Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Does climbing bleachers with a snorkel on help...

Andy the thing I've noticed to make the biggest difference in endurance in the hills is tough schit on the track-like 400s and 800s. It's a bit counter-intuitive, but I saw a noticeable difference in how hard I could hike after being in shape for 400s and 800s, and I can hike pretty well (not Greenhorn or scenarshooter good, but you get my point). I'm not saying go try to set a new record 800m sprint, but it's definitely something I'd consider, in addition to timed miles and hiking with weighted packs.

You've got to take anything I say with a grain of salt, however, as I've lived here my whole life and have definitely got time and weight on my side.

I hope you have a blast and kill a nice bull!

+1 on what Tanner said. Adding some sort of high intensity effort will help condition your heart/lungs/body in ways that low-intensity endurance efforts will not. Here's one example: http://tabatatraining.org/

Good luck!

Tabata is some good stuff.... It kicked my ass on more than once occasion....

1) A no-schit barbell (one that'll spin so you can do cleans). Also required are stains on the bar from where your hands have been in the proper locations...a lot. Rubber bumpers instead of iron.

2) Squat rack so you can do pullups and barbell work, IE SQUATS

3) The Crossfit site saved on your computer.

4) The desire to make it happen

A lot of you guys suggested a lot of good stuff, but no one offered all the pieces of the puzzle. Honorable Mention goes to Tanner because he is correct about short hard runs being more effective for general fitness than "jogging", though.

No doubt, a routine including all of that will kick your ass and get you in shape.

Two things I'll say to finalize my thoughts....

1) Squats, as TAK mentioned, have proved to be the best exercise I've ever done and my legs/behind have gotten in exponentially better shape since I've done them once to twice a week. I'd start with low weight and high reps, and as you progress, get into a descending 5x work out (that's what I'm doing now, very tough.) A great test for one's progress, I think, is the body weight+100lbs rep test, but it's kind of rough.

2) Combining "days" into more strenuous entire body workouts is the way to go (this is basically Cross-Fit's idea). "Leg days", "chest days", etc, get overshadowed pretty quickly when an efficient workout done each day covers the entire body and it's key muscle groups. There's a guy that works out in the Varsity Weight room during my workouts here that's lost somewhere around 250-280lbs, that does strictly CrossFit type workouts.

I spent the night in the woods last night and just now saw this.

Here's a picture of Rock Chuck's backyard playground. Beautiful country, I envy him. My intent is to go back this October and try it again.



Actually, I only was at about 9000 ft. Most people have little problem at that elevation if they take it easy for the first day or so. I had exercised all summer in preparation and pretty much abused my knee. I took a lot of Ibuprofen while I was there. Maybe that helped?
Get your cardio-vascular in shape, get long winded, lose a few pounds. Drink lots and lots of water while you're there and take it easy the first day or so and you should be fine.

only time I hiked at any altitude was Philmont, NM.

to prepare I just kept up my cross country workouts: a few days of sprints, and a few days of longer moderate runs 5/10K

One thing I havn't seen anyone mention is pay attention to your breathing, I find after a hard workout when others were panting if I stood up, arms over my head, deep breath in, hold it, then slowly exhale I would generally feel my heart slow down and breathing would be back to normal quicker and body as a whole would feel rejuvenated quicker

I know a mountain guide that always wanted to do the hard work on expeditions at altitude to help acclimate. He believed intense physical workout helped speed the process. I am referring to really high altitude since he already lived at altitude. Myself, I think his approach works, but it is one in which you must exercise some caution, if you are not already at a high level of fitness.

Kevin

My program's design is to build strength, not necessarily endurance. I add five pounds a work out as long as I can perform the exercise with good form. (5 sets of 5)

Should I change to endurance work with the weight lifting? What kind of reps/sets?

Or would it be better to keep with the heavy lifting with low reps and just do more wind sprints, Tabata, etc.? Say sprints three times a week and tabata every other day?

When you move to higher elevation, the air contains less oxygen. Your body senses this over time and releases a chemical messenger to your bone marrow to produce more red blood cells...the region of your body that produces this messenger is the kidneys, and the messenger chemical is called erythropoietin (EPO for short hand).

There is synthetic EPO, which would help you prep for a high altitude hunt, but the stuff comes with risks (clotting) and requires a prescription. It is also a high cost med.

You can read up on this via google search...and learn all about how and why it works.

Generally speaking, I think your best best is to be in good physical shape, then go high and stay there for as much time as possible before your hunt..... the meds are just too much risk IMO.

Oh, I was just joking about seeking Lance Armstrong's doctor. I'm just going to run my ass off between now and then. I'm arriving three days early and will bum around at 9-11000 feet. I'll still probably huff and puff.

You will huff and puff. I live at 400ft or so and after the plane flight to Asia I always hurt for a couple weeks. Being strong and having good endurance help but it still blows.

