Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting 2014 Fitness/Workout Thread

Duuuuuude, it's so uncool to take photos of me with a hidden camera like that, you should be ashamed.

Strengh
Split Jerk
5-5-5-2-2-1
135#-155#-175#-185#-205#-225#

AMRAP in 10 min.
185# Shoulders to Overhead - 3 reps
53# American KB Swings - 10 reps

79 reps

Did cardio today. Tried out some brand new custom arch supports, seemed to help the ankles.

I have to start posting things aside from just my weight training...I'd hate for them to be worthless....

Yesterday:
MMA - drilling standup defense/angles. Couple of rounds light sparing/technique. 6 2 min rounds hard grappling. 6 2 min rounds hard standup. 1 min rest between rounds.

Today:
Cleans - 1 min rest between sets
Squats - 1 min rest between sets
Hang snatches - circuit - 1 min rest between circuit rounds
Bulgarian 1-legged squats - circuit
Cable abs - circuit

Yesterday hiked a mountain where I hunt sometimes. Saw 7 bulls, felt pretty good about my conditioning. Calling it good and sharpening broadheads.

It's good that you can get that pesky conditioning out of the way in a day. My hat's off to you.

Who said in a day? Forgot, if it isn't posted here it didn't happen.

45min swimming tonight.
Legs felt dead this morning so no run, I'll make up for it tomorrow on the bike and strength training.

I used to train with a Raiders Trainer and an Arena Football team. I also managed a gym on my off days and trained others specifically in nutrition. At my peak I was 250ish and I have been as lean as 6 percent give or take in the 225 range. When gaining or loosing body fat analysis needs to be a part of your weekly routine. The goal is 2 lbs a week gain or loss depending if your dieting or bulking and 1,5 needs to be muscle if bulking and 1.5 needs to be fat if cutting. I would also run sprints and sometimes would get on a treadmill at 20% incline and run 6 miles in a little over 36-40 minutes. The treadmills there go up to 20 percent incline unlike a lot of gyms for larger folks.

That said I have had a pretty severe injury where two discs collapsed and then I was hit by a car crossing a street. The car was doing 45 and I went through/over the windshield. I was fortunate that I am taller and slightly oversized and shattered one leg, some head injuries, broken nose, and some cuts/glass imbedded in my back and face. A few months ago I had what felt like a scab and it turned out to be a piece of glass working it's way out of my ear on the back side.

I am currently 210 and 15 percent fat I bet. My goal is to fully recover from both injuries and do a drop hunt for moose in AK in 2015-16. I am shooting for 2015.

My current short term goal is to regain as much balance and range of motion in my ankle/knee as possible. I suffered from Compartment Syndrome where the injury swells to the point of killing tissue. Both legs had to be sliced and I came hours from loosing them both. Needless to say the surgeon was as quick as he could and as a result I kept my legs but suffered foot drop and nerve damage.

I plan to bulk first since I need to recover the muscle as best I can on the shattered leg/Ti rod side so I can start to walk normally. I plan to hit 230 over the winter and start leaning out in the spring. Ultimately my goal is to be 220-225 at 10%. I know how to get leaner than that but honestly 10 percent is easy to maintain without a lot of extra steps for me. I am naturally not super cut anyway but am lean/skinny so I don't hammer away at the marathon stuff but I know my conditioning will have to be tip top to do the drop hunt so I will lean out more before hand.

The one thing a lot of folks get hung up on is gaining muscle while loosing fat. It is one or the other. If your trying to gain the formula is to eat more than you burn and you can train harder. If trying to loose stop trying to build strength and concentrate on keeping the muscle while shedding fat. You will loose muscle with the fat if going natural it is the basic facts. If your gaining but it is more fat than muscle adjust your diet. When I was training hardcore I would weigh everything and track down to the sugar and cream in my coffee. I once trained my mother who was in her early fifties before her wedding for a month and she dropped twenty pounds and had to have her dress altered twice. Remember the golden rule. There is no such thing as over training only under eating.

When I was running like that the Cardio said my resting heart rate was 32 BPM. The lowest they had ever seen though they see people with heart conditions so I am not surprised. I also have an abnormally large heart with out of proportion chambers so I am needing to go get it rechecked. They said every year and it has been 7 so it is time. I am 32 with a 1 hour commute each way and 3 kids. My goals should be achievable with minimal interruption to the family schedule. Towards the end I will ratchet it up. I need to so I can be sure my back will hold it. Nothing would be worse than putting down a moose and having a back spasm while out there trying to get it back to camp.

If I can help anyone stuck in a rut or with any training nutrition advice please pm me. If I don't have the answer I will get it for you. I have been out of the training world a few years but it used to be my life 7 days a week for a lot of years.

