Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting 2023 - Fitness / Workout thread

yup- that's it

concentrates on the big compound lifts; stresses good form over weight; progressive program-starting with lighter weights and keeps building; insures adequate recovery time and suggests a lot of different accessory exercises

there may be a better strength program out there, but this one is solid![/quote]


Mr Wendler would not be pleased with your modifications


“ 1 DON'T CUSTOMIZE.

This applies to any program published on this site, but it especially matters for 5/3/1. You must do the program the way it's written.”


😁

please don't tell him, he'll kick my a$$!

From reading his article, I don’t doubt it!

Yesterday

Dynamic effort box squat w/bands, 8 sets of 2 with 30 sec rest between sets

Following that, circuit, no rest between exercises, 1 min rest between rounds, several warmup/light rounds, 4 working rounds:
Cleans from boxes at knee height
DB Incline
Pullups
Glute/ham raise

yeah big dude who doesn't pull any punches

Good stuff.

I don't follow any one trainer or program per se, and certainly am not an expert on this topic. However, I have been seeking information and listening to what people in the training field say. Basically researchers, physicians, and trainers with the information based on large sample sizes (test subjects) for the researchers to smaller more personal anecdotal results from the physicians and trainers. Just see what they tend to agree on.

Anyway, they all stress basically what you listed.

1) Good form. I listened to 3 or 4 in a row, who individually said that they rarely if ever see a person in a gym do a back squat correctly. Either learn to do the back squat correctly with less weight, or choose a different exercise. I don't do back squats but thought it was interesting.

2) Don't over train. IIRC, I think two days of rest was not enough for most people. It can take a physical and mental toll on some. Demotivates them.

3) If you want strength, you need to lift heavier weights near failure. Or to failure. But you don't need that for fitness or longevity. Choose the goal.

4) We need to build an aerobic base, at least for things like backpack hunting which can be long endurance events (depending on hunting style). Lifting weights and heavy rucking actually won't do that, if you get into Zone 3 or higher where you burn glycogen. We need to get our bodies efficient at fat burning which is a limitless energy source for most, and you get better performance at lower heart rate. I don't understand all of it, but now I am starting to understand why athletes in certain sports spend 80% of their training at low intensity and only 20% at high intensity. However, most people I know do the opposite which is the "no pain, no gain" mindset!

Cool stuff. Thanks for mentioning it.

J

I was dealing with some sort of flu/cold/crud last week. Stayed out of the gym and just did my best walking the dog as much as possible. Usually for 45 minutes, Zone 2.

Got back to the gym today and it was great.

Leg press
Squats, double kettlebell
Mountain climber
Bent barbell rows
Lat pulldowns
Kettlebell swings
Zone 2 for 55 minutes on bike, plus 15+15 minutes on foot

I definitely noticed a difference on the bike, so maybe not fully recovered from the flu. To stay in Zone 2, I check heart rate. And I know my simulated ground speed for a given resistance level. I could tell I was working a little harder to maintain speed today, and it showed with elevated heart rate. Before that, I was making 1 MPH gains per week at the same effort level.

Go slower to go faster. I thought I was doing a good job at Zone 2 in 2022 but was actually pushing too hard. Have made more progress so far in 2023 than all of 2022, based on speed, resistance, and HR on the bike. Just took some simple observations and adjustments instead of doing things willy nilly

Another day as a gym rat...

I normally go to the gym every other day but the PNW Sportsman's Show is tomorrow so I did tomorrow's workout today.

Chest dips
Upright row
Shoulder press
Zone 2 - 45 minutes, partial trail running; additional 30 minutes on foot

Check out Uphill Athelete's site, tons of really good info on there; if you really get the bug- their book Training for the Uphill Athlete is worthy reading

You are correct for endurance "events", which would include most of backpack hunting, you should be building a very solid aerobic base which translates into the vast majority of you hiking/running/biking/etc should be in Zone 2 (basically being able to converse normally at that pace- not a stroll, but not all out either)

HIIT type workouts definitely have their place, but a lot of folks for some reason want to skim over the Zone 2 stuff (not as sexy????)- the literature is saying else wise.

Yeah there's a ton of free info on Zone 2 but I'll check that out, thanks.

I know from my personal experience that my performance has improved by going slower. Measured on the stationary bike (HR, resistance, speed). Performance keeps going up, at similar HR.

Only thing that seems to be debated is duration. Some claim a minimum of 45 minutes. Others say longer. I think six hours per week is still not considered much but anything is better than nothing.

Zone 2 training is supposed to help with resting HR and longevity. Almost like the human body was designed and optimized for it

Today is Sunday, which is my day off. On Saturday I did 60 minutes of Zone 2 with the dog to get some bread from a local bakery. My wife made some good stew, so I shagged my ass over there to get the HR up.

Friday was spent at the PNWet Sportsman's Show. It was great talking to industry people. A lot of walking on concrete but not a workout.

I'm a gym rat on M, W, F. On T, Th, Sa I do something outside. I need to get off of my ass and into the woods though. I really appreciate the pictures that some of you guys post.

Had another good week- 36 miles (ranging from 3 miles to 8 miles) with a good dose of ascent- 257 miles for the year. We (Tiny Elvis and I) took a finger ridge up to the top of a small peak vs the trail- I knew we'd get into some rock, but it was brutal! We eventually made it to the top, but crossing that one off my list forever!

Two solid strength sessions, one more workout and I'll be on another cycle- adding weight across the lifts.

Did 30mins on the bike and intervals for 10mins. No booze still and seem to be dropping LBS.

Just did a 45min 40lb ruck on Friday.

Still no booze. Still dropping lbs.

Snowpocalypse and lingering cold kept me a bit sidelined but still got two days in at the gym and four days outside last week. Did a little more trail running. More like intermittent jogging, keeping track of HR. Good test of balance on snow and ice

Finished the week off with a bang yesterday, 11 miles (2000') snowshoeing in really poor snow- lots of post holing, sometimes to my waist!!! 38 miles for the week (294 for the year). I usually lift Thursday/Sunday- lifted Thursday but was in the mountains yesterday, so will get the second lift in just a little.

Squats, deadlift, goblet squat, sled drags. Sprint intervals and light rucking

Watched a couple of buddies set PR’s today

595 squat
495 for 3 reps squat

I’m injured just spectating

😎

Nice pics warden. Living the dream!

I did a bunch of kettlebell swings, and then sumo squats yesterday. First time doing sumo squats. Holy crap I can feel it in my legs today.