getting too stuck in one workout. Convenient for me though, there's a police gym I have to walk through before I can change into my uniform. Makes it really tough to resist hitting the weights for a while.

At least once a week I'll try to pretend I can still kick-box, or at least box... I've gotten slow.

Biggest pointer? Keep at it. No matter what you do, keep at it. It's the layoffs that kill progress. First it's a day, then two. After a while it's easy to take a week off. Then I don't want to start again because I've lost all the conditioning I'd gained. Keep it up! A rest day every week is fine, other than that, keep at it. Break up the routine to avoid boredom.

Dang. Now I'm tired and will go to bed early. This wore me out! :mrgreen:

Guy
 
vince

I am 67 so I know how you feel. Here are a couple ideas, I would lay off of the squats and lunges, especially with any weight. Very hard on the knees. When you are on the treadmill, wear the pack and put it on max elevation. Crunches are great lower back strength builders, as well as pushups and stretching exercises. I have a bowflex that I use not quite enough. Also get out and walk in terrain, uphill, the treadmill is great this time of the year, but uneven ground also builds up the knees, ankles and leg side muscles. As Guy said keep it up, we all have off days but make them few.
 
Have you considered rollerblading? Ideally in flat areas during the warm parts of spring and summer.
 
For me this year I started P90X again. Did great on it 4 years ago but stopped due to my father in laws illness and then his death. I know lame excuse but I'm with you I'm tired of me being out of shape affecting my hunts.

Corey
 
Had yesterday and today off, after working the weekend.

Yesterday I hiked a little, though nothing real strenuous. Was looking for eagles & rams to photograph!

Today I headed out on the mountain bike, and did a 12 mile loop, mostly on pavement, along the Columbia River. Nice ride. Brisk, 30 degrees when I left home, about 34 when I returned just over an hour later. Along the way i happened to bump into some folks I know and we rode together much of the way.

Workout? Sure. Fun? You bet! Well worth my time.

Guy
 
After I had my 76th birthday, this old guy started to look for a deer in the back-yard :oops: .

But I do walk every day the weather allows, about 2 miles, 1/2 of which is over natural fields and gullys.

My western hunts are in areas where I can drive a 4x4 to the dead animal, no dragging. The carrying of an elk quarter up a steep mtn. on a pack-board @ 12,000 feet elevation is now only a faint memory. Although, if I find a legal bull drinking from my Wyoming friend's stock-tank, he's mine :lol: .

And really, pronghorn backstrap IS pretty good eatin'! So, low country hunting has its benefits, I guess. Looking forward to another season, ....God willin'.
 
Keep at it Kodiak!

Dad is in his mid 80's and still enjoys his hunting, shooting, and fly fishing. He gets out and walks a few miles almost every day, and does some strength training too. His diet keeps the weight off, and he's always been strong. It's really kind of amazing how strong he is at this age.

Guy
 
Since my little problem with my heart. I have been exercising at first 3 days a week both Cardio and weights. Since Jan 1st. I have been working out 5 days per week. Monday,Wednesday and Fridays I am weights and Cardio and then Tuesday & Thursdays Cardio.
I can't do any bench pressing, so I use the pec deck and all weight machines. My Cardio consists of walking 2Ks and then 7.5 minutes on the stationary bike, then 6 minutes on the NU step Xtrainer and then 20 minutes of on the recumbent bike at Radom levels burning around 150 Cal. Today I actually jogged a couple of laps.
I hate running as I believe God created cars so I don't have to run and rifles so I need not have to run down a deer:)

Blessings,
Dan
 
The only time I run, when not at work, is when I have a bull on my behind trying to make a shiskabob outta me.

I'll move mountains and run like I'm on fire for an "assistance call" but I'll limp for at least two days afterwards and be on pain meds. Been told to not run or ride a bike. The squats and lunges don't aggravate my knees near as much as the bicycle does. I never considered rollerblading as I'm as graceful as a cow on ice.

I've done the last three days in a row and will take a break tonight. Tomorrow I'll be back at it. I try to mix up the lunges, treadmill, and squats so that one of those exercises is hard and the other two are mild to moderate. I find it gives a needed respite. I'll take the dogs for a walk around the neighborhood with the wife tonight. We need some time together and while I don't consider it exercise it beats sitting on my keister.

Whatever you all are doing, keep doing it. I can honestly say it's harder to get your vigor back once you've let it go as I'm discovering. I had it once, lost it, now I'm trying to get it back.
 
I am a little younger than a few of you guys but old enough to know that I need to stretch. I use to be able to hop on a bike and go. Now I take a few minutes to stretch and warm up and when I am done, I to a 12 min stretch that I found online. To me it has helped a lot with recovery and waking up without pain the next day.
 
ROLLERBLADING ??? I feel that I have met one of my major life objectives by getting up. It now takes me months to recover from any injury, including a hangnail. I could be killed rollerblading and waste two elk tags. You can best rest assured that you will NEVER see a picture of me on skates, skies, horses, mules or the like. Nor any other life threatening semi form, of ground transportation. My two feet have gotten me around for all these years, ( and my 4 Wheeler), No roller thingies of any kind.
 
Did a little 1.5 hour bicycle ride this morning with a good group of folks. Nice people, mostly retired educators & doctors. I'm sorta the low-class, still working representative! :mrgreen: Good ride, nothing too tough. I've ridden with these guys a couple of times and they're a good group, riding rain or shine, and often even in the snow!

Good workout, and am looking forward to more rides with these good guys & gals.

Guy
 
I just started hitting it this month. I walk 3/4 miles down the hill to the bottom of our subdivision and back up wearing my pack frame with 25lbs of heavy tow chains strapped to it. In a month I will up the mileage and strap on my tire chains for another 25lbs for a total of 50. Coming back up the hill with the weight is good for the legs.

Actually I will do some yoga as well. I really like the poses that stretch the back out. After only a week I can feel my back and neck loosen up.
 
Tire chains. Good idea!

I was just looking at the two big bags of tire chains in the back of my Jeep, wondering if I was safe taking them out of there yet... They would make a great weight in the pack for training!

Thanks!
 
I have 20 lb bags of lead shot that I place inside by back pack that I use on the Lead Sled. Every couple of weeks I add a new bag of shot.
 
Been sick for the last five days with the cold/flu.

Today, this morning, I felt my fever break and I felt 100% better. So in celebration I got on the treadmill and walked with my hunting pack on for half an hour. I can't run, as that stresses my knees too much, but I can walk on an incline with a pack to simulate hunting conditions. I then finished up with two sets of push-ups, also with the pack on.

While I was torturing myself I came up with a new motto that is fitting for me, seeing as how I'm not strong, in my mind:

I WILL BE STRONG!!!

I don't see myself as strong yet but will keep working towards it. For me the biggest danger is to over exert myself too soon. I did notice when I went predator/lion calling last week that things seemed easier for me with the walking that I did. That's a big sign of encouragement to me. I'll just keep working away at it, slow, but steady. I have to view this like a marathon and not a sprint.

Keep working at it folks!
 
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