That's right, those are the rules. Plus, you have to give your measurements and astrological sign.

OK, I will take you up on that. What does your typical diet look like when you're training, and how does it change when you're actually in the mountains on a long-ish trip, hauling a backpack?

Grew up in the mountains but this coming trip will be my first long trip hauling a pack. I have some ideas on what I will need and how many calories to consume but we will see if I come back or not. If I am doing a lot of outdoor/hauling stuff my wife makes me some bars with Whey, Iron cut oats, honey, and PB. I think it is a good meal replacement if burning a lot of calories. I am going to go higher on the simple high glycemic carbs during hikes in the mountains. Right now it is tough because I am now living in Raleigh which is about as flat as it gets. Makes it tough to train but as I get stronger I plan to use the Stairs,etc with a weighted pack and take weekend trips to Uwharrie.

My typical training diet for bulking is 5500 calories over 8-9 meals with carb cycling on heavy/light days. 3500 calories to cut spread over the same number of meals. A lot of people get hung up on the types of foods they eat but forget about the timing. If your heavily dependent on Protein to get your nutrition right then Isolate is great post workout due to the rapid rate of absorption but poor before bed because you will go negative when your body is growing the most. Caseinate is a better choice for before bed. I like to go as close to unprocessed as I can now. I used to live on Splenda and instant oats, W100 % whole wheat breads, etc. Now it is Quinoa, Millet, Whole grain Brown Rice, Iron Cut oats, etc. for my carbs. We live off of venison pretty much year round and even my sausage is extra lean with just a little pork shoulder mixed in. I am trying to eat as close to the source as possible meaning as little refinement as I can. It is tough with three kids and a wife that loves pasta/white rice but I do pretty good.

When bulking eating every three hours is key. Olan ahead cook meals and carry a cooler if need be. If you know for whatever reason you are going to eat poorly eat a cup of raw almonds and drink some water before hand. This will help slow down the digestion process. I used to really on cheat meals to speed up my metabolism towards the end when the carb cycling didn't cut it. I no longer think that is a good option and will just go back to increasing a few clean meals to get the spike I want. I went 7 years without cheat meals, alcohol, junk food, etc. Once you get to that point you no longer want junk food and just the smell of greasy food makes you sick to your stomach. I strongly suggest keeping an exact diary of all foods and doing body fat analysis weekly if your trying to figure out your bodies responses. Once you get it figured out if you are just maintaining it gets easier.

I am ju starting again after this longish illness so my body may respond differently since I was laying in a hospital bed so long. From memor because I am at work a typical cutting day looks like this:

Meal 1:
2 cups Iron cut oats dry
12 egg whites
Banana

Meal 2:
Post workout shake
40 grams protein / 60 grams simple carbs
(If I am really cutting I may do cardio on an empty stomach first thing and then eat but I prefer not to because I think eating a big meal when you first wake up is crucial to retaining muscle when cutting)

Meal 3:
1 chicken Breast
1/2 cup cooked Broccoli
2 cups of cooked rice

Meal 4:
100 % Whole wheat bread -4 slices
1 chicken breast sliced
1 tab mustard

Meal 5:
I pack of Tuna / 5-6 oz Salmon
half a head of Romaine
Grapeseed oil, olive oil, etc. 1 tbs

Meal 6:
6 ounces of Venison
1/2 cup of cooked broccoli
1 tbs olive oil ( sometimes I would substitute Yogurt butter, etc.)

Meal 7:
6 ounces lean meat
1/2 cup of veggies
1 tbs healthy fats or almonds

Meal 8:
40 grams of caseinate
raw almonds

Bed


This was when I was cutting and still eating more processed foods. I plan to alter this some but it took me some time to figure out I was not getting enough calories. I went form being stuck at 10 % at 205 +/- to bulking to 250 to leaned out at 225 in 5-6 months with a nutritionist after a few years on my own. A professional was not cheap but it made all the difference in the world Now I see the so called nutritionists and trainers at the gyms and they look like high school kids running a software program like Apex Nutrition just getting a print off and charging insane prices for it. Most people stuck in a rut are either calorie deficient or their timing is off.

Plus if you look at all the diet fads the one thing they have in common is they cut your calories below what you burn. The goal for me when cutting weight is to get 200 calories less a day than I need. I also am careful to not try and make strength gains when dieting. It really is as they say 80 % diet. Look at all the folks you see sweating day in and day out at the gym and a year later they still look the same.

