Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Getting in shape for archery

6:16 for the mile. Ouch... I'm gonna hurt tomorrow. 1.4 miles to the track, and thank god I got a ride home.

I can do 10 chinumps, but overhand I'm at 8ish. I promise not to talk squats/deadlifts/presses.

Only 10? Cool. That means I can sit on the couch til season starts!

Ran 50k of mountain trails and 500 pushups for my 50th birthday this past winter. 20 pullups. Don't know my mile time. Got in a couple backpack trips into the Goat Rocks Wilderness this summer. Spartan training for most of the year. Finished 2nd in my age group in this year's local Spartan Race; 131 out of 3,123, overall. Finished 196 out of 4,036 last year. My hunting buddies last year finished as numbers 36 (beast) and 399.

Any other Spartans on here?

Pretty sure others on this site can kick my butt on the trail running. Recovery time is slower the older I get.

Probably not me. If I run 50K it'll be 'cause I'm out of ammo.

Another flatlander from central KY, north of Lexington. This will be my 4th year. Last 3 years have used a combination of treadmill 2 to 3 times per week. I shoot for 3 miles in 35 to 40 minutes, followed by about 30 minutes of weight training. Also hiking with backpack 2 to 3 times per week. Work up to 60 lbs and 3+ miles. My normal circuit will have 300 to 400 ft of vertical. Alternate between that and just hiking down to my pond and back. 0.45 mile round trip with 100 to 110 ft vertical each trip. Work up to 6 to 8 round trips in an hour. the weight loss and conditioning will really help. As you pointed out, once you get to elevation, it will still take a couple days to adjust. But, the conditioning and weight loss will make the that process easier. Also, stay hydrated. Drink water until your urine is clear on the way out. And keep drinking it while you are there...

Thats a good point Orion regarding water, for me I drink alot of water anyhow. we only do water in camp (maybe some instant coffee in the morning). our Elk camps don't have cola products or alcohol either (not that I have issue with someone doing that) for me I put so much effort into prep for these hunts, I want to spend all of my time/energy hunting. There's time for the other when I'm home.

One of my litmus tests for hydration at elevation is to make sure I'm peeing clear. if it gets tinted better drink more water!

I've got about three weeks or so and need to get back into it. We've been traveling and this week I've been sick as a dog.

Hill sprints and plyo coming my way, with some long heavy hikes mixed in.

I really got a wake up call on my last two goatpacking trips. I have been sweating a lot at high elevations due to the warm temps and the large increase in elevation, and have been lethargic, nauseated, lack of appetite, etc. Thought it was just the elevation and altitude sickness. Turned out my body had depleted itself of electrolytes. I was just drinking water, but that was not cutting it. I then started using electrolyte tablets prior and during my high intensity workouts, and that has made a HUGE difference in my energy levels. I had underestimated the importance of electrolyte replenishment...not anymore!

What brand of tablets are you using?

I use these: http://www.nuun.com/products

They are one of the few without a bunch of artificial junk in them, and little sugar (I actually read Gatorade ingredients once). They still contain a few weird things, but nothing is perfect. It also means they don't taste as nice.

We've had good luck with the Oral Rehydration Salts packets made by Jonas Bros/KC Mo. Add to a Qt of water, tastes funky but it works to replentish electrolytes.

Package contains:

NaCl 3.5g.
K 1.5g.
Trisodium
Citrate 2.9g.
Glucose 20g.

I like the Succeed electrolyte caps the best.
http://www.succeedscaps.com/products/s_caps/

Yeah, but Hammer Nutrition is right up the road, and a couple of their gals working there party at a lot of the same places I do

I like most Hammer products but their Fizz and e-caps don't really have enough sodium to do any good unless you take a lot of them.
Nuun is pretty good but I prefer plain water.

Dan makes a compelling point, Ed.

Jock,

Not say I wouldn't party with the Hammer girls, just that Succeed makes a better electrolyte replacement capsule