Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting 2014 Fitness/Workout Thread

After a few encouragements I figured I would give this a try. We'll start a thread for everyone to check in and post their workouts, monitor progress toward a goal, that kind of thing. Be a good place to compare notes and see what everyone does to stay in shape, etc. Maybe it will serve to keep everyone on the wagon a bit more than we would otherwise.

What I don't want is a bunch of criticism and crap throwing over issues that don't affect the average Joe trying to get advice. If it turns into that I figure most everyone will abandon it anyway. If you think your way of doing things is so superior then just continue to post your workouts and folks will notice. We've had two dozen crap throwing threads on working out, don't need another one.

I'll be posting two things on my check-in posts: the workout I performed and the number of half days of clean eating I got in for that day. I divide the day into 1st half: breakfast and lunch, 2nd half: everything afterward. I started doing this on the Men's Health 52 day challenges years past and it is a decent way of keeping track. A clean eating day is one where everything you eat is keeping within the bounds of your nutrition goals.

I got a PM suggesting that we include waist measurement on here as well. I'd take it a step further and encourage guys to put up anything along that line as a goal and then let the rest of us know as you make progress toward it. Examples: Goal: run a marathon, just finished my first 10 mile plus run, Goal: drop 3 inches on my waist and I have lost the first inch, Goal: increase my 3 lift total by 100 lbs andI have made 50 lbs of it.

So here goes:



Penguin: mid-40s, 6'-2", 240

Type of workouts: Pretty standard, run, lift, swim. Trail run as a rule but am snowed/iced out for the winter so am making do with the treadmill and road runs. No fitness guru, I'm a ham and egger.

Type of hunting: Eastern mountains, mostly daypacking into areas off the beaten path with a very occasional overnighter thrown in. Tame stuff by western standards.

2014 Goals: Be comfortable running a trail half marathon by October (whether I do so or not), add a bit of strength with no weight gain, avoid injury at all cost.

Workouts to follow.

Will

I�ll chime in. I�m 56, 6�3� and 195. At this point I don�t have many short-terms goals for weight loss etc., the goal is to stay injury free and right now I�m recovering from some chronic shoulder problems that might require surgery. I have long-term goals and those are to live long enough to enjoy my grandchildren (none yet) and to be able to get around and hunt in the mountains until I�m 70. The goal used to be 60, but that was back when I thought 60 was old and didn�t know any better.

I hunt public land in the Rockies mostly, which means the farther I go in to get away from roads, the better I do. My goal is to keep doing that.

I have a desk job so I try to get to the gym about 6 days a week when not traveling. I do a 3-day rotation, cardio one day, lower body and core strength the next, and upper body the third. I�ll walk 3 miles off-trail 2-3 times a week and start carrying a pack and adding weight in the spring/summer leading up to the season in September. I�ll also do a few to good overnighters/weekenders/dayhikes in the mountains in the summer. Here's a favorite spot:





Here�s a typical cardio workout:

--35 minutes of intervals on the Nautilus Stairmaster machine (moving steps like an escalator); 35 seconds going at 100 steps/minute followed by recovery period of 85 seconds at 70 steps/minute. Heart rate stays between about 180 and 160 the whole time. Never touch the handrails, that's cheating.

--5 minutes cool-down walking on a level treadmill.

--20 minutes of intervals on the treadmill, inclined at 15%; 35 second intervals jogging backward at 3.8 mph until the lower legs burn, followed by 2 minutes recovery walking forward at 2.8 mph. Heart rate stays between 140-160. This is one you can really feel in the lower legs and quads, same muscles you use to put on the brakes while descending.

--5 minutes cool-down walking on level treadmill.

--15-20 minutes stretching and using the foam roller on legs, hips, and back.

