I'm trying to get myself in shape for this fall. I've been running and using the stair machine with a backpack. I don't have a mountain for hundreds of miles or even a tall building with stairs. I know it's not optimal but that's all I got. My question is do I work with increasing weight or increasing my distance. I'm currently at 55floors with a 20lb pack.
Flat lander
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EYJONAS!
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Work at increasing both. Strength building exercises are actually going to benefit you a little more. Maybe mixing in some different workout forms to change things up will be good to. Trying some HIIT routines will benefit you as well. Recovery strength is a big one too. Try the 22s from Mountain Tough it's free on their website and see how you do. It only utilizes your body weight.
Coming from you and considering our past conversations on here that's funny
I do strength training and core exercises also
In all seriousness, if there is anywhere you can go, even if it’s not a mountain, just somewhere kind of rough, and hike around with a weighted pack that would help.
I wouldn’t go crazy with the weight without gradually building up to it. Don’t want to hurt your knees before season.
I wouldn’t go crazy with the weight without gradually building up to it. Don’t want to hurt your knees before season.
Lmwmihunter76
Active member
What MTGomer said. I would increase the weight slowly increase distance as you can on stair machine. If you have access to a treadmill you can put the incline all the way up and walk with your pack on. I also think that doing some weight training would be great, do simple movements, that work more than 1 joint at a time like squats, bench press, lunges ect no need to waste your time doing biceps curls unless you want to impress your lady friend 
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FYI i am a PT so I do have some knowledge about this
.FYI i am a PT so I do have some knowledge about this
Lmwmihunter76
Active member
Last summer I found a local sledding hill and put my pack on with the boots I was planing to wear and hiked up and down the hill for miles it was definitely boring though.
My hunt partner is 67 as well. He uses a treadmill with a decent incline as well as walks gated roads in his area. NW MT - Libby area is 3k elevation. We go elk archery and rifle mainly and that gets us into the 4-7k range. No one wants to sweat while hunting... counter productive, especially during archery so we're pretty good at pacing ourselves based on the distance and elevation...
I think endurance is key... Packing out game is a PITA either way... it's a one foot in front of the other walk for us.
Anyhow, my two cents.
I think endurance is key... Packing out game is a PITA either way... it's a one foot in front of the other walk for us.
Anyhow, my two cents.
huronmtns
Well-known member
You could also use bleechers as steps. Maybe find them at your local school or University.
Thanks for all the advice since I live in the middle of nowhere mn trying to find bleachers that I can access is going to be tough ( all the schools are pretty tough to gain access to ). I'm trying to do the best with what I have available.
If your treadmill doesn't have incline button put the front end up on some blocks. Add more weight each week and go to the local high school football stadium stairs and walk those up and down. That's the tallest thing in our town and I figure my taxes helped pay for them so I might as well use em. Maybe a call to the School administrator or School board pres will help if they keep them locked up. Figure out which one is an outdoorsman first and ask him or her
LCH
Well-known member
I run a little bit, but I find that even one 10 mile-ish hike every week or two helps me tremendously. I am not even halfway to 67 though.
I would focus on building the weight up to 50-60 pounds & figure on carrying @ 35 max on the hunt. I focus a lot more on squats than a stair machine. When hunting season is close, I do a ton of squats holding dumbbells straight out in front of me. 8 lbs in each hand & I try to do 4 sets of 50 throughout each day. You'd be surprised at how hard that is. In my opinion, the 3 most important things for mountain hunting are: legs; cardio; core
R
rwc101
Guest
Crank up the grade and resistance on an elliptical. Low impact so you're not sitting on the couch at home with an ice pack on your knees when season starts.
Pucky Freak
Well-known member
Walking downhill with weight uses your muscles differently and different strain on ligaments too than uphill or flat. Make sure not to exclude this from your training. Gullies, ditches, stairs in a house, dock sections set at an angle, you may need to get creative, but it’s worth it.
RidgeRoamingRichard
Well-known member
I like to do simple movements with my pack loaded close to as full as I'm loaded coming out of the woods. Lunges, squats, box step-ups, side lunges...there are a lot of exercises you can do with just your pack and a surface to step up and down on.
