My Elk Season Fitness, is it enough?

[ctwiggs1]

Sounds to me like you're on a great path Cab!  Would only add what vandeman17 mentioned, throw that ruck on and hike.  What are you preparing for?  To hump up, down, and sideways in the elk woods with probably a 17 lb daypack (or all in one pack) on your back, if you're in an area that you can hike in (you may get some funny looks if you're hiking downtown Olympia  ).  Treadmills are fine and dandy (put your pack on doing that also, grin), but, I personally have found that with 2 or 3 years of elk hunting under my belt, nothing gets me in better shape for elk hunting than hiking with a ruck on my back.  30 pounds is fine to start but by the middle of July and up till season start, slowly increase the weight in your pack up to close to 50 "and" find a way to hike up and down hills, even if that means just using the local stadium stairs.  You'll be surprised at how well hiking with a ruck on, 4-5 times per week will get you in tune with what the mountains have in store for you.  RJ

  And to add, make sure the pack has your actual hunting gear in it.  Not a bag of sand.  That way you are training the way you will be hunting.  The pack will ALWAYS feel different with different loadouts, so it's best to just train as you hunt. 

If you're training already, then you're ahead of probably a solid 90% of the hunters already.  Keep it up! 

[buglebrush]

Congratulations on losing all that weight! Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will your elk body.

Mental toughness is definitely something that is trained. The only problem is that it is trained during season.

As far as physical, you seem to be at a point in your training where you shouldn't be doing any hikes without weight. Start light if you must but work towards 80 pounds or more.

I'd also recommend weening off the treadmill and start going on runs. Push yourself further and further.

Good luck!


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I sure wouldn't train with 80#'s unless you're just walking smooth easy stuff.  No reason to risk injury before season ever comes.   Just put 25#'s of hunting gear in, and do lots of off trail hiking in steep country.  Training is about building your self confidence so you have that mental strength that you can do it. 

[ctwiggs1]

Congratulations on losing all that weight! Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will your elk body.

Mental toughness is definitely something that is trained. The only problem is that it is trained during season.

As far as physical, you seem to be at a point in your training where you shouldn't be doing any hikes without weight. Start light if you must but work towards 80 pounds or more.

I'd also recommend weening off the treadmill and start going on runs. Push yourself further and further.

Good luck!


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I sure wouldn't train with 80#'s unless you're just walking smooth easy stuff.  No reason to risk injury before season ever comes.   Just put 25#'s of hunting gear in, and do lots of off trail hiking in steep country.  Training is about building your self confidence so you have that mental strength that you can do it.

  Train as you hunt!  Silk's advice is what I would follow.  You WILL be faced with a 100lb ruck at some point (or a LOT more loads).  Training with 60-80lbs is totally normal.  Just don't do it on hardtop pavement - That WILL kill your joints.

[SilkOnTheDrySide]

Congratulations on losing all that weight! Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will your elk body.

Mental toughness is definitely something that is trained. The only problem is that it is trained during season.

As far as physical, you seem to be at a point in your training where you shouldn't be doing any hikes without weight. Start light if you must but work towards 80 pounds or more.

I'd also recommend weening off the treadmill and start going on runs. Push yourself further and further.

Good luck!


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I sure wouldn't train with 80#'s unless you're just walking smooth easy stuff.  No reason to risk injury before season ever comes.   Just put 25#'s of hunting gear in, and do lots of off trail hiking in steep country.  Training is about building your self confidence so you have that mental strength that you can do it.

  Train as you hunt!  Silk's advice is what I would follow.  You WILL be faced with a 100lb ruck at some point (or a LOT more loads).  Training with 60-80lbs is totally normal.  Just don't do it on hardtop pavement - That WILL kill your joints.

25 lbs is what he was walking around with for body weight 6 months ago.

50 lb bag of sand is really not that hard after a time or two.

As far as injury goes, not sure how humping 80 lbs of sand on a trail is going to be a cause for injury concern anymore them playing basketball or jogging in a busy area would be.

Once you get accustomed to that I would increase weight further. Of course, a solid pack frame/bag helps in these endeavors. I wouldn't be doing it with a Jansport! 😂

But I can't support the idea of NOT training with heavy weight...doesn't compute with me...


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[ctwiggs1]

Congratulations on losing all that weight! Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will your elk body.

Mental toughness is definitely something that is trained. The only problem is that it is trained during season.

As far as physical, you seem to be at a point in your training where you shouldn't be doing any hikes without weight. Start light if you must but work towards 80 pounds or more.

I'd also recommend weening off the treadmill and start going on runs. Push yourself further and further.

Good luck!


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I sure wouldn't train with 80#'s unless you're just walking smooth easy stuff.  No reason to risk injury before season ever comes.   Just put 25#'s of hunting gear in, and do lots of off trail hiking in steep country.  Training is about building your self confidence so you have that mental strength that you can do it.

  Train as you hunt!  Silk's advice is what I would follow.  You WILL be faced with a 100lb ruck at some point (or a LOT more loads).  Training with 60-80lbs is totally normal.  Just don't do it on hardtop pavement - That WILL kill your joints.

