2014 Physical Training for elk, moose, anything

[wapiti792]

Well I have enjoyed different threads over the years detailing workouts leading into elk season. With the calendar turning over to July and (gulp) my moose hunt is under 90 days away. I have started my PT 1 month ago...sadly, I have much to go    

So....

1. Whatcha hunting in the fall that takes better legs than you got now and less weight on your behind?

2. What specific program are you doing ie P90x, crossfit, your own?

3. What are your goals before you go physically?

Here's me: 1. BC moose and spot and stalk black bears in Oct.
2. P90x3 plus daily bikes, runs or swims.
3. I weighed 235 when I started a month ago. I am 225 this am. I want 20 more gone, I want to be able to dunk a basketball again for my son to see (weird), I want to finish a triathlon in August.

Bring it...especially the flatlanders like me who need lots of fitness    :cool:

[Florida bowhunter]

Train every day on my total gym....plus  i run and I do a lot of push ups and pull ups....

[4 point]

Drew a archery elk permit in the breaks in montana. Walk 3 miles 3 times a week with a 80 pound pack. I'm on my feet 10 hours a day so i'm in fairly good shape but every little bit helps.

[Spookinelk]

Been out scouting for elk the last 2 weekends, hiked off trail 5 miles today at 11,000' with my bow and hunting pack(got some stumping in too). Luckily I only live an hour from some pretty good elk country. I see it as killing 2 birds with one stone, getting in shape and getting familiar with some new elk country! I also do an hour of high incline treadmill three times a week year round. My#1 goal is to be able to get to where the elk are and be in good enough shape to pack one off the mountain.

[centaur]

I do plenty of hiking, averaging 5 to 6 miles every day, and throw in a mountain bike ride a couple of days a week. Some of my hikes are at elevations of 8 to 9 thousand feet, and i try to hit as many hills as I can. I hike with a pack on lots of these hikes, the pack weighing about 20 pounds. I do pushups and chinups, but probably not as many as I should; I need to pick that up.

[IndaTimber]

Right now I'm doing the Train To Hunt workouts, crossfit but for hunters as a lot of the workouts incorporate shooting. I also do some olympic lifting but I try to add the oly lifts to some type of crossfit training.

[straight_arrow]

Mike, will be hunting mule deer and elk here in CO, turkey and whitetail in Kansas. My hunting partners are late twenties and late forties, both as fit a an individual can be.  That's part of my fitness incentive, I'm 64 6' 202#s and fit.  My fitness/workouts are daily 12 mos/yr., not seasonal.  To me that is the key, 12 mos./year.  Hiking almost daily, going as hard as I can, live at 8,700' most hiking is 8,700 to 9,500'. Love to go uphill, hate coming down. Do mix my the duration and intensity of my hikes. Strength is important to me, pushups and curls work best for me. Cant let my partners down, like to challenge them!  Good luck.  Mark

[skunkhound]

Another thing you can do to prepare for the higher elevation is use a training mask during your workouts. From what I understand, they restrict your breathing to simulate the thinner air of high altitudes.

[huntnmuleys]

run a lot.  bike and other workouts as much as possible as well.  half marathon this weekend will be fun.

[robtattoo]

Take a ton of Diamox!  

I started treadmill/climber work earlier this year, but my workload (14+ hrs a day, 7 days a week) for the past few weeks has prevented me from getting to the gym. My goal was to get down from 250 to 230, but in the 8 weeks I have left & sitting at 248, I doubt it'll happen.
I have chronic arthritis in my ankle, so I'm just resigning myself &warning my hunting partners, that I just have to go slow & easy.I'll not be doing the 6 mile, + 2,000' climbs with them.

Know your limitations people!

[red axe]

Submission wrestling, boxing, lifting, and (of course)traditional shooting. Do all this and you'll turn into a wreckin machine! This is my weekly schedule other than work. I try and wrestle and shoot more than anything.

[jhg]

Your age has a huge impact on how and what kind of workout. There is absolutely a contest between recovery time necessary and the maintaining the regularity of workouts that lets you improve when you get older, especially in the beginning.  After 45 it really changes, especially if you are like a lot of us that had life get in the way of keeping up on fitness.

Anyway, one thing worth mentioning regarding elk fitness is how important it is to build an aerobic base over time. The longer you have been building and maintaining that base the easier it will be in the elk woods and the better you will handle the altitude.

Using myself as an example, after three years of training via playing competitive ice hockey, hiking and lifting weights, I found I have a much deeper fitness/capacity than in the beginning. I was fit then, but did not have a really good base built and it showed up on steep climbs.