Last night I got in an upper body workout, I�m recovering from a chronic shoulder problem (cortisone shot last week) so this was abbreviated:

--5 minutes warm-up on the machine that is like a bike for your arms, whatever that's called

--5 minutes stretching

--Lat pull-downs (instead of pull-ups, easier on shoulder)

--Chest press using cable machine

--Internal and external shoulder rotations using cable machine

--Russians

--Seated rows (weight machine, not rowing machine)

--Hammer curls using dumbells, drop sets


Lower body/core is my hardest day:

--Start with stretches and 3 sets of 20 skaters for side-to-side strength and stability, focusing on holding and pausing on the landing

--Three sets of prone hamstring curls

--Three sets each of back extensions and obliques on the Roman Chair, with increasing weight
--Three sets of box jumps (36�) from seated position

--Three sets hanging leg raises

--Three sets one-legged box jumps (18�) moving progressively farther from the box.

--Three sets on the squat machine (protects knees) progressively more weight

--Three sets either old-school sit-ups or hanging leg raises for obliques.

--Three sets dead lifts or RDLs

--Three sets one-legged dumbbell flies on the BOSU ball, upper body and off leg parallel to ground

--Three sets one-legged ankle rotations on BOSU ball for balance and front-to-back strength/stability, flat surface up; push forward until flat part hits the floor, hold for a second, then push backward until the flat part hits the floor, three sets of 20 on each leg, keep hands behind back to work on balance. This really gets a burn in the calves.
I follow all workouts with the same recovery drink, about 1/3 litre of OJ for the sugar with L-Glutamine and 40 grams whey powder mixed in. Then more protein shortly after.

Almooooost 70. Where did the time go? 5'10 164 pounds would like to stay around 158. Other than that would like to keep this body in motion. Pa Deer and Grouse hunting.

Workout around 5 days per week at the gym and add some at home with a concept2 rower, Nordic track and Kettle bells. Gym is weights, alternating different body parts. Currently doing a what I refer to as cycling with medium weight. Set of 20 reps followed by the same on a different muscle group. Then 15reps, then 12, 10, 8, 5 followed by one set back up to 15. Throw in core exercises as I feel like it.

Then treadmill or elliptical for 30 to 40 minutes.

Will get bored with this and switch to heavier until I get bored with that.

Come summer will do more outside hiking and woods running. Thinking about buying and getting into some biking. But I like to take the Dog with me which causes certain problems.

More stretching than ever before.

Ran a half last May with my Daughter. Minimal preparation which was a beeeg mistake. Messed up a periformis muscle that took a long time to heal. It was a literal PITA, but has finally come around. Would like to do another with prep, but it may not be wise. Will see.

Not going to post on a regular basis, this is pretty much it. Good luck to all.


At the finish with Daughter. She beat me by 17minutes.




Three years ago. It was worth the pain.




Additiion for the old farts. Don't expect to keep up with the young and middle age crowd. It ain't going to happen. Learn to pace yourself and be happy with what you can do. But if you are in relatively good health and with training, you can probably do more than you ever believed you could.

1/22/14

Workout: 4 mile base run
Diet: 1/2 day clean eating

Good this morning but yesterday the smoked cheddar mac and cheese put me over the line.

Will

Hope this works out well Penguin, should be fun!



30 - 5'10" - 200lbs

I lift (power and olympic), do some medium and high intensity metcon type stuff, and run a little bit.

My hunting is western mountain hunting, with some antelope mixed in there but that doesn't really drive my fitness.

Fitness goals (some short term, some I don't expect to happen this year but they are still goals):
Lose a little weight while improving strength to weight ratio. I'd like to settle in at no more than 190.
Back squat 2x body weight (I'm pretty close, hoping by spring)
Deadlift 2.5x body weight
Mil press 1x body weight
Clean 1.5x body weight
Run sub 25:00 5k

Today I slow jogged 2 miles first thing on the hotel treadmill.

After work my coworker and I ran stairs. Ran flights to this scheme, walking one in between 1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1. Then we swam a little. We've been working out 2x a day and putting in lots of hours at work, getting a little burnt out, so we made today short but high intensity.

