Your backcountry training regimen

[AvidIndoorsman]

Whatever you do you can't out train a bad diet...I've tried and it shows every time I step on the scale.

Things like Wilderness Athlete and Mountain Ops are designed to separate you from your money...if you want to increase protein either eat more lean meat or find a protein supplement that doesn't cost as much and has cleaner ingredients (Iso whey vs a "proprietary blend full of crap").

Time on your feet is probably the best and cheapest way to train. If there is a hill...climb it at your own pace. If you're tired...take a break. No need to go to Crossfit or be an Ultra Runner.

Sir you leave my cheese and thin mints alone.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Like I say running isn’t for everyone.

I hated running for a long time and then I figured out it was because I was running in a way that made it miserable for me.

I run stupid slow, and at a pace where I can comfortably have a conversation, I also can't do more than 10 min on a treadmill it has to be outside. It's now one of the parts of my day I look forward to the most.

I think that's kinda the key, figuring out a "work out" that you genuinely like and look forward to makes it way easier to stick with long term.

 

[MThuntr]

Sir you leave my cheese and thin mints alone.

I mean I had a thin mint blizzard at DQ last week. It was glorious

 

[MThuntr]

I run stupid slow, and at a pace where I can comfortably have a conversation, I also can't do more than 10 min on a treadmill it has to be outside. It's now one of the parts of my day I look forward to the most.

This is really important in getting distance...somehow if you're operating at like a 4 (maybe 5) of 10 in effort you can just keep going for miles.

Also treadmills were designed as a torture device for prisoners...need I say more. A friend has a fancy treadmill that automatically changes angles that follows iFit videos and those make it ok to crank out 3-5 miles but I tried an 8miler last week and hated every moment.

 

[Nameless Range]

Whatever you do you can't out train a bad diet...I've tried and it shows every time I step on the scale.

So true. A good breakfast of Chicken Fried steak with gravy, eggs, browns, and toast runs about 2,300 calories. And that's just breakfast.

I am in the best shape I have been in since I was 20, down 45 pounds of body fat and up four pounds of lean body mass since November, and I would say 75% of that has been changing my diet, utilizing a block system that is based on a calculation against lean body mass and a multiplier based on activity level. Sounds like a PITA but it has actually been really easy, and after over a decade of trying and failing and thinking I can outwork my diet is the first protocol I feel I can stick with in perpetuity.

Though I still have a CFS once a month.

 

[OntarioHunter]

This is really important in getting distance...somehow if you're operating at like a 4 (maybe 5) of 10 in effort you can just keep going for miles.

Also treadmills were designed as a torture device for prisoners...need I say more. A friend has a fancy treadmill that automatically changes angles that follows iFit videos and those make it ok to crank out 3-5 miles but I tried an 8miler last week and hated every moment.

When the gym is open I do three miles on treadmill, usually under forty minutes and no running. If I forget to crank the elevation to ten degrees, it is miserable. Shin splints wipe me out in short order. Makes a BIG difference, for me anyway. Otherwise my feet are slapping against the tread. I too hate the gym. Very sterile and stuffy. Most of the people there are not my kind of folks. Also I find if I hit the weight room before treadmill I have less problems with shin splints and second wind comes easier.

 

[SAJ-99]

I run stupid slow, and at a pace where I can comfortably have a conversation,

As I tell my wife, if you can have a conversation while doing an exercise, it ain't exercise. In the running style you describe, your knees take the pounding but your cardio doesn't get the benefit. Basically, all the bad, none of the good.

The last 6 months I have determined my running days are over. It does put stress on the joints over the decades. Now I mostly do Peloton stuff. Very good for leg strength, but I'm still trying to figure out how to get the same cardio benefit as running. Just doesn't feel the same.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

As I tell my wife, if you can have a conversation while doing an exercise, it ain't exercise. In the running style you describe, your knees take the pounding but your cardio doesn't get the benefit. Basically, all the bad, none of the good.

The last 6 months I have determined my running days are over. It does put stress on the joints over the decades. Now I mostly do Peloton stuff. Very good for leg strength, but I'm still trying to figure out how to get the same cardio benefit as running. Just doesn't feel the same.

The best part about running alone is you don't have to worry about what anyone else thinks and you can have some time to yourself.

I run a couple of 1/2 marathons and thought about ultras, but I hate the antagonism in events. I hate marathon stickers on cars as much as Blazer hates NR hunters.

I've kinda decided if I set a goal like a marathon or ultra I just plan out a run and have my wife come pick me up when I'm done or do a long loop.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

As I tell my wife, if you can have a conversation while doing an exercise, it ain't exercise. In the running style you describe, your knees take the pounding but your cardio doesn't get the benefit. Basically, all the bad, none of the good.

