Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Getting in shape for BP hunting

Hilarious. On the trainers, every gym I've belonged to here in Colorado (3) has a wall with their photos and bio's, including their (minimum) 4-year degrees, certifications, specializations, and years experience. Lots of 'em are my age and have made a successful career out of it, because they get paid well.

Funny that you poo-poo the concept of trainers and in the same breath say that what's needed is someone well-versed in crossfit to train with.

I still say that for a guy "on the road back" possibly with lingering injuries, finding a trainer with knowledge of injury prevention and re-hab is more important that knowledge of crossfit.

Kevin:

If you don't mind and if you do that is fine. What injuries did you sustain in the accident and what lingering effects? Are you overweight? Do you know how fast you can walk 3-4miles on the level? How far can you jog? Do you know how many pushups you can do non-stop? How many pull-ups? How long can you do jumping jacks? BP? What is your max heart rate before you have to stop?

There are fairly well established normals for all of the above and almost any certified trainer can establish a base level of fitness quickly by putting you through some basic testing of the above and some others. Find answers to the above and go from there. If you are overall below normal, start with a basic fitness program. The sad facts are that todays accepted normal doesn't even come close to what most are capable of, especially with the over 50 crowd. If you are better than normal, then slowly advance to the more intense efforts such as cross fit or some variation. Programs such as cross fit require a dedicated personal commitment of time and effort. They are not for everyone, nor are they necessary to spend safe time in the fields or mountains. However, no doubt they have immense benefits.

Medical advice on the 'fire certainly is not one of it strong points. Occcupied California has it faults, but close proximity to sound fitness advice isn't one of them.

Wishing you the best of outcomes in your efforts to get back into the mountains.

Excellent article on fitness, trainers, strength, and injuries:

http://archive.mensjournal.com/everything-you-know-about-fitness-is-a-lie/

Understatement of the week. :p

Guy in his mid-50's is seeking to make a comeback into backpack hunting after a multi-year recoop from an auto accident. The answer? Start a barbell intensive training routine and get into a training program where Olympic lifts are measured for time in an ultracompetitive gym environment.

Brilliant! :p

I'm not the Lyle McDonald or Alwyn Cosgrove of the 'fire. I make no bones about it. I read a lot, I notice a lot, and I've exercised in one form or another my whole life. I'm a ham and egger.

You know what I see as the difference between guys who maintain/create great fitness through middle age and those who don't?

The patience to take a new program slow. Are you going to steadily work through the program and allow your body to gain the underlying strength necessary to allow progress or are you going to flail yourself into submission without making much progress.

The ability to stay healthy. Are you going to make slow, sure steps toward fitness or are you going to work yourself into an injury or such a state of disgust that you give it up after a few weeks/months? The latter is the rule rather than the exception in a lot of cases.

The ability to stay on course and make exercise a natural part of life. A group or web forum or a structured program will help a lot with this. Every New Year's the gyms are filled with people of the best intentions and every spring the gym offices are littered with cancelled membership forms.

I may not be an Alwyn Cosgrove but I'm bright enough to see the the difference between a life changing exercise program and just another injury laiden trip to the couch is found in getting a good program and slowly but surely making the necessary changes over time.

There are so many variables in what your program should look like. What is your fitness background? What is your current height and weight? What injuries put you down for so long? What is your natural temperment (do you dive into things and need someone to dial you back or do you struggle with motivation- or are you somewhere in between)?

Maybe we should have a little more info before making sweeping generalizations about the specifics of the program. Cause you want my opinion? There are roughly 184 programs I can think of off the top of my head that will work for you but they all will require different abilities and motivation. Getting to a good weight and staying healthy will be the backbone of any of them that will work.

