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

Lol, glad to hear it Berretaman. I've passed on a few snacks myself since we starting posting to this thread.

Had a pretty good week. Fighting a sinus infection now so I may be a little light this week. We'll see. Anyway the recovery is improving and I'm feeling stronger in my runs. Slowly making my way back into shape.

Workouts: 3 runs for 13 miles, 1 elliptical workout w/pull-ups, 1 swimming session.
Diet: 5.5 of 7.0 clean eating days.

Will

Yesterday, almost 2 hour hike with the dogs in drifted snow and ice.
This morning, 3 mile run, core and push-ups.

Warmup:
20# Med Ball Squat Cleans - 50 Reps

Strength:
Squat Cleans
16-12-10
95#-105#-105#

Workout:
"Klepto"
4 rounds of:
27 Box jumps, 24" box
20 Burpees
11 Squat cleans, 105 pounds

28:34

That was a hard workout. And I still and really, really hate burpees.

Not sure if the workouts are getting easier, but I do notice I am recovering much faster.

my fancy workout at the Y gave me back spasms something fierce today so I am taking the day off.

"Being unable to workout tommorrow, because of today's workout, is not in line with our training goals." Guard Dog.

Point, why all the squat cleans with that light of a weight? Seems like power cleans would produce more explosive strength.

Are you talking about the workout or the warmup/strength portion? I'll assume the latter, but all I can say is that is what they told me to do. I think the reason might be in that we really had gone over squat clean form since the on-ramp class and they wanted us to re-familiarize ourselves with the movement.

If you are talking about the workout, it's because my front rack sucks. It's just been in the past month that I've felt comfortable with any sort of weight in the front rack. The 105# I did for the workout was hard enough considering every thing else. I'd guess the RX'd weight of 145# would be close to my 1-3 rep max.

Just in case anyone is running short on time you might try Jordan Burrough's little finishing workout (3 sets x 30 sec each). Jordan is NCAA and Olympic wrestling champ from Univ of Nebraska. He wraps up his training days with this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_cSa9OgVGs&noredirect=1

Go slow and build a foundation. Glad to see you are still at it.

30 minute treadmill run and 30 minute on the rower.

For just training the movement that makes sense. I'm a garage crossfitter and I have a neck issue that precludes my being able to overhead squat, but I can front squat with no problem. I front squatted 225lb about a year ago, which is typically about all my right knee will allow me to low-bar back squat.

Since I can't do overhead squats that precludes my being able to do heavy snatches so I just clean and jerk, power clean, and power snatch. Rippetoe is of the opinion that that is all that is required for general athleticism and GPP.

Today

8 rounds
Backward over head throw 40lb bag 25 yards
Sprint 25 yards up and back

12 rounds
Squat 2 reps at 70% 1RM-I used 195
30 sec. As hard as you can on airdyne bike

3x5 close grip bench

Gotcha. I joined a box at the beginning of the year after doing it with the same group as much as possible at the Y for about the last year. The right gear/facilities sure to make things nicer. Last time we did heavish front squats I did 205# for a set of 3. I'm hoping to had 50+ to that by the end of the summer as I'm finally getting confortable with position. I have the strength (I've zurcher squatted 305#), just couldn't seem to do it without nearly breaking my wrists prior.

As my hunt last week in AZ showed me, and I mentioned prior in this thread, the gym has helped except for my lower leg/ankle stability/strength. Any suggestions of what to do to make that better?

My previous job had me walking over rough/rocky ground quite often, especially in the summer, and I never seemed to have a problem. I didn't hurt myself, but was more sore than I remember being in my calves/ankles.

Minimal shoes for starters. Some like Five Fingers, I hate 'em. New Balance MT20's for workouts and New Balance 730's for anything over 800m. I added an insole inside the 730's.

Getting on one of those Stairmaster Step Mills (looks like a section of an escalator) and DO NOT hold onto the handrail will develop a lot of lower leg strength/endurance.

Don't even think about running in minimal shoes until you've got POSE running form nailed down. It is easier to learn running fast than slow. The Crossfit Rx for running is:
1) Form first
2) Run short/hard
3) Finally add distance

If you are doing it right your lower leg will be smoked after a run. Over do it and you won't be able to walk the next day.