The last 6 months I have determined my running days are over. It does put stress on the joints over the decades. Now I mostly do Peloton stuff. Very good for leg strength, but I'm still trying to figure out how to get the same cardio benefit as running. Just doesn't feel the same.

Had a nice chat with my mom and my uncle this morning.

Couldn’t tell you what these heart rates mean

Maybe it’s exercise maybe it’s not I have no idea and don’t really care.

 

[SO7mm]

99.9% of your elk hunt will be spent hiking without weight. So do exactly that at least three times a week. 4-8 hours each time with no less than 1,000 feet of vertical gain. Go for long hikes at low effort. Then start including short but high intensity uphill sessions during your hikes. That's all you need to do. You need strong legs and lungs. Hiking with a ton of weight adds unnecessary strain to the joints. I don't know about you, but I want to be packing out elk when I'm 80. IMO the crossfit-style workouts (mtn tough) get you fit for one thing: crossfit. Upper body strength won't hurt but the emphasis should be placed on cardiovascular endurance. Which, as someone else pointed out in this thread, can take a long time to build if you're not fit.

Archery elk hunting in the mountains is a lot like mountaineering in terms of the fitness required. You can find a number of mountaineering training plans online. All of them will emphasize training the base (long and slow) mixed with high intensity anaerobic work.

I've switched from always hiking with weight and going too hard to something similar to this (I'm hiking more frequently and trying to get to 10 hours a week, 1,000' a hike still being the goal) and so far it's been great. I'm 50 and the constantly hiking with weight is hard on my back and legs. It's surprising how much my endurance has expanded with low effort training. I'm just now working in some 30 second bursts into my routine.

Uphill Athlete has some good books and information on their website that crosses over well to mountain hunting if your looking for something to read.

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

The last 6 months I have determined my running days are over. It does put stress on the joints over the decades. Now I mostly do Peloton stuff. Very good for leg strength, but I'm still trying to figure out how to get the same cardio benefit as running. Just doesn't feel the same

Same here I gave up running long ago because of my knees. It was a hard thing to do because Its not something I did to stay in shape i enjoyed running tremendously. But came to the conclusion I have a lot of life left and I need my knees. So I replaced the running time with other outdoor hobbies. To this day my cardio has never been the same. Just no way to replicate trail running around 40 miles a week.

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

I hate marathon stickers on cars as much as Blazer hates NR hunters.

As a current runner I hated those stickers as a retired runner I hate them more. Lost all my respect from a running standpoint if u have one. Look at me I run...shoot you in the face with a taser!

Sorry to any offense if you have a sticker on your car but loathe them i do. Probably because I can't run anymore and your rubbing it in.

 

[SAJ-99]

Had a nice chat with my mom and my uncle this morning.

Couldn’t tell you what these heart rates mean

Maybe it’s exercise maybe it’s not I have no idea and don’t really care.
View attachment 181190

I say that previous comment in half jest of course. I'm not sure I could have a legit convo at 160bpm. Below is a good source. I agree that it doesn't matter if you are getting results. But the right results might depend on what the person is trying to do and where they are doing it. I feel like I am in "no man's" land when not running. I can build strength and some endurance, but cardio seems to be slipping. The ability to process O2 at altitude is hard to develop other than getting your body used to working on less O2 without collapsing.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise-intensity/art-20046887.

 

[winmag]

99.9% of your elk hunt will be spent hiking without weight.

I'm very curious how one goes backpack hunting without actually carrying a backpack. An example. Lets say you go on a 5 day hunt, you only walk around in the daylight, and daylight is 12 hours per day. So that's 60 hours of hikeable time. 0.01% x 60 hours = 36 minutes...and that's round trip, so 18 minutes each way. This would imply that your camp is at most about 1 mile from the truck. Also this would imply you didn't kill anything that you had to carry out, which is reasonable since you're 18 whole minutes from the truck.

A reasonable daypack with weapon, optics, clothes, and food is 20 pounds. 20 pounds on your back at 11,000ft is definitely noticeable. Most backpack hunters never go anywhere without their day pack.

I do agree that carrying heavy weight all year will just beat your knees and shins to pieces. Staying in shape year round helps a lot, but that can just be staying strong and not fat. Crushing cardio in February for a September hunt is totally useless. Unless you're a big ol fat guy that needs to cut a bunch of weight, just lift weights year round then ramp up the cardio 4-6 weeks prior to a hunt for conditioning. It