25 lbs is what he was walking around with for body weight 6 months ago.

50 lb bag of sand is really not that hard after a time or two.

As far as injury goes, not sure how humping 80 lbs of sand on a trail is going to be a cause for injury concern anymore them playing basketball or jogging in a busy area would be.

Once you get accustomed to that I would increase weight further. Of course, a solid pack frame/bag helps in these endeavors. I wouldn't be doing it with a Jansport! 😂

But I can't support the idea of NOT training with heavy weight...doesn't compute with me...


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Not training with weight is what will lead to injuries - not the other way around.

[Cab]

So this morning I used my pack and added 20lbs to it and wore it the whole time during my work out(even with push ups) added squats and tried to keep my normal pace. I was surprised at how well I did with the added weight but was unable to keep at my normal pace. Just going to keep at it, slowly increase weight and add in some shooting with my recurve a couple times a week. I really like the idea of using hills or real incline with my pack and I think I will try that out. I do have issues sometimes with my sciatic nerve so I think by taking my time and increasing my core strength I can avoid injuring that again. I think I have hurt it mostly from going out during season pushing myself and not training before hand so I want this year to be different.

[Stein]

For me, I never train with more than 50#, most work is in the 30-50# range.  I have found that if I can ruck 12 miles in 3.5 hours with 40-50, it is no trouble to jump up to as much as double that for a hunting trip.  My theory is that injury is part of training - it will happen.  That said, the more weight you ruck with, the greater the probability for injury and the severity and I think there is a point where the odds really stack up.

If I walk with no weight, the odds of injury are very close to 0%.  If I ruck uneven ground with 100#, the odds are certainly much higher.  I can't catch myself if I get off balance, so I'll twist or go down much more often.  Additionally, if I twist my ankle with light weight it usually is no big deal, no injury.  If I do it with 100#, it usually is at least a mild injury, often a significant injury.

So, for me, I haven't found much benefit to going over 50# while the risk goes up.  I will do a few scouting or hiking trips with more weight just due to the gear I am carrying, but it will be a few times a year vs several times a week in training.

That's what works for me, at my age with my experience.

[fillthefreezer]

i would add running. up and down hills, dirt and pavement. it punishes the feet and joints, but in a way that i deem necessary to get them hard to the rigors of elk mountains. i would expect anyone in my group to be under 45min/5mi before season

[ctwiggs1]

i would add running. up and down hills, dirt and pavement. it punishes the feet and joints, but in a way that i deem necessary to get them hard to the rigors of elk mountains. i would expect anyone in my group to be under 45min/5mi before season

that's running shoes and shorts, not with a pack right?   

[SilkOnTheDrySide]

i would add running. up and down hills, dirt and pavement. it punishes the feet and joints, but in a way that i deem necessary to get them hard to the rigors of elk mountains. i would expect anyone in my group to be under 45min/5mi before season

I guess that means I need to go do a mileage check this week...😂😂😂


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[Booyah13]

If you are looking for something to change up your home workout routine I would advocate for T25. I have always been in decent enough shape for hunting, but a couple of years ago I wanted to get into some places that in previous years were "to far". I had been working out 4 days a week for years, but just maintaining until I tried T25. It was humbling at first but it absolutely got me in the best hunting shape of my life. I know that carrying a pack with weight and running uphill will also get results, but i can't do those in my living room when i have a spare 30min.

[kentrek]

Keep in mind why your getting in shape.....its not to pack x amount of weight or run x amount of miles....

My only requirement is you can keep your head in the game and have fun...that takes more physical training for some then others

[SilkOnTheDrySide]

Keep in mind why your getting in shape.....its not to pack x amount of weight or run x amount of miles....

My only requirement is you can keep your head in the game and have fun...that takes more physical training for some then others

Ehhh.

Things like FTF said above are more like baselines we've come up with for ourselves for the kind of hunts we do.

And trying to find those baselines for your hunt allows you to "keep your head in the game."

So, in a way...it absolutely is about how much weight you can pack over distance, and how many miles you can run. Because those are the types of training that allow you to be in shape to hunt elk.


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[kentrek]

Keep in mind why your getting in shape.....its not to pack x amount of weight or run x amount of miles....

My only requirement is you can keep your head in the game and have fun...that takes more physical training for some then others

Ehhh.

Things like FTF said above are more like baselines we've come up with for ourselves for the kind of hunts we do.

And trying to find those baselines for your hunt allows you to "keep your head in the game."

So, in a way...it absolutely is about how much weight you can pack over distance, and how many miles you can run. Because those are the types of training that allow you to be in shape to hunt elk.


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Sure 

[lord grizzly]

Keep in mind why your getting in shape.....its not to pack x amount of weight or run x amount of miles....

My only requirement is you can keep your head in the game and have fun...that takes more physical training for some then others

Ehhh.

Things like FTF said above are more like baselines we've come up with for ourselves for the kind of hunts we do.

And trying to find those baselines for your hunt allows you to "keep your head in the game."

So, in a way...it absolutely is about how much weight you can pack over distance, and how many miles you can run. Because those are the types of training that allow you to be in shape to hunt elk.


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you guys must kill a lot of elk