I didn't drink any beer today. Not one. Jumped rope for a while this morning, did some lunges, a few squats. Kind of working my way back into it. Who knows, may draw a sheep tag. Took off two months for a variety of reasons and playing heck getting it back. Not giving my measurements, kind of creepy. Good luck to all though.

[quote=30338Ik. Not giving my measurements, kind of creepy. Good luck to all though. [/quote]

It's only creepy if you give your measurements followed by your astrological sign.

Me, I refuse to comment on what I eat every day like Penguin does, because life is too short to drink crappy beer. , Just tonight, I was obligated to drink some hard cider that a friend made, I could hardly refuse his hospitality. Maybe that's considered a fruit?

Having had several treadmills and burned them out, I have learned something critical in their use.

Do not touch the handles when your using it. Do not balance or hang on to any part of it. The effort becomes significantly reduced when your holding on

Also per the multitude of service people that have come thru here fixing them, the steepest incline is the lowest wear and tear on the machine. The steepest incline draws the lowest current on the motor too.

Smokepole, you might want to extend that "long term" goal.
My stepfather killed, quartered and packed out his last elk by himself when he was 75. It was only in a little over a mile but he did it all on foot both ways. I think he could have gone a couple more years but a non cancerous tumor in his gut put him out the following year and he decided he liked eating beef more so hung up his rifle. There is still much to be done in the later years.

Well, now that you mention it, yes, I do hope to move the goal posts further, as often and as far as possible.

I had plans this year but I just broke myself. I'm probably sidelined for 5-6 months.

The plan was to start running this weekend, then in a few weeks, add some fairly rigorous day hikes in the hills above town. It's STEEP here. That should get me ready for backpacking, then hit that hard on weekends while running on weekdays all summer. Peak on opening day of deer season.

However, I popped a tendon under my left knee cap Tuesday rolling out of bed and I can't hardly walk to the front door. Last time that happened I was 5-6 months, doing physical therapy, before I was able to walk without pain, never mind run.

[bleep].

My guess ... if I behave properly, I'll be able to hobble around the woods by October but I'll be in horrible shape.

Well, maybe next year ...

Tom

Hate to hear that Tom, that makes it tough for sure. I've had a couple of significant injuries that sidelined me and they're no fun. Sure, I crosstrained and all that other stuff that they recommend but what about the appetite thing. For me the less exercise I do the larger my appetite. Best of luck on the recoup.

As far as posting what you eat etc. The biggest one of these types of threads I've seen on the net has all kinds of info. A lot of folks bundle up the week into one post that has everything in it. Some post every day. And you have everything in between.

Far as eating goes though, I'm not on a diet per se although I've been applying the ABS Diet for years and years. But that's a lifestyle change not a recipe to lose weight. When I am "eating clean" that just means everything fits into the plan whether that is staying where I'm at, gaining or losing. TBH if you go 80% clean that is extraordinary.

Will

My goodness, you fit guys...well you suck! Making it hard for us fatties to participate without being emabarrassed...



35 - 5'10" - 285#
For the past 18mos I've 'played around' with Crossfit (2-3X/week) and worked in some other workouts, namely stair master, biking, and some rowing. The guy who led the Crossfit group at the Y has opened is own box and I followed. Started at the first of the year and am following his programing, which appears to have a bit of a slant to met cons.

Haven't really thought about actual goals, so here it is off the top of my head.
Short Term (by this fall) Goals:
Be able to do 1 strict pullup
Row 1000m in under 3:15 (3:33 is current PR)
Strict Press 205 (185# now)
Squat 400# (365# now)

Long Term Goals:
Become less fat, don't really care what the scale reads
Be more athletic
Be able to keep up with my sons as long as possible
Not be worried about hoofing it into terrain, like that below


Yesterday:
Workout - "Fight Gone Bad" - 264
Diet - 1/2 day clean; too many nuts in the PM

Today:
Workout - Rest Day - Thursday's are scheduled day's of rest due to other commitments

Well, my comment on not posting what I eat was tongue-in-cheek. I was really strict a couple years back when I had a goal to lose some weight, but now I'm right where I want to be so I've loosened up some. I follow a lot of the advice one of my former trainers gave me, except I have a few carbs in the form of whole-grain unsweetened cereal in the morning, either mixed in Greek yogurt or with lowfat milk and a fistful of walnuts for Omega 3's. (The trainer was a power lifter and competed in bodybuilding, and his diet would make a Spartan look like Keith Richards.)