Will

Smoke,
As a former special operations medic (like TAK) and an avid crossfitter (again, like TAK), he makes some very valid points. Of course EVERYBODY'S body and injuries are different, and like another fella said here about getting medical advice on the web...well he said it perfect. One thing I do know from a decade of dealing with guys who perform at a very high caliber all the while wearing 60-100 pounds of crap, is that muscle fixes.
My genetic disposition is to be skinny all over except a spare tire in the mid section. I wasn't blessed with natural strength of any kind. I tend to be naturally ok at running, but that's it. Nothing, and I mean nothing when it comes to fitness comes easy to me. I have two damaged rotator cuffs from Ranger School, a slipped disk from Airborne ops, and a really painful neck from I don't know what. Olympic lifting combined with anaerobic activity has changed my life. Day to day activities are easier. It almost feels as if my brain synapses are faster. My shoulders, where once I wouldn't have dared think of pressing anything, hardly hurt anymore. My back hurts when I don't work out, when I do, it's fine. Simple as that. Again, we are all different, but don't count out CF type conditioning. There are other programs out there, but CF is the easiest to get into and most prevalent.
I literally just walked in from a hike on the Grand Mesa in CO. That is 10k in elevation up there. I live in the Willamette Valley at I think 200 feet elevation. Of course I was feeling the change, but due to the almost extreme amount of anaerobic conditioning that being a regular at a CF gym entails, I felt great and didn't have to rest any more than I would have if I was on the AT back home in Tennessee.

ETA- some of this type stuff may have been stated already, I just don't have the attention span to read this thread in all it's glory.

Your statement Re: trainers is no less subjective than mine.

My training consultation experience consists of a I-AA / FCS college strength coach north and smidge west of you yelling in my ear. Maybe that colors my perceptions a bit.



If your feet are hard enough to walk all day with a pack on steep terrain in stiff boots and not blister, then you're probably where you need to be.

As for other super helpful forum members pointing out that the OP should better characterize his physical issues prior to taking any advice, well, thanks there Captain Obvious. The OP is asking a forum full of folks from varied backgrounds about physical training for hunting. One would expect going a variety of responses, and those responding with their own experience trust that OP is going to vet the responses prior to jumping off the deep end.

Woodhit:

I've previously read about the fellow in Jackson Hole and what he has done with others. Wish I had someone like that around home. I don't agree with entire substance of the article-it was mainly directed towards the under 50 crowd, as most are-but he made some strong points. An example were I don't agree is going for your one time max. It is a recipe for injury with the older crowd. Sooner or later you will hurt yourself and us older ones will take longer to heal. If it happens the week before a hunt, you just may be sitting home. Like most things tho, I came away with some ideas that I will incorporate and give them some effort and time.



Will,

Great post. It was what I was trying to say. You did a much better job.

With age, I'm stiff or sore someplace most days of the week. Exercise is part of why, but things would be worse if it wasn't an almost daily part of my life. I may not hurt as much, but I wouldn't be able to do what I now can. This fall I'm hoping to help a young friend and his Dad pack out a Moose. I won't carry the weight he does, but it will be an adventure I'm looking forward to. Without a daily exercise commitment I would most certainly miss out on the experience.

Yours truly,

Captain Obvious or pick whichever you like

It is also obvious that he wasn't asking about general physical training for hunting. Facts are he was asking about training that would apply to his current out of shape condition. Which indicates he doesn't know what direction to take and thus may or may not be able to differentiate varied responses. If only obviously.

In the end, some real willingness to just get out and do it really helps. And keep making it harder. I have a conditioning hike (with long-range shooting as the carrot) that I do... I've been strapping extra weight to the pack for the last mile of steep uphill lately. This was yesterday. That's madrone, about as dense/heavy as oak. That chunk weighs 25-30 pounds.

I do think having a carrot helps a LOT. Something fun that you earn with the workout. And as I said before, muscle pain is to be welcomed. Means you are getting stronger. But starting from a hole so to speak is tough; there's so much potential for injuries that screw up the whole program.

Best of luck to the OP.

Agree with the exception of keep making it harder. If by that you mean everyday.

I wouldn't until I have gained the stamina to do so or my mind said now is the time. Used to be every effort was max and I got away with it "back in the day".I recovered quickly, but those days are gone and it probably wasn't all that bright even then.

