Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Cardio and strength training??

Riding level and paved is not the ticket, not even close.

Mountain biking without car exhaust up hills low gear standing and grinding away is the answer. Not good in winter, but then much like the brutal hockey training an exercise bike or seasonal gym membership with bikes can get you through those months.

When my son was very young (3-4) I bought a kid trailer. I rode 15 miles with him in that trailer through a mountain trail used by horses and joggers every day with him. We rode rain, flurries and the rare sunshine days in the cascades. Had to get an HID headlight with the short days of winter. It became our routine together.. I have over 13,000 miles on that Santa Cruise bike now. The odometer was a challenge to see how many miles a month I could put on. When he got too big I bought a 1/2 bike that has no front wheel. It clamps to the seat post of the mountain bike. Now at 12, he powers along with me on his own bike. My days are numbered, I can see now he will be waiting on me before too much longer!

I also had reoccurring flu like symptoms, overuse (actually under recovery) injuries, and had plateaued physically. But CF swore that you can't plateau with CF, so I continued. At 6 months I started using my brain again. The love fest with the WOD stopped. I realized to get better that I needed to get stronger. That durability is a huge part of fitness and that your body can not recover and repair when going truly all out every workout, every day. Soon thereafter I was also introduced to another program that was researched, developed, validated and implemented by a sister organization with the help of the best coaches, organizations, and sports medicine professionals in the world. That program found that there was a lot right about CF and a lot wrong with Crossfit.

Along those same lines, you (living in your body every day) are in a unique position to know your particular strengths and weaknesses. So maintain your strengths and put some serious effort into your weaknesses. Most people do the opposite, and rationalize away their weaknesses. They "don't really need cardio" or "don't really need to be stronger". If that is really true, great - if not, why not focus on the things you need to improve on?


There is a difference between pain and injury. Pain is good for you. Not only is it an indication that you are pushing yourself, it conditions you to dealing with pain which many people are really terrible at. "No Pain No Gain" doesn't mean go out there and pull a hamstring but power though it. It means to push yourself. Listen to your body but don't be a pussy. The two are not mutually exclusive.

I think my saying that hiking the mountains is the best way to prepare for hiking hard whole hunting left a lot open for interpretation. Throughout the year I train as often as school and work permit, usually 5-6 days a week, and so far it has helped me immeasurably with the demanding physical aspect of mountain hunting.

..... however I want those who believe that hiking in the mountains is the best thing for getting in hiking in the mountains shape, to think about that if doing a sport is the best way to get physically better at the sport, why does any professional sport have gyms and put so much emphasis on strength and conditioning?

Okay Poot, post some data on your "power". Deadlift, powerclean, 400m run time etc. Better yet, deadlift your body weight ten times, run 400m three times for time. I can do it in a little over seven minutes, and my "cardio" sucks right now. I can stay on a bicycle for two hours without an issue as well.

Or to put it another way, "Okay T_A_K, post some data on your times for the Leadville 100"

T_A_K, with all due respect, we're talking about hauling your ass around in the mountains.

T_A_K, with all due respect, we're talking about hauling your ass around in the mountains. If Poot's program allows him to do the Leadville 100 multiple times, and "cover tons of miles hiking while elk hunting in Colorado without getting out of breath," who cares if he can deadlift his body weight ten times or run three 400M's? Is this the Crossfit forum?

Or to put it another way, "Okay T_A_K, post some data on your times for the Leadville 100"

I think the thing that most folks lack is a good endurance base. Think of fitness like a pyramid. The bigger your endurance base the higher you can build the pyramid. The way you build strength (height of the pyramid) is through interval training, the problem is you won’t see big gains in interval training unless you have a good base to build off of.

Cycling is probably the best way I know to build a big endurance base while keeping it low impact on the body(easy on the knees, etc.). How do you build a big base? You actually don’t go hard. You ride lots of easy miles for multiple hours at time. Literally for a few months, you don’t go hard, you just try to ride at a moderate pace for more than 2 or three hours at a time. This phase of training actually teaches your body to use fat as fuel source and not sugar/carbs. Fat is the endurance fuel. Sugar and carbs are short lived fuel sources. Also, you are increasing your mitochondrial density during this phase which will allow your legs to go for hours without burning out.

You can build a decent endurance base on a mountain bike, but it is difficult at times to keep your heart rate at reasonable level (but this depends on your terrain). Most Mountain bike racers do their easy base miles on a road bike. You can also do it on trainer, but you will need movies or something to keep you from going crazy.

If you do base miles for a few month and then start to do intervals you will be shocked at how fast your fitness grows. Mountain biking is the ultimate way to do intervals as the terrain typically forces you to peg your heart rate to get over tough sections. Once you have done intervals for a month, with lots of good rest days between the interval days, go back to a base training regime for another month. If you do this periodization a few times in a year you will be stronger than you ever imagined. If you feel you are run down and not gaining, got back to a base training phase and let the body recover. Then hit another interval phase, etc.

You can do this same regime hiking and running and it will have the same affect, but cycling seems to work very well.

If you have road bike use it! If you don’t, try to do your mountain biking on easier trails for your base building phase.

I have completed the Leadville 100 five times and this recipe works for me. Not to mention it has given me the ability to covers tons of miles hiking while elk hunting in Colorado without getting out of breath. This certainly helps when it’s time to pull the trigger and you aren’t gasping for breath!

I realize that base miles take a lot of time, but if you are serious about getting fit……..you need to do them! They will change your life……

That ain't EVER gonna happen. To be able to finish a 100 mile race and not be crippled, you've already long ago moved away from a scientifically definable definition of fitness. See the 10 attributes above.

Endurnace base training will make you way more powerful in Crossfit. Every "fast 100 yarder and 400 yarder in the olympics does piles of base miles......there is no way to get that fast without em!

TAK, If you do a good period of base with your crossfit you will improve by 50% in crossfit. I gaurantee This!! It makes that much of a difference.

Most people are pitifully weak, and their situation does not improve with age. Strength does NOT come from endurance training of any kind.

Um... Hell no, and no.










Um.... Again, no.




Chronic distance running is a disease and is just as bad, scratch that, worse than blind belief in Crossfit.

Poot,

what in backpack hunting is aerobic endurance in nature?

1. Maintain strength all year with barbell work 3 days per week. Your "workouts" should leave you a bit nauseous if you're doing it right. You won't get nauseous unless you are doing standing exercises with a heavily weighted bar on your back or in your hands (squats, deads, press, cleans). Other lifts and exercises are strictly and completely window dressing. You control ultimate size and strength gain with your diet. Proper technique is mandatory; do not rely on a "trainer" or crossfit gym to teach you to squat and clean. Get real familiar with a video camera and the rippetoe book, or find a real strength coach.

2. In the summer, train by hiking with and without weight on steep ground until your feet, ankles and calves are tough enough to last a hunt on mountains without blister or injury. Do this, and your "cardio" will have taken care of itself.
seasonal gym membership with bikes can get you through those months.

Um... Hell no, and no.










Um.... Again, no.




Chronic distance running is a disease and is just as bad, scratch that, worse than blind belief in Crossfit.