Mountain Shape

[Skyvalhunter]

selfie alert

[jstone]

Tore my shoulders going through phsical therapy once that is over i will be adding a pack and weight to my back too. For now i just run chambers or will try to do Mt. Peak on my way home from work a couple times a week

[fillthefreezer]

124 lbs loaded up for Mt Peak tomorrow!


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you sure got alot of products for a guy with no hair

[SilkOnTheDrySide]

124 lbs loaded up for Mt Peak tomorrow!


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you sure got alot of products for a guy with no hair

My wife probably has enough money sunk into her "products" to send me to Idaho next year...


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[autodink13]

Did u survive the 124 lbs? Did u carry it downhill too?

[SilkOnTheDrySide]

Did u survive the 124 lbs? Did u carry it downhill too?

It's for tonight. Ya it's all real weight no water so I can't dump it.

I don't foresee myself NOT surviving. 


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[SilkOnTheDrySide]

Good times on the hill tonight


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[Vek]

Saw the word "meathead" thrown down a few posts back...anyone with a clue who is strength training to hunt is doing squats, deads and cleans.  Those aren't your typical meathead lifts.  Take a hard look at a college or NFL defensive end or national-caliber rugby player, and compare him to a typical gym rat who wears sweats to hide the fact that he's missed leg day for the last five years, and you'll see what squats, deads and cleans do to a guy. 

No other gym exercises are worth a crap for hunting, except for maybe front squats and lunges.  If you spend your time squatting heavy, you hardly need to do any upper body stuff to get strong there too.  Your body is so desperate to recover from squats that it's laying on muscle everywhere, even in response to some pretty unfocused upper body training.  Standing press and some chins and dips is all you need. 

Buy or build a squat rack and a barbell with weights, and you can do everything you need to do at home in your basement or garage. 

You young guys listen up:  your body is less tolerant of abuse once you hit the mid 30s.  Repetitive heavy loading at a particular range of motion will start to tear up your knees.  Think hard about what you do to put big repetitive loads on a partly-flexed knee (downhill hiking with weight, plyometric exercises, etc.) and consider saving those load cycles for when you really need them: coming off the hill with meat.  The rest of the year, train to be strong over the full range of motion.  That means proper, full depth squats.  Uphill hiking with weight is far gentler than downhill. 

I lift all year, then starting a month before hunting season, I hike to toughen up my legs and feet.  As soon as I don't get hot spots and lower leg soreness goes away, I'm in good enough shape to hunt anywhere for anything.   

[jackelope]

Welcome back, Vek.

[SilkOnTheDrySide]

Saw the word "meathead" thrown down a few posts back...anyone with a clue who is strength training to hunt is doing squats, deads and cleans.  Those aren't your typical meathead lifts.  Take a hard look at a college or NFL defensive end or national-caliber rugby player, and compare him to a typical gym rat who wears sweats to hide the fact that he's missed leg day for the last five years, and you'll see what squats, deads and cleans do to a guy. 

No other gym exercises are worth a crap for hunting, except for maybe front squats and lunges.  If you spend your time squatting heavy, you hardly need to do any upper body stuff to get strong there too.  Your body is so desperate to recover from squats that it's laying on muscle everywhere, even in response to some pretty unfocused upper body training.  Standing press and some chins and dips is all you need. 

Buy or build a squat rack and a barbell with weights, and you can do everything you need to do at home in your basement or garage. 

You young guys listen up:  your body is less tolerant of abuse once you hit the mid 30s.  Repetitive heavy loading at a particular range of motion will start to tear up your knees.  Think hard about what you do to put big repetitive loads on a partly-flexed knee (downhill hiking with weight, plyometric exercises, etc.) and consider saving those load cycles for when you really need them: coming off the hill with meat.  The rest of the year, train to be strong over the full range of motion.  That means proper, full depth squats.  Uphill hiking with weight is far gentler than downhill. 

I lift all year, then starting a month before hunting season, I hike to toughen up my legs and feet.  As soon as I don't get hot spots and lower leg soreness goes away, I'm in good enough shape to hunt anywhere for anything.   

Vek,

From your background and stories, you obviously aren't having any physical issues with your routine.

But I will say this, and you will come to the conclusion that I have absolutely no point, which is correct

The only thing I've learned about fitness, weights, backpacking, strength training, functional training, etc, is that it's rare that you can have an agreement on what actually is the "best" route to take to achieve your end result.  My basic routine runs like this, and it's worked exceptionally well for me. 

Mondays: Run (vary between long, short--Long being 6-9 miles, short being 2-5 miles)

Tuesdays: Core lifts, 50 lb squats with sand, lunges, abs, abs, abs, pull ups, bar holds, kettle bell swings, pushups, etc.

Wednesday: Mountain Day--Always Mt. Peak (1.1 or 1.6 and 1100 ft of elevation--depending on what side you start on, and 5.4 if you go up and over and back)--What we do actually varies per week.  High weights, to low weights, to no weights to interval runs, to regular speed hike, to up and over and back.  Mix it up. 

Thursday: Same as Tuesday

Friday: Run/Peak/Rest

Sat/Sun: Generally rest, but 1/2 the time I'll throw in a 2 mile run on Saturday or Sunday if I took Friday off.

So while I did load up 124 lbs last week and took it up, it's certainly not an every day (or week for that matter) issue. 

Following the previous routine pretty religiously since December coupled with a strong diet has netted me some seriously amazing strength and endurance gains.  (along with a pretty healthy weight loss).

I went with a friend last year who was Mr. Weights and trust me when I tell you, he doesn't "skip" leg day, and I smoked him up the mountain.

I've become a huge believer in "functional" training, and tend to stay away from traditional weights, though I don't discount there usefulness, I just don't see a real reason to train differently right now.

Anyways, it's kind of funny where this thread has evolved too.  I started it as more of a motivation to get people up and moving, and to keep myself accountable, but it's definitely generated some great discussion.

[Shawn Ryan]

Finally did the PCT run from Chinook to White. Wanted to run it early, but that didn't fit my schedule. I've hiked or hunted almost that whole stretch, but didn't recall the northern half being so incredible.  Unfortunately, I got real sick about half way through and ended up spending the night between a log and a small fire throwing up the whole time. Was geared up for a 6-7 hour run, not spending the night. Had my sparker with me, which was very good, light weight insurance.

[Nature Boy]

I recently suscribed to Western Hunter and Elk Hunter magazines.  Great magazines!  They have a hunting fitness section and a nutritional section in each issue (also great gear reviews and backcountry tips).  Some great information on getting in shape for mountain hunting.  Also I check out Hoyt Archery's website.  They have a fitness video section with great information and sample workouts.  I've recently added the step test workout and the stair circuit to my weekly split.  The workouts are tough but my peak bagging trips in the Olympics are getting easier.

[Jacque]

I try to stay in shape throughout the year so I don't have to stress my body (getting older) at the last minute by hiking, climbing, running and backpacking.  A little extra time in the gym on the stair stepper in the spring helps.  I usually end up with the bulk of the packing during elk season.  Last year it was 4 elk to pack out for a 6 man camp.