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

Not sure if this thread will keep going or if we should start a new one for 2015...

But, I got my first workout of the year in this morning so here goes:

Every minute on the minute for 20 mins
Odd minute
Row 20 calories

Even minute
jump rope 120 reps

I completed the whole 20 minutes, but only met the specified reps in 7 of the minutes. 4 rowing and 3 jumping rope.

Consult with the Penguin, and get back to us. I've just been doing lower body/core stuff, and cardio. And walking in the snow trying to keep up with the dog. Pheasants have been yarded up in the thick stuff so he's been all over 'em and hard to keep up with.

Just went back and read the opening posts in this thread and was amused to remember this:



I'll be doing re-hab from the shoulder surgery and trying to keep the cario/lower body/core strength where it needs to be for a mountain hunt this fall.

Overhead Squats
8-6-4-2-2
95#-115#-125#-135#-155#

Every 3 minutes, complete 2 rounds of:
� 10 overhead squats
� 10 chest-to-bar pull-ups

Increase the number of reps for each movement by 2 (10, 12, 14, etc) every 3 minute interval until you can not complete the rounds. Score is total number of reps.

Made it through round 1 and 1/2 way through round 2 for a total of 60 reps.

Power Cleans
3-3-3-3-3
135-155-155-165-165

Max rounds in 3 minutes of:
� 135 pound Power cleans, 3 reps
� 6 Push-ups
� 9 Squats

Rest 1 minute. Repeat for a total of 5 cycles.

16 rounds.

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 14 minutes:

20 Sit-ups
15 pistol squats (banded)
10 Hanging knee raises

4 rounds

Every 25 seconds on the 25 seconds, execute the following:

For 5 minutes:
Muscle Clean and Jerk 65% of 1RM, 2 reps

Rest 1 minute

For 5 minutes:
Power Clean and Jerk 70% of 1RM, 2 reps

Rest 1 minute

For 5 minutes:
Squat Clean and Jerk 65% of 1RM, 2 reps

Athletes should use there Clean and Jerk 1RM to estimate their loads.

70 reps total. 135# for muscle and power sets and 95# for squat sets.

1hr 45min on bike trainer tonight.

Fight Gone Bad�

Three rounds of:
� Wall-ball, 20 pound ball, 10 ft target (Reps)
� Sumo deadlift high-pull, 75 pounds (Reps)
� Box Jump, 20″ box (Reps)
� Push-press, 75 pounds (Reps)
� Row (Calories)

In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute.The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. On call of �rotate�, the athletes must move to next station immediately for best score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.

232 reps.

That takes dedication.

I used to alternate high intensity workouts between a trainer and rollers but 30 min was about my max.

45 min strength training last night.

Another 1hr 45min on bike trainer tonight. Its low intensity so it isn't too bad. Backside gets a little sore with that much time in the saddle after a 3 month break.

Next week the intensity picks up but the time decreases to 2 days of 1 hrs and 1 day of 1.5 hrs. Plan I follow is for 6wks. I haven't looked at what follows that.

Squats sets of 8: 225,275,275,295. Getting closer to 3x8x315, which is good enough.

Cleans: 6 x 205 twice, then 5 x 225. Will stop at 3 x 225.

Vek- That's burning diesel! Jeepers. Well done.
You were right, I have never know what it's like to be truly strong.

Anybody use Stronglifts 5x5? Thinking about starting it next week and run it for a few months with the biking and running.

If you are a lifting novice (e.g.not already squatting twice your bodyweight), focused effort to gain strength requires a simple training plan consisting of squats, deadlifts and presses (bench or standing, alternating each workout). Three hard sets of five of each, three times a week. Increase weight incrementally, each workout (like, 5-10 lbs per workout). No other supplemental lifting is required, but some chinups are allowed. When you start lifting heavier weights, there will be some perfunctory warmup sets at lighter weights required, and these don't count toward your standard three sets of five reps.

This will work if you eat way more food than you think you should, and get lots of sleep. If you let it run its course, you will increase your working sets of five to something along the lines of 1.75x to 2x bodyweight in squat, 1.25x to 1.5x bench press, and 2x deadlift. This can be continued until the linear gains (consistent increase each workout) slow down a bunch, and that won't happen until you hit the numbers above. None of your pants will fit.

This will not work if you do not consume (or wear, in the form of lots of excess fat) lots and lots of food, get less than lots of sleep, or force your body to share resources (e.g. recovery from your little exercises) instead of dedicating all of them to recovery from your strength training.

Litany of Excuses for Not Getting Strong:

1. "Oooooh! I'll get too fat!" No schidt, you will gain fat weight. It burns off nearly as easily as it goes on once you change your strength work to maintenance, change your diet, and add back your little cardio exercises.

2. "I don't want to give up my super-duper-primo cardio conditioning." If you want it back, you can train it back, and it will come back a whole lot more quickly than it took to gain the strength. Maybe your neat little long distance run times suffer a little, but you're now twice as strong or more as you were. Strap a load on and see if you notice a change then.

3. "I walked an NFL linebacker into the ground on a hunt so I don't need to get strong; muscle just gets in the way." You are possessed of unfixable stupid.

4. "Squats are bad for you." You are possessed of profound unfixable stupid.

Other things:

Once you get your body to this level of strength, if you lose lots of it due to training suspension, it comes back VERY QUICKLY without the super duper food needs.

There is absolutely no reason that you can't start tomorrow on this program and make at least 75% of the progress described above in the next six months, well in time to change the diet and develop strength endurance necessary for hunting season.

Don't bother with any of this if you cannot give up the little cardio activities which will interfere with strength progress. You can't train strength endurance until you are strong.

5. I have a torqued knee with ACL reconstruction and a torn meniscus that's mildly arthritic and squats with a barbell are painful and therefore not recommended by a few different trainers I've worked with (professionals), even with an elevated heel.

So I'm stuck with a couple squat machines that don't make my knee hurt, and have to lay off even those from time to time.

I do what I can though.

Vek - I just was asking for some opinions from people that have used it.

I am looking for something to increase strength lost from medical issues in 2013. Most came back in 2014 now I'm looking to push it a further. Cardio probably suffered the most so I won't be giving that up entirely but I understand that I won't make the strength gains I could if I did give it up. Something more full body strength than what I do now with body weight exercises and a curl bar. This looked to fit the bill.

Hence, #4 was written "Squats are bad for you" instead of "You are bad for squats"

The 5x5 stuff looks quite the same as what I wrote (stolen from Rippetoe) with a bit more volume. No reason it wouldn't work just the same.

I do think that most everyone benefits in many tangible ways from focused strength training, neglecting cardio stuff as needed for the time duration it takes to get strong. Like I mentioned, the cardio is the easiest to get back. Try getting a larger strength base first before altering training to maintain strength and increase work capacity.

Good one!! Here's a question I've been pondering lately though.

I understand and agree with the need for strength training like you and others have outlined. I also think the best way to get in shape for carrying heavy packs in the mtns is to carry heavy packs in the mtns.

But most of us can't do that as much as we'd like, so we're stuck with the gym. So here's my question: shouldn't the workouts in the gym mimic (as closely as possible) the activity we're training for?

When I read about your workouts and Pointers, I know they're good for building and maintaining strength, but it seems that compared to humping loads in the mountains, they are higher intensity but shorter duration. Humping loads many times seems more like a multi-hour slog that's not as intense.

So my question is, are high-intensity, short duration strength training sessions the best way to train for hauling loads? Seems to me that every now and then, you'd want to work in some sessions that were lower intensity, but 2 hours or so long, to build endurance?