Nowadays there are max effort days and days where I just try to push myself without feeling washed out at the end. Again, usually your mind will tell you when to hit it and you body will tell you when to cut back.

To to OP: A rowing machine is an excellent piece of equipment to invest in if your legs, shoulders and back are ready for it. Works the muscles and the cardio. You determine the pace and resistance. I have one in front of the TV. Have recently literally spent hours on it while watching recent Olympic events.

However, every little bit helps. Just keep moving and you will be surprised at what you can accomplish.

I REALLY agree. Whatever your work outs are, welcoming pain helps a lot. In some strange way I have come to almost need the lung busting feeling crossfit gives me. Damn near adictive. If I don't have some body part that is sore, I feel lazy.

Exercise has been proven to be addictive, once you make it a habit. In this case for the most part it is a good addictive habit.

Yeah, for me at least, it has become something more than that. I think it is the deeper meaning Mark Twight is referring to when he calls his gym 'salvation'.
I was some what addicted in the Army to running. Now it seems to be some ritualistic spiritual cleansing via pain or an escape. Like I said, thats just me though.

Truthfully it's all about me. I just like to be able to do stuff. Nothing metaphysical about it.

I can't see what your response below adds to mine, but it does infer that OP's going to go blundering off to the squat rack and hurt himself. I'm giving him a bit more credit than that.

In addition, I gave him a lead on a very thorough resource on barbell training: one that will ably direct him on how to decide whether or not it's right for him. The content of the resource includes direction to professionally diagnose and treat injuries and conditions prior to taking the plunge.

You pointed him toward a rowing machine. I'd argue that rowing improperly with no instruction is more likely to hurt Joe Average than working through a good resource to learn barbell exercises.

I qualified the rowing machine with "if your legs, shoulders and back are ready for it", combined with he "determines pace and resistance."

I disagree with the rowing vs weights as far as potential for injury, at least from my personal experience. I have had more nagging injuries with weights than rowing.
However, I could be wrong, just going on what has happened with me. Rowing done smoothly is fairly innocuous to the body. Admittedly rowing pushed to your limits can be stressful.

Just wrapped up a good workout and feeling rather fine.

It's not subjective at all. I've hired 4, and as I said, I've never had a bad one.



I would tend to agree with that but I don't agree with what you said earlier, which was that if you expend the effort to break in a pair of boots, you'll have all the "mountain cardio" you'll need.

I do OK in the mountains, but at 10K+, no matter how I train, I always find myself wishing I'd trained a little harder.

Use it or lose it. It's really that simple.

I tore a hip up bad in a ski wreck circa '87. Nuked the stuff under the butt muscles that attach the backside of the joint, and partially tore loose the tendon where the quad attaches... not good. By the mid-90's it was KILLING me. I had a sedentary job as a technical writer and after that, my job required lots of standing around on a poorly padded concrete floor. Point being, at that time, I was literally starting to research hip replacements-- in my 30's-- because it was real bad and getting worse.

So what fixed it? Skiing! Basketball! Getting the muscles around it built up. Seems totally counter-intuitive but being sedentary made it worse, while pounding on the damn thing made it better. With, granted, some real pain in there in the process.

Anyway the moral I took from it was stay active, and as battue says, it's gonna hurt, but being inactive hurts at least as much, and, you lose the ability to do the stuff that gives life it's JUICE.

+1 on biking. A good ride with some hills is great interval type training. You can add a viscous resistance trainer and have good workouts at home with spinning videos. I use a couple from Chris Carmichael's CTS outfit.

Supplement the cardio with strengthening. This article has a section about the four exercises to prevent injury. http://archive.mensjournal.com/everything-you-know-about-fitness-is-a-lie/5

-Doug

Joe: Thank you for your service, and thank you too, Take-a-knee. As a 54 year-old who has re-habbed a couple injuries and who hunts in the mountains every year, I've learned a few things too. There's lots of good advice on here, most of which was not contributed by you, me, or TAK. Like the suggestion to ride a bike, or load up a pack and hike, or get your feet tough enough to hike all day.

It's all good, and I'll say it again, there is no one "right answer."