Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Is there a better way to get in shape?

20 seconds of work (bodyweight squats are typical) followed by 10 seconds of rest. Repeat eight times if you last that long. The goal is not to pace yourself but turn it into a major suckfest (as in sucking huge quantities of air). About six rounds of aquats and I'm toast.

It is named for a Japanese speed skating coach who developed the training method.

Jock,

The knee must be doing well!

Tabata intervals are the bomb for about any kind of training. I've used them in Spin class (cycling,) running and squats. It is amazing how long 20 seconds seems to last on the work interval and how short 10 seconds of recovery is.

Ed, man, you're really showing your age here.

It's not "the bomb" any more, that's what old guys say.

It's just "bomb."

My sons told me that. But I'm gonna go out with the loaded pack tonight, maybe throw in some Tabatas at the gym tomorrow, and show those boys who's bombing and who's not.

Smoke,

Cool Man!

Oh wait, that probably dates me as well.

P90X...I trained for 9 months for an '05 dall sheep hunt in talkeetnas, ak...running up to 15 miles/week, stadiums w/ and w/o pack, packing incrementally up to 100#s for up 10 miles/week...I can say after finishing the 90 day program of P90X, I'm in better shape 5 years later in 1/3 time.

Nah, Ed, the knee is still sore and tight. I never went above 70 lbs pack training last summer, and then wondered why I felt so old carrying out a big quartered whitetail, head, and hunting gear in a 115 lb pack.

The first time I did Tabatas by running up a steep hill behind the house as fast as possible. At the end I thought I was going to throw up both lungs, which is the sign you are doing them right. As I got close to my house I could hear by 14 year old son laughing, laughing, laughing...

That P90X recommendation is a good one, too. Great way to mix it up.

Most people say "run" when they mean "jog." I run as fast as I can on the outbound leg (2.5 to 3.5 miles), rest a few minutes, then run back as fast as I can.

Today I ran on average 7:23 per mile. Down, in a little over 8 months, from an average 9 minute mile.


I also hike with a loaded backpack a few times a week. (It helps to eliminate faulty equipment before it gets into the field)

The point, I think is push your self as much as you can without getting hurt.

Now do some deadlifts.

I "thought" I was in pretty good shape with 14% bodyfat and a VO2 max of 15.4 METS. But we did something called "Tabata this" a couple of weeks ago, with 90 seconds between the different exercises. It went like this:

sprints
squats
pullups (this was THE killer for me)
pushups (I made it 3 rounds before I started to hurt bad)
situps
consider vomiting

Other than the daily workouts it's walking the dog (4 miles daily), cycling to & from work (2 miles each way but only uphill 1 way), mountain biking, hiking, shed hunting, backpacking, packing out moose quarters and scouting for hunting season.

For me elevation has been hard to duplicate in training. I'm not in great shape, but work out on a treadmill and do some weights. Once I get up to altitude though everything is harder, even with aerobic exercise/training.