Like it or not, it took a lot longer to get to that deeper level than a few months of training.
If you are older, its simple. Once you start, don't ever stop. You will reap extra rewards long into the future that you never thought possible if you can build year after year.
 It really does add up to a higher level of fitness, even if day to day you can't seem to see or feel it over the shorter duration training results.

But it will be there, like a reserve tank of fuel, ready when you need it, going after those big bulls in the mountains.

Joshua

[Bob Foster]

I’m heading to Fairbanks on August 28th for 18 days. Combination Moose/Caribou hunt and visiting my 3 grand kids.

Part of my workout includes a 3 to 4 mile hike around the high school track which includes going up and down the home and visitors bleachers each lap. I carry a 5lbs barbell in each hand during the workout which really gets the blood flowing in the arms.
I like going to the track because I can day dream and not worry about traffic.

We don’t have mountains here in West Michigan but we do have Sand Dunes. I put my boots and pack on and go for 5 miles or so up and down to dune trails.

[Machino]

1.I have a MT mountain Goat tag that opens September 15.  I'd like to think I'm already in good shape already being a rock climber/mountaineer as well as a hunter/fisher.  My idea though is to get better at long distance cardio and uphill climbs/mountaineering with little to no stops.  

2.  I have no specific program.  I'm just pushing harder now with a little extra motivation from the tag.  On the 4th, I biked 13 miles off pavement gaining about 1500ft.  Then got off the bike and hiked another 4ish to a alpine lake and summit.   Trying to mountain bike off pavement at least 100 miles a week.  I leave on the 10th for a scouting mission.  It will be a through hike of about 60 miles through wilderness and hopefully summit some peaks along the way.

3. As far as goals, I just want to be in a condition where I can tromp around the mountains without getting tired.  In terms of climbing, I have done some long missions, but the recovery is always hard.  One you get the body to a certain level, recovery is quicker and easier to achieve.  Nutrition is very important here.  You can go all day, but if you don't eat and drink correctly, recovery will be hard.  Eat and drink right and your body will have the ability recover and regenerate better.

Funny enough, I got a book about a week before I got the tag called "Training for the New Alpinism".  It's written by a guy named Steve House who for lack of a better description, is a leader of new age mountaineering.  Lots of good info on training for mountain climbing (goat tag).  Nutrition, Endurance training, Cardio, Mental Fitness, etc. Its gonna be a great fall!

[Paul Shirek]

Going to Wyoming for Elk in September. I ride bike, go on 3 mile runs, run up and down a bluff for 30 minutes and do stepping on an 18in stool for 30 minutes. My goal is 4 times a week but sometimes the recovery time thing gets me. I am 53 yrs, 6'1" and weigh 210. Although I have not been very diligent in the last few years I have worked very hard all my life to be in good shape. I find that even when I let it slip some, I can fairly easily get back to it. My biggest concern in the altitude. It is nearly impossible to prepare for.

[DarkTimber]

I'm hunting elk in CO again this year. (My luck drawing tags has been sub-par the last few years)

I do Crossfit Mon - Fri.  Distance run or climb on Sat and rest on Sunday.

[wapiti792]

That all sounds awesome! I went 20 miles on the bike before work and plan on keeping a two-a-day approach mixing cardio with weight training to widen that aerobic base.

Chime in daily with your workouts! I'd love to see this thread up for motivation. I am envious of you mountain guys. Train the way you hunt! That'd be really cool!

[wingnut]

I'm doing 2-3 miles every morning with 30 pound pack and boots.  Terrain is up and down. Will be adding stair climber in two days a week the last month. It has worked in the past to get me ready for Moose in AK.

Mike

[elkken]

I don't do BIG hunts any more due to injuries to my ankles, but when I did living in the west made it so much easier. I spent the summers hiking in the mountains, riding my bike, playing racket ball, playing softball and when September came I was ready. It was a passive program just doing what I loved to do ... Now I'm 65 and I still ride my bike, hike as far as my ankles will let me, but the days of ball sports are over so I have to make extra efforts on the elliptical and bike now. I envy you guys going on the BIG hunts, but again I am lucky to have areas here in Washington I can go on shorter elk hunts and still see some awesome bulls and if I ever kill one again all my hunting partners will be more than happy to haul it out for me .... In the good old days I never had to work hard at getting in shape I always was in shape from doing what I loved to do.... Good luck to every one this fall and be safe on those BIG hunts !!

[Bill Carlsen]

You cannot out train a poor diet. Once my wife and I started the Paleo diet….basically stop eating processed food, salt and sugar….I lost 20 #s even though I've worked out very consistently most of my life. You will be surprised.