Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Time to start getting in shape

It's that time of year guys.

Walk, run, ride or whatever gets you there, only a couple three months before season is here.

My wife loves / hates the fact that I get into shape after summer vs. the spring when I'm eating plenty of game, and drinking beer while I BBQ it.

Spot

Leaving Sept 4 and archers leaving earlier.... Almost too late to get in shape. Thankfully I've been working since January...

Jeff

Just got off the treadmill and turned on the 'puter. Up every morning at 5:00, do a mile and a half on the 'mill.
Weekends are 3.5 miles both days, walking a gravel road
Will start adding weights to a backpack next week if a sore knee gets better, be doing 30 extra pounds by Oct. Toss in the little bit of work I do and that's enough to get me in reasonable shape for my age.
I hate the treadmill but love the weekends <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I never get out of shape.......thus 'getting into shape' is a mute point

Lungs are your greatest asset in chasing elk over 11,000 feet in September. I've been hitting it harder the last few months. 5 weeks and 4 days to blackpowder bulls. Last time was 2003 and I have to confess to taking it a little easy in 04 and 05.

Started getting in shape first week in February and am leaving on September 5.

I'm past the age where getting out of shape is an option. I stay fit year round.

Yup... staying in shape is easier than getting in shape.

"Yup... staying in shape is easier than getting in shape."

Smartest thing I've seen on an internet forum in a long time.

Not challenging folks now but being in shape is a relative term.
I'm a flat lander, being in shape here isn't the same thing as being in shape at 10k + feet. I do stay in shape year round but I kick it up a serious notch from now until Fall.

Personally that means changing my running routine from 3 miles every other day to 5 miles, this year I'm going to see if I can reach 7 Miles on weekdays, and 10 on weekends. It's more time that constrains me than anything else.

Personally, I use elk hunting as the motivation to go beyond the shape I'm in or around to the next level. The wife seems to like it so it's a win-win for me. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Spot

Opening day of archery season is just 24 days away!

Staying in shape is always the plan, but I tend to peak for the fall hunting seasons. Many years of backpacking and mountain climbing have taken a toll on the knees but road and mountain biking provide the conditioning these days.

Last weekend we went up to Wheatridge to visit the folks, and I took the road bike for a little jaunt thru Golden and up to visit Buffalo Bill. The return trip downhill was much easier than the trip up!

JohnDog

JohnDog,

Backpack hunters have a completely different "level" of being fit.

Gotta respect you nut's carrying all that gear in on your backs. Takes a tough individual, maybe a bit crazy but aren't we all.

Spot

I put shoes on all 3 mules this week and will move 15 ton of hay this week. Most guys who run, exersize, etc., can't do this when they are 30 and I'm 63. I looked in the mirror and decided round was a shape. I did spend 10 minutes on a tread mill at the Doc's office last week

Spotshooter, sounds like a good program you've got! As a former runner myself (no more punishing knees for me -grin) I'd reccomend you run stairs or bleachers rather than add miles to your run... it'll take your program to an entirely different level and is the best single excercise I've found for backpacking, elk hunting, etc.

Amen to that. I used to run up to 4 miles a day on flat ground. I found it didn't work my ankles and legs like going up and down hills and slopes w/ rough, uneven ground. Carrying a loaded pack just adds to the benefits of walking up and down.
I, too, have found that I must stay in shape all year. First of all, it's harder to reach that level of fitness as the years roll by. But, even more important, the muscles get stronger much faster than the tendions and ligaments. Push too hard and too fast and you are setting yourself up for a serious, long term injury. Serious injuries just before the hunting seasons are not in my game plan.
BTW, I've found that my resting pulse rate - your pulse before your feet hit the floor in the morning - will tell you where you are. If it's in the low to mid 50's, you are very close to being about in as good condition as most can achieve. E

+2

Agreed!

Yeah I had better already be in shape, my season kicks off in 29 days. I'm getting there and I think I'll be pretty close to GTG.

brad,

Truth is I had to get in shape to not look bad hunting around Saddlesore.

I can barely keep up with the guy, ... I simply don't get it, the first year I hunted with him he plainly made me look bad (NO [bleep]!).

The second year I kicked it up a notch and held my own for most of the week. By thursday I was just tucker'd out, by Friday I felt like it was the first year all over again.

If my wife finds out a guy more than 20 years my senior is kick'n my ass hump'n it through the mountians I'll have not a shred of pride left. And folks I am NOT in bad shape, truely puzzles how the hell he does it.

At the end of the day my wife's happy with me for getting into as good of shape as I do. Maybe this year at the end of the week I won't have that "I'm done" look on my face, and old saddlesore won't get that familiar smirt that he out done me again.

Spot

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

At my age-71- and after a heart attack and arthritus in the upper back, getting in shape is a relative thing. Can't run or lift heavy weights. However I can still work out at the YMCA, and I just started yesterday for this years hunt in Montana. I use the Nautilius weight machines three times a week, gradually increasing weight up to about three weeks before leaving, and then backing off a little in weight. Don't want to climb around those mountians with a pulled muscle! I also work on the treadmill and stairmaster, building up my cardio ability. They have added a cross trainer, kind of like cross country skiing. I tried it yesterday and it whipped my butt in a hurry, so I'm sure it will prove useful. I read an article by a doctor relating to this kind of conditioning and hunting in the mountians, and he said that about 30% of your time should be spent on the weight training and 60 to 70% on cardio on treadmills and stairmasters. The heat down here in Florida this time of the year makes it impossible to work out outside. And, no matter how hard you work, there still isn't enough oxygen in the world for you the first couple of days in the mountians.
I haven't been able to make myself continue working out after the hunt though. Maybe this year will be different .
I also spent a month, mid-June to mid-July in Montana, with a lot of it scouting the area where we hunt, so maybe I'll be in a little better shape to get in shape!
This will be my fourth hunt in four years using this conditioning program, and last years hunt was the most strenuous of all. Several times we climbed two miles before daylight,hunted all day, and came down after dark. We took it real slow but we got there, so I guess it works for me.