Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting 2017 Fitness- Workout thread

If you're going to backpack, work on your legs, core, lower back, and hips as much as your upper body. Do exercises that work as many of those at once as you can, e.g. do back squats and front squats that work your hips, lower back, and core instead of a leg press machine that just works the legs.

If you have access to a good trainer, hire him for a couple sessions and explain exactly what you want out of it--to be able to carry heavy loads for miles in the mtns. Have him show you different exercises, then do them on your own. And concentrate on the stuff that challenges you the most.

Good luck!

^ agreed

basic lower body compound exercises like squats and deadlifts or combine lower and upper body w/ lifts like thrusters and hit the core hard

you need to keep the cardio up, anything that closely mimics moving in the mountains- stair machines, versa climber and the best- just a steep hill

hill repeats are bar none the "best bang for the buck" I've found for moving in the mountains, add a pack for more resistance

usually with enough cardio, you don't have to count calories much

+1 on loading up a pack and hiking the hills. One of the best things you can do leading up to the season. Use a bunch of water bottles and bladders in the pack, that way if you need to you can dump weight towards the end of a hard hike.


As far as calories, there's a very interesting article in this month's Scientific American on how humans burn calories. They report on a few studies where they've accurately measured actual calories burned by having people do different levels of exercise , giving them carbon isotopes, and very accurately measuring CO2 production.

What they found was surprising--no matter the activity level, humans who did vigorous exercise only burned a few hundred calories per day more than those who didn't. The theory is that humans have evolved to shut down other calorie-consuming physiological processes to offset the calories burned by exercise, one of them being inflammation.

I'm not sure I believe it 100% because every backpack hunting trip I go on leaves me several pounds lighter. Interesting nonetheless.

it might be one of those things that are very individual

three years ago I decided to keep track on my calorie intake as I had no idea what I was taking in on a daily basis, also weighed my self daily- I did this for about 45 days

I was trail running 4-5 times a week (30-ish miles) and strength training twice a week, just about what I'm still doing today

one my weight never fluctuated more than 3-4 lbs over the entire 45 days, my caloric intake was pretty high 3500-4000 calories/day (sometimes more)

after that little "experiment" I didn't pay any attention to calories, just trying to keep it somewhat healthy (several servings fruit/veggies per day, leaner meat as a general rule, cut back on processed foods)- I still will eat pizza, cheese burgers and the like, just not too much

my weight still only varies a couple of pounds here and there

I am lucky enough to work at a place that has a state of the art gym and lets employees use it. I get up at 530 and get in there at 6. I have to clock in at 7 so i have to maximize that hour. I find i do better when i am by myself. This morning I was able to get through 9 of the weight machines doing 3 sets of 10 and still got on the elliptical for 15 minutes. I would rather get on the treadmill though but they were full. I would hate to see what my intake was considering how fast my weight left.

July


Christmas Day- Lost 15 lbs since

Try for an hour of cardio per day and weights every other day. Zwole 3x5 is great for strength building FYI.

Anyway, count calories on My Fitness Pal app and if I go over 1800 cals per day I'm going to put on weight.

Exception being if I carry a weighted pack for cardio. Approx 40lbs. If I did that every day for 3-4 miles for cardio the weight would drop off or I would have to up the calories. Don't know what difference it makes, but no doubt it does. Same as when I could run 5 miles a day. Weight was never a problem. For some reason elliptical and the machine bikes don't do the same. Nor do I believe the calorie counts the machines give you. One gym guy said he believes they are off around 40% on the high side.

So far today: rower 30min.

Glutes are primary. Ask Smoke to show you his. He is very proud of them.

PM only please.

I told my wife, if I found out had to give up glutes I'd rather just starve.

12 glorious miles- we reached 30 degrees, felt like summer!

~ 6 miles w/ microspikes, 6 miles with running snowshoes

puts me over 40 for the week, that's a big week for me

Warm-up: Elliptical 25min

3x5:

BP, Standing press, Bent over row, Weighted box step-ups, Straight leg Deadlift.


Treadmill intervals: 25min

so miserable here I didn't even want to drive to the gym!

so 15 rounds of

20 situps
20 pushups
20 air squats
5 pullups

5x5 Standing barbell press, squat, deadlift
3x10 shoulder press
abs

100 crunches/sit-ups mixed
50 pushups and (woot woot)
10 chinups

Still pushing on the SS program with assistance stuff although the volume is starting to catch up. Backing off on Wednesday squats a little helps.
Saturday took the dog on a 3.3 mile snowshoe hike to check trail cameras and look for sheds/sign. I was draggin azz on the last 1/2 mile home.

Cardio:

Elliptical: 25min
Treadmill intervals: 25min

Been away from the gym, traveling. Did LB today, Harry, I wasn't planning on doing the glutes but the gallery insisted.

Don't skip too many days. One day you're a starter and the next you're Wally Pipp. And at your age....

balmy 6 degrees for our high today

4.5 miles on the dreadmill, I mean treadmill

1.5 mile run