Yep, go minimal on the shoes and barefoot whenever possible. A great exercise for the ankles/shins uses 5Lb plates. Attach a strap of some type, duct tape works, sticky to sticky side so you can slide it onto your feet just above the arch so the plate is centered right at the ball of your foot.

Sit at the end of your bed with the plates on your feet so your feet just hang out over the edge of the bed to allow full movement. Now rotate right, left, up, down etc to work the ankles and shin muscles. Be warned, start easy and take your time working up to whatever desired reps. you are shooting for. It's easy to work it too hard early, causing much soreness in the shins, ankle muscles etc and even possibly shin splint type issues so easy does it in the beginning

I had a really bad ankle sprain a few years ago, and ended up doing physical therapy in order to be ready for hunting season.

The exercise that helped the most for my ankle was:
Stand (barefoot) on one foot for up to a minute, then switch feet. If you can do that, make things more difficult. Close your eyes. Do something to distract yourself - toss a ball from one hand and catch it in the other. Stand on the ball of your foot - tiptoe, one leg squat, etc. Anything that distracts your focus will make balancing more difficult, and that will make your lower leg work harder.

The PT place had one of those balance balls that was also helpful, but I was surprised how much just working on one foot balance worked everything around the ankle. I noticed muscles firing that I never thought about before.

Do as much hiking/training as is practical with footwear that does not support your ankle. Be careful and do not injure yourself.

Appreciate it the tips/suggestions! I'll start on some of those. The plates and one legged stuff I can do at home. No longer have access to a Stepmill.

I'm slowly progressing to "flat" shoes. My current workout shoes only have a 4mm drop (Brooks).

Warmup:
Dynamic Stretching and Calisthenics

Strength:
Deadlift (goal of 75% of 1 rep max)
5-5-5-5-5
225-275-275-275-275

Workout:
21-15-9 for time
Deadlift 225#
Pullups

6:24

I substituted jumping pullups as I can't do A pullup. Need to work on my deadlift as I should be able to do more weight easier. I can squat that weight for those reps easier than I can deadlift it.

Pointer, I have nerve damage in my lower leg, and that affects strength and balance so I work the lower legs a lot. I think the best thing is hiking off-trail and at different angles, uphill, side-hilling both ways, downhill, etc., especially with a pack.

In the gym, I do a variation of skaters for side-to-side strength/stability. The variation is, don't stay in one place like you see in videos, jump a little forward each time. And don't be content to just hop a little, give it all you've got, concentrate on landing smoothly and holding the position for a second or two before you launch into the next jump.

Also, one-legged box jumps on a low box, concentrating on holding your position with a smooth landing.

For balance and stability, you can do a lot of different one-legged exercises on an unstable surface (BOSU ball or air cushion) or just on the floor. Start on the floor with a fairly heavy kettle bell or medicine ball in both hands at waist level, standing on one leg slightly bent. Bend down and touch the ball to the top of your foot, and push the off leg straight out behind you; then lift the ball and straighten up. Adjust the weight so you can do 10-15 reps at a time before your leg fatigues. Then work up to lifting the ball overhead with each rep (better balance needed), you'll probably have to drop down in weight for that.

Stand on one leg on the BOSU ball with the flat surface up. Have someone toss you a light medicine ball (not straight at you every time, they should knock you a little off-balance) for 60 seconds or until you can't any more. Do a few sets and your calves will be burning.

Stand on one leg on the BOSU, extend the off-leg straight out behind with your body as close to horizontal as possible, and do dumbell flies for your shoulders.

This one is guaranteed to burn your calves and works front-to-back stability and balance--stand on one leg on the BOSU and push your toe down until the front edge touches the floor; hold for a second then rotate your ankle backward until the back edge touches and hold for a second. Work up until you can do 20 at a time. You'll probably need a wet paper towel to wipe off the flat surface of the BOSU and the bottom of your shoe to keep from sliding around.

Last, this is another guaranteed to burn your calves. Jog backward on an inclined treadmill at 15%. I do this in 30-40 second intervals at about 3.6-3.8 mph, it doesn't take much speed to jog backward. After 30-40 seconds my calves are burning so I just turn around and walk forward at a slower speed to recover for two minutes, then go again. Best thing is, if you keep it up for 20-30 minutes you're getting both cardio and a calf-burning workout that is about as close as you can get in a gym to walking downhill.