I eat clean for a half day most every day, the only carbs from grains are in the morning (and not many at that) and I normally burn those with a mid-day workout. For lunch (when I'm at home) it's always a low-fat protein without carbs and either a big salad (dark green mix, no iceberg or romaine) or steamed vegetables like broccoli or squash. I make my own stuff and bring it to work. This week it was chicken cacciatore I made on Sunday (skin and fat trimmed off and no pasta with it) and elk stew I made in the crock pot last night, with just carrots and yellow squash added.

Nights are where I often go a little "unclean" usually in the form of a glass or two of red. When I was shedding pounds, I never touched it, because it represents a couple hundred calories I could do without.

Snacks during the day are nuts and maybe some fruit. Almonds, oranges, and apples most often.

Yup. I hurt my knee last week skiing. I'd say i tore some cartilage, and maybe a slight MCL tear (all self diagnosed so far). I love to ski, but the skis always seem to find a way to hurt me. I'm hoping, no surgery, rehab on my own, and be back at it soon. I guess it'll be core "workouts", and arms/shoulders only, at least for awhile. I hate being injured.

I was a ski crazed maniac in my teens and up til around 30, skied 4-5 evenings a week!

I had an epiphany at about 30ish years old. The risk was getting higher. My skills racing in the suburu classic slalom races on Thursdays were pushing me to win or break. The type A personality does not work with just having fun.

However maturity eventually crept into my thoughts. I quit down hill skiing shortly after that. The risk was simply not worth the reward. There was no chance at being casual at this, the addictive nature would drive me to break something. I just had to quit completely.

Since then, several of the friends and family that kept on with skiing have had some serious knee and hip problems. I escaped this by absolute luck, and good timing. I loved skiing but wow it's high risk in my opinion.

Started Crossfit (www.crossfit.com) in the beginning of the year, with some running thrown in 3 days a week. Have to say this is the best workout routine I have ever done. Really hard, time efficient, and gets muscles built fast. Also it builds every day functional strength. But as a doctor I must say it is not for everyone and shouldn't be taken lightly. I'm 35, 6'4'' 230 pounds and have been running 1/2 marathons for a few years, spent literal decades in the gym so my experience has helped me get into the program and avoid injuries. If it is something that interests you look into a facility nearby that specializes in it and has coaching available, it is fantastic.

MM

Lots of different information on this thread and the other one regarding nutrition, especially the role of carbs. I�m not a nutrition expert, but I have learned a little from experts and I did manage to shed 15 lbs a couple years ago, mainly through cutting carbs. Here�s what worked for me, and a few of the things that stuck with me from talking to people with expertise. I�m sure I may have gotten some of this wrong as far as the science, but it works for me so take it for what it�s worth.

I didn�t eliminate carbs, but I cut way back and eliminated �empty carbs� (starch from grains) and sugar to the maximum extent I could. No bread, no pasta, no white rice, no mashed potatoes, and especially no processed or store-bought baked goods like crackers, chips, etc. The only carbs I would eat (and still do for the most part) from grains are a small amount of whole-grain cereal in the morning, either shredded wheat with bran (no sugar added) or granola that has less than 5 grams total sugar per 55 gram serving (you have to look hard to find it). Or sugars, post-workout, more on that below.