The other big thing if your stuck conditioning is to do sprints. They helped me get a lot faster and still build muscle. The other thing I wish I could afford right now is bouldering. It will work your body in ways you couldn't imagine but the local climbing gyms are super expensive. I have thought about trying to build one in my backyard but just the grabs and holds are pretty pricey. Watch some of the World Bouldering Tournaments and you will see what I mean. Guys swinging on one arm and gliding up the face of rock to catch maybe two fingers on a nub 6 feet up. I went once when I was in the best shape ever and this skinny little kid that worked there put me to shame. I was trying to muscle through it and when your clinging to an expanse with a 1"x1" nub for one foot and nothing for the other with just a few fingers holding you you quickly realize size isn't everything and there are a lot of muscles that are hard to hit when training just at a gym. The way the kid explained it was my arms might be stronger than his but his whole body was stronger than my arms. It is interesting to problem solve through a route and I would spend an hour on one little short distanced which probably seemed boring to top ropers but it was a challenge to me.

One last thing for all the P90Xers etc. Look at HIIT training from 15 + years back and it will look very familiar. I am glad these new catchy training programs are getting attention and helping people get into shape but it is not new. I am open to any of the more experienced back pack hunters who can help me design my training to be less body builder and more conditioning and useful strength. I freely admit I was trained in that size matters and that was the end goal. Now I want to be healthy and conditioned and able to handle the rigors of a 2 week backpack hunt with just the gear in my pack.

The one area I think I need to modify is the size one. I am probably almost as strong and way more useful at 210 o even 205.
I have it in my mind to pack a moose alone I need shear strength but maybe not. On soft / loose ground the extra size may be a hinderence. Like I said I freely take any criticisms of my strategy and any suggestions. I may try a Auodad hunt in the spring before hand just to see what kind of shape I am in. I believe some posted here of a diy ranch in Texas.

Well, in reading your posts above, there's a lot of stuff that seems to apply to body-building, i.e., bulking and cutting.

I'm no expert, but here's my take. For backpacking, you want strength and cardio without unnecessary bulk. Some guys work on losing weight and building strength/stamina leading up to the season, but to my mind it's better to stay in shape year-round than try to work your way into shape. So more of an even-keel approach than bulking followed by cutting fat.

Also, for backpacking you'll want to work on strength in areas that are probably different from body-builder training, focusing on core: lower back, hips, abs, obliques, and legs etc.

One of the things that helps me the most is to just load up a pack and hike off-trail before the season. If you have hills to traverse, so much the better.

It's easy to eat right at home but much harder when the weight of your food becomes a problem.

Those bars your wife makes sound good, if you don't mind sharing the recipe, I'd like to see it, I'm sure others may have good ones to, post 'em up guys.

It is an easy recipe a jar of honey, two cups of Isolate ( I know this is against what I said before but the protein content is about double what whey is in the same scoop, 2 cups of oats, and two cups of Natural PB I believe. I agree my prior history is more BB and sports related. That's why I am adding in Bouldering if I can. Nothing tells you what your capable of like the soreness afterwards. I was in peak shape and went the first time and woke up with weird muscles in my back and legs on fire. I hurt for a week. Usually after training for along time DOMS disappears. The only hang up right now is the gym is something close to 200 bucks a month. I might just try and go once or twice a month for now. If you have the shoes and chalk bag it is cheaper. I don't need a harness so there is some savings there.
I still need to get a good pack and also another set of boots. My loggers style RF boots are good for stability but not so much for hiking. I might try the Danner Afghan boots. They seem to be a good value if a returning GI has them in the box in your size. I think I saw them going for about 150 which if they are as good as I have heard is a great value. I hate I missed out on the Kennetrek deal a few months back. I am also thinking that I shoot ten + deer a year here so getting a good pack frame and packing them out would help some. Even if it is less than a mile but back in the swamp. Might be a good workout. I usually take them out on my shoulders or in a quick drag full weight because I hunt the same areas for 3-4 months and don't want to mess up the area. I might try some public land hog hunts in SC with a pack and try camping out there. I may be moving to SC for work anyway. Just want to give myself the best advantage I can. It looks like you are only allowed 50 pounds for a ten day drop hunt for moose.

I am also going to train with a buddy that does some interesting workouts. Befoe my accident I start training with him and he works out for thirty minutes to 45 with no breaks tri setting etc. and his final sets are up to 100 reps. He goes heavy but is a monster. I had always been taught that this type of training is counter productive but I made great gains when doing this. I think this is more on the conditioning side too because when I was really big I did poorly at this type of routine. I will say though that when I was larger I would help some loggers cut firewood and I could lift the larger logs that two of them couldn't and still be clean afterwards. They used to pick on me because I didn't get all covered in dirt but I would do it for ten plus hours a day so maybe I was more conditioned than I thought. I wish I lived somewhere I could go off on hikes for a day or more. Nothing like it back home taking a small pole and chasing brookies all day up in the mountains sometimes 15+ miles from a road.