I mailed in my elk application today----time to get back to the gym & the stair climber. I do it every year----I start to workout when I mail it in & quit after the season is over.

If you are in your 50's or older, I'd suggest you workout all year long. I had to learn that the hard way. E

I started doing 14ers with some hiking buddies to get into shape for elk season, last year I did 12 I hope to at least match that this year. There are 53 in the State!

Excuse my ignorance, but what are 14ers?

I'm 56 and my wife and I hit the gym 365 days a year. Its a way of life and the payoff is immeasureable.

14'er are mountains that are > 14,000 feet high...sort of the "gold standard" for guys that tromp up and down the hills....if you hunt 14'ers you can call yourself a Manly Man in many ways. It's funny how thin the air gets up there...after about 8500-9000 feet the oxygen/air seems to just vanish.

Speaking of 50 and over. Two things I have noticed:

1. It takes longer to get in shape.
2. When you stop exercising, it doesn't take long to get out of shape.

My hat is off to the year round exercise guys. I know I should do it but just haven't made the commitment.

LOL, we don't have many much over 3000 feet high!

But I have the same plan as Bob and plan to be out and about in Snowdonia in the spring and summer in preparation for my hunt in Scotland in the autumn

The mountains in Snowdonia are not on the same scale you guys get, but can still be quite challenging..

I started working out year-round when I was 35.

Before then I was half-assed about it during the winter months here in Montana, and usually didn't get serious again until April. Even then the big push came in August.

However, there is nothing like actual hunting to put the final edge on things. Unless I'm hunting big game earlier than usual (say Alaska in August, or a moose or sheep permit here in Montana), regular upland bird hunting in September, including mountain grouse, really helps when it comes time to kill bigger stuff in October and November.

I've been keeping up year-round for a while now, with hunting season as the motivation. I don't bird hunt to get in shape (although that sounds good), but do some "tune-up" hiking/backpacking trips for high country trout and scouting new areas.

I am considering spending my sheep points for a ewe tag in the Sangre de Cristos.

Whether successful or not, hunting at high altitude in September sure helps later on during the elk hunt.

How many sheep points do you have?

I think it has been a year since I actually checked. The tag I like took 3+1 last year. I probably have that.

I wish I had done it year round when I was young. I would have had fewer injuries, and would now have less arthritis.

Yeah, but it is about the same vertical since you are starting near sea level. Don't forget the parking area for a 14'er might be at 11,000 feet. My office is at 8150.

You've got that right. E

Funny, I was thinking back to when I spent time in mountainous regions of Austria and Germany. I spent a bit of time walking at around 6.5k to 7.5k and it was actually very "civilised" with a good trail network, sunny weather, and relatively easy terrain. Some of the ground was obviously steep, but a lot was high alpine meadows and forestry, it wasn't until you got much higher the terrain became really spectacular...

Me too. I'm 63 and I realized several years ago that I couldn't wait 'til May or June timeframe and still get to the level I wanted to by the time elk season came around. I've told my wife it's a good thing I started elk hunting about 22 years ago...it just about requires me to stay in shape.

The sooner one makes a workout regime a daily routine, the better it will be. Mix it up, inside or out. But there are no days off, whether its 100* or -25*.

well I hunt predators all winter here MN and usually keep in fair shape. This winter sucks, the wind seems to be just howling all the time. Today we are in a blizzard warning and the sun will be shining all day. But with 50 mph winds could be bad traveling. That said there is know way of being outside to walk on days like today. That means the gym. I hate tread mills!!! Have on in the basement but do not use it enough. Last year shed 50 lbs and walked lots. Hunting was easy compared to the year before. Where I live now there are some hill to walk and that has really helped. My elk days are numbered and I have just started to hunt them. Will be 57 this summer and plan on hunting them till I can't. Hope that will be 20 years from now!!

Beware over-training without adequate recovery. Even professional athletes take days off. And the older you get, the more important recovery is.

I'm 71 and if I lay off more than a week or two of hiking/hill climbing or stairmaster it's back to square one. And because I'm serious about my workouts, I am still able to hunt. The old saw about use it or lose it couldn't be more true for me.

Yup. I'm talking a day off, not a week or two, and with activities like hiking, it's not such a big deal.

I'm 59. I workout 3 to 4 times a week. Every other day. I do 30 minutes on the stair climber, 200 crunches & 20 minutes on the rowing machine. In the summer, I'll hike mtn trails & cut about 5 cords of firewood. Come September it a little grouse hunting then elk hunting. Then, I veg out watching football & the holidays-- 10 lb gain. I hit the gym when I submit my application in the mail. Now, its off to the gym.

44 here and I am able to workout over my lunch. I do it everyday but do different activities so I can recover. I ran a marathon in 2011 before elk hunting and I had more pep up the mountain than when I was 22.

I thnk the key is to commit to doing it as part of you regular schedule. I almost always look forward to my workouts but even when I don't I'm happy I completed them when I leave the gym. If you are new get help from a trainer. If your motivation is gone sign up for a class as you'll build relationships that will help hold you accountable. Pretty soon you'll feel so good you won't want to stop.

I envy your total. We did Mt. Elbert, mainly because we were in the area and Elbert being the 2nd highest in the continental 48. Can't wait to get back. A couple of good books on the 14ers, "Halfway to Heaven", and "Colorado 14er Disasters".

At 61, if I don't workout here in the winter, I really flab out. I try to get in an hour per day minimum, combining elliptical, walker and bike. I don't intentionally take days off from the routine, it just happens sometimes. Spring, Summer and Fall, I am moving enough to keep in shape (mowing, rowing, swimming, walking, etc.), BUT it is harder and harder with age.

I'd like to clarify what I said above about needing a day off. I was referring to resistance training or weightlifting where you push yourself. This doesn't apply to aerobic workouts like elipticals, treadmills, etc. unless your doing some HIIT workouts.

I started running 5k competitions a couple times a year after I started elk hunting.

I did this, not because I'm competitive, or particularly good at it, but because having a competition in March keeps me focused in February.

I still end up making a "summer push" to get into elk hunting condition, but its nice to have some interim goals to stay focused on not being a fat-arse.

I even ran a 1/2 marathon once for the same reason (would have never done so, were it not for elk hunting).

more recently, I've taken up doing sprint triathalons. Still not competitive, but it works for me.

I am 68 and required knee surgery (both) in December. Up until that I worked out daily since leaving the service in 69. I am doing a tremendous amount of therapy each day, and my doctor says I am progressing faster than most men 1/2 my age. I help manage wild land fires in the summer, on the fire line, I am committed to being ready for that, and hunting season. Already have an elk tag in Wyoming.

Well I was walking 3 miles a day every day started back in Sept- by Dec, I was feeling pretty good about it, then I broke my ankle, and well I am now back to square one. My doctor told me that its going to ache for some time to come and that what ever I do, go easy with it. Oh well, spring will be here in a week. Its 13 weeks since I broke it- I going to start walking again in another week or so. I have to check with my Doctor when I go in for a check up on tuesday. My Moose and Elk hunting is in my past now. But exercise is good for you just the same, I find I sleep a whole lot better if I do. Since I am more or less a flat lander, going way up in the High Country hunting is pretty much out for me. I may get a bike and do some of the local daily running around on that. Can't hurt!

54, but I who's counting?