Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Physical Conditioning/Training

Rick, my wife(she hunts too) and I ride bicycles to get and stay in shape. We ride the bike trail along Hwy 33 regularly. Our end of Sulphur Mtn road is close and has a good steep climb of about 1-1/2 miles at the beginning. Just riding to the top on a mountain bike is a good workout.

There have been more deer seasons than I care to remember that started with neither of us in shape. With a 6 week season you can get in shape while hunting. Just don't kill him opening day! My wife and I killed two together opening day on two different occasions. It happened in the same canyon about 8 miles from the truck both times. I was younger then and it really soured me on killing two at a time! I avoid it these days. We hunt the back country and pain and exhaustion is part of the game anyway.

You ought to come up to the Rose Valley range and shoot rifle silhouette with us Saturday. There are several local deer hunters that shoot the match. Bring your deer rifle and 40 rounds for the match plus a few rounds for sighters and be there at 9:00 AM. Actually you can bring 20 rounds and shoot half the match if you like. We are a loose group and don't take the shooting to seriously. It is the best practice there is for a hunter. We are mostly all old and shaky so you could probably win too! Ask for me.

There is a lot of wisdom in these posts about a subject that will almost certainly have more to do with long-term enjoyment of our sport than what rifle, scope, or load we use. There is not much to add, but I would reinforce and elaborate just a bit.

Don't wait any longer than absolutely necessary for your big adventures. The marginal toll of an additional year increases with age. I'll be 69 in two days, and the difference I feel between 68 and 69 is much larger than what I felt between 58 and 59. I'm still going fairly strong, and have the philosophy that I want to wear out rather than rust out. But some things I did three or four years ago are more daunting now. In 2007 I backpacked the Chilkoot Trail (used by the gold rush stampeders to get from the coast of Alaska near Skagway to the headwaters lakes of the Yukon River) with my stepdaughter. If she asked me to do it again next summer, I'm not sure what I would say.

Unfortunately, for many of us, financial maturity doesn't come until our physical capacity is waning at least a bit. I didn't do any international hunts until I was 57 for that reason.

It is really important to control what you can about staying in shape so you can get the most out of your love of the outdoors.

I'm 63 now and have been retired for four years now. I workout with a bowflex Extreme 3 times a week and also use an elliptical machine. The elliptical really gives me a good cardio workout and strengthens my legs. I have had shoulder problems and the Bowflex has helped a great deal. My Chiropracter has helped me with recommending the right routines, and I go to the Chiro once a month for maintenance.

Best advice in the thread, but like he said, you've gotta ease into it. Start with about half (or less) of the "main page" workout and only do it every other day. Heavy barbell work, like that prescribed in Mark Rippetoe's book Starting Strength, is a good place to begin for a couple of months, then transition into Crossfit. Get a Concept II Rower, it is the best "cardio" machine, bar none.

My dad is going to be 70 this year and we're going elk hunting this fall. I got him going two years ago before he went elk hunting and the guides couldn't believe the terrain that he could go through and that he walked circles around men over 20 years his junior. He has bad knees so i got him working on the ark and biking along with some resistance training ( just the machine circuit). He is probably stubborn enough to try and hunt with my youngest who just turned three! I guess I'm trying to say if you have the will you can do it to although you might need a shot of rooster comb in your knees every six months.

Rippetoe's book is great. For some pithy comments search "the wit and wisdom of Mark Rippetoe" Great read!!

High intensity training, for short periods, with moderate to heavy weight produces results. Most pure endurance folks are weak as little girls.

Fight Gone Bad 230. Crossfit total 560. Age 61.

Several triathlons a year as well as being a heavy truck mechanic keep me going pretty well. In any activity...hydration is the key!

You don't have to give up running to save your knees, just choose your running surfaces wisely. After starting to develop knee and ankle problems a few years ago I switched from running roads to mostly trails and the problems went away. I'm 52 and have been running for 12 years. Usually 30 minutes to 1 hour 3-4 times per week.

Two words--HIKE UPHILL. That is the cardiovascular workout one needs. Doesn't wear out knees, don't have foot problems, doesn't create ankle problems.

Besides, hiking downhill is also important for conditioning.

Riding a bike is also goo--but don't do it exclusively because it does not condition your muscles for hiking in the same way.


Unless you're planning on chasing down the game and biting them in the neck, I highly discourage running--wears out your knees and othe body parts......



Casey

Yep, and unlike running, uphill-downhill hiking actually strengthens the muscles and tendons that we use when hiking uphill and downhill when hunting!

Nothing wrong with hiking but I will sure dissagree about running wearing out your kness. I am 53, have been running trail ultramarathons for over 20 years and can still pack 125 lbs of elk meat on my back. I also know of a lot of others including a friend that is headed for 85 and still runs mountain 50k's and will put most guys in their 20's to shame in the hills.

Trail running strengthens the same muscles as hiking only quicker. That said, nothing prepares you for carrying a heavy pack in rugged terrain like carrying a heavy pack in said terrain as part of your training.

Ed my hat is off to you! Anyone that can do an Ultra has no worries with conditioning...

I'm 69 and ran until about 6 years ago. I have severe degenerative arthritis in one knee and moderate in the other. Running is very painful and the knees do not bend as they used to. Walking and bike riding are OK, so that's what I do.

For every study you find that says running is bad for the joints, there is an equal number that concludes it does no harm or is bennificial. Running on pavement is much harder on the body than running on trails.

When you are at least a couple of hours from some "hills" and 12 or more from mountains, its hard to hike uphill with a pack...

And as to running, it gets my cardio in shape like no other so far.

I think not all knees are equal because of genetics or who knows what else. I enjoyed running for over 25 years and found it was a very efficient way to get good exercise. In my mid-fifties I developed swelling in one knee that did not respond to conservative treatment. I had arthroscopic surgery for a torn meniscus. At my check-out visit, the orthopedist told me I could go back to running if I wanted to, but he could almost guarantee that I would be back for another surgery within two years. So I went to low impact types of exercise. I decided to play it safe to keep my knees going as long as I could. At 69 I've had no further knee trouble and have continued to do some pretty strenuous adventures. I have no doubt that giving up running was a correct decision for me.

But I also realize that others may not develop the problems I did. I sometimes see guys that look to be quite a bit older than I am out running. I'm somewhat envious.

Al

So Right!!!! Since retiring from "Corporate America" 20 years ago, my 2nd career has been in fitness and wellness, 1st at a service academy, and now in the private sector.... Dr has advised knee replacement, "you'll know when your ready". Best thing I ever did was give up running and track workouts!
Now I do 4 days a week of high intensity spin bike training, and 2 days wk. high intensity canoe workout, in a racing boat!
I certainly don't need traditional strength or core work. I have found what you found, and what I advise my customers...
Find what works for you, and leave muscle beach to the kiddies!
I hunt like i always did at 64!

Article summarizing some research studies on running and joint issues. Conclusion - maybe running isn't so bad for joints after all.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1948208,00.html

Everyone I know that has had knee replacement has been over weight there whole lives. I'll take my chance having strong legs and being lean. I think one thing most runners overlook is stretching and a mid foot strike which helps take a lot of the impact out of running. My knees feel much better now that I'm running than they did before I took it up!