A lot of the benefit of cutting carbs has to do with insulin levels in your blood. Your body reacts to a high starch meal like pasta the same as if you�d eaten sugar; your blood sugar spikes, your body dumps insulin in response, which causes bad stuff to happen including converting and storing carbs as fat in your body. What you want to do is level out the blood sugar/insulin spikes by eating (again, sparingly) low glycemic carbs and when you do eat carbs always combine them with protein, which slows absorbtion and blunts the spikes. That�s why it�s good to combine the morning cereal with yogurt or lowfat milk and walnuts, the protein helps level the spikes and the walnuts provide not only protein but Omega-3 fatty acids which help to burn calories and fat.

Which leads to the next important thing, and that is eliminating �bad fats� as much as possible and loading up with good ones high in Omega-3s. Bad fats are saturated fats from corn-fed animals whether beef or poultry, and most vegetable oils, especially hydrogenated oils. Better fats come from grass-fed stock. Best fats are from olive oil, fish oil, tree nuts like walnuts and almonds, etc. Read the labels on things like salad dressing and stay away from oils other than olive. Eat lots of nuts.

Lots of this advice came from a guy who�s a power lifter and also competes in body-building contests. Before you get the image of a muscle-bound lunkhead, he was not one. Very well-spoken, formal education in exercise and nutrition, and one of the few guys in the gym with a body-builder�s build who always wore long-sleeve shirts rather than wife-beaters to show off his muscles.

Anyway, these guys take this stuff to the limit as far as building muscle and cutting body fat; their routine is to build muscle between competitions and then cut body fat to the extreme just before a competition. This guy�s diet would make a Spartan look like Keith Richards; it�s not for everyone but I think you can learn from the experts who take stuff to the extreme, whether it be nutrition or long-range shooting.

A few more tips he gave that stuck with me:

There�s an exception to the �no sugar� rule and it�s immediately after a hard workout. Your muscles are �in the most jeopardy� right after a hard workout and depleted; if you consume a recovery drink with a reasonable amount of sugar right after the workout it goes straight into your muscles to help them recover, rather than being stored as fat. He suggested 40 grams of whey protein (not soy) in the recovery drink, as well as some L-glutamine. Lots of people use straight chocolate milk.

Avoid soy protein, especially common in lots of protein bars and cereals. Soy has plant estrogens, and you don�t want estrogens.

Stress and lack of sleep can cause hormone imbalances and fat storage. Pay attention to these.

Eat lots of dark green leafy vegetables not only for the vitamins, but they also help maintain the right alkalinity in your body.

Limit the amount of impurities you take in. These take up ion exchange sites on the molecular level that are important for what you�re trying to accomplish. Two examples he gave were drinking filtered water whenever possible (we have high copper content here) and using a BPA-free water bottle.

Limit what you eat in the evening after about 6:00; big meals before bed promote fat storage.

Eat Omega-3�s a few times a day in the form of fish oil, walnuts, almonds. These help your body burn calories and fat.

Avoid a lot of low-intensity aerobic cardio workouts, which stimulate cortisol production. Instead, do cardio workouts with high-intensity intervals, which increase testosterone.

Avoid alcohol. If you do imbibe, red wine is the best choice.

The lower your body fat percentage, the lower the proportion of your carb intake that is stored as fat. Or to put it the opposite way, the higher your lean muscle percentage, the higher the percentage of your carb intake goes into your muscles as fuel, rather than into fat storage.

As I said earlier, these guys go to extremes with eliminating carbs when they are dropping body fat in preparation for a competition, but they�re still working out. My trainer told me that he could feel himself getting weaker a few days into the no carb cycle, and every now and then would have a �cheat day� once a week where he�d load up on carbs to replenish. According to him, if you�re going to eat carbs, it�s best to do it all at once rather than to eat some each day; apparently your body stores less carbs as fat that way.

And that's nutrition in a nutshell (pun intended).


There is so much wrong with the food pyramid and "common knowledge" about nutrition that it's sad. Every non state sponsored research in the last decade looking at high level nutrition has gone completely to what you posted.