I think you already answered your own question:



That's what I'd do.

Depends on your goal. Doing a bunch of cardio will slow down strength gains, but you WILL continue to get stronger, if you do the proper work and provide for recovery. Recovery is KEY, and this is where a bunch of running will screw you up. Powerlifters do brief, intense cardio, like pushing a Prowler and doing tire flips.

Crossfitters would say lift heavy, lift long for endurance, run long (occasionally) and do a BUNCH of 400's and 800's. Crossfitters will never win a powerlifting meet, doing Crossfit.

Crossfitters say that you have to do it all, because you never know what life will toss in your path. Well, a hunter does know when the season is, and he knows where he's going, and what he's going to carry, for the most part.

The primary focus of your training, for maybe six weeks or so before the season, should be walking with a pack in a manner that simulates what you plan to do. For instance, if you'll be chasing critters at high altitude and covering LOTS of miles. You'll be better served by upping the mileage on your ruck walks. If you plan on a two mile pack out, alone, of an elk. then doing shorter walks with a heavier pack 2-3 days/week, combined with a couple of squat workouts each week are in order.

IMO, Crossfit is the baseline, IE, this is what you should be doing at least half of the time. For a hunter, doing a round of heavy weight training like Greyskull or Starting Strength at the first of the year for 6-8 weeks, right up until your strength gains stall, then going back to Crossfit until you start your ruck walks in preperation for hunting season is the ideal plan, IMO.

Just curious, what would guys who hunt at high altitude every year say?

I've seen the "crossfit games" on TV. They don't appear to resemble my hunting trips. YMMV.

I have had a knee and foot pain lately and am taking a new direction on training. I am doing spin classes 3 times a week for an hour each and hiking with a 40 pound pack 5 times a week. Doing some high rep weight work and planning on hitting S9 about 4 times for long weekend scouting trips.

Thinking the actual trips to the mtn range will do me more good than anything, plus that is a lot more fun.

Actually, I think TAK's assessment is pretty on for the most part. I'll admit, I have not done CF in a couple of years, and now I'm starting to notice it. I need to get on some more of the strength stuff. I have done a lot of heavy walks /hikes lately though at 75 - 126 lbs loaded in the pack. In my opinion, I'm faster with two loads at 75 than one load at 126. With 75 , I'm ok and probably hike at an average hiking speed of 2 MPH up and 1200 feet or so of gain per hour. At 126, I crawl practically. At 100, I'm in between, but there is a noticeable drop off above 75 lbs. My ideal, is to be able to two load 175 lbs from 3 - 5 miles back. Of course, during a hunt adrenaline helps, and I just don't have adrenaline for a heavy hike.

At altitude in big country, I think CF lacks some of the endurance focus. I like to do a few 20 mile plus days in the mountains every year, and it seems to help a lot. There really is no substitute for a good 8 hrs or more moving.

+1 on the Spin classes. IMO, you can't get a better high intensity workout in 45 minutes to an hour. And all without impact.

I very much agree that the 8+ hours of moving is also a necessary component... Preferably with moderate weight and in the mountains.

I have seen the snorkel idea as there are a few MMA fighters that train that way. Sena or Cena sp had a video interview where his workout regiment included the mask and snorkel. You would look silly with just the snorkel LOL.

The principal behind the snorkel is oxygen deprivation what it does is limit the amount of O2 you get in your blood stream requiring your body to utilize a higher percentage of oxygen from the limited amount of air intake.

You are trying to boost your VO2 level Oxygen volume utilization level. (how efficient your body is using the oxygen you intake from each breath) it is a fancy way of saying fitness level. Cardio athletes use this as a measuring gauge for their performance.

In order to improve your cardio you have to do aerobic activities, cycling, swimming, running. You can lift weights but it is much harder to get the aerobic benefit as lifting is an anaerobic exercise. You would need to take shorter rest periods between sets to achieve higher aerobic capacity. You would further need to do compound lifts deadlifts, squats, clean and jerks lifting exercises that incorporate your entire body to complete the lift. If you hit a stationary bike you have the ability to adjust the resistance which will 1) improve your cardio and 2) require more leg effort thus giving your legs a harder work out and allowing you to handle carrying a pack when you walk those mountains.

The fact you are already training regardless of the what program you are following will improve your current fitness level. You are not going to go from zero to hundred in 3 weeks. Any consistent workout regime will show benefits.

Other ideas if you are going to be carrying a back of say 50 lbs, training with a back with 60-70lbs will allow you to compensate for some of the difference in elevation and you won�t be as exhausted when you get to your destination.

As you live in Texas you have the heat as an additional condition benefit. The heat taxes your body more then a air controlled fitness club and you body has to overcome the heat as well. trying doing your workout outside.

Make sure you get clearance from your physician to do all this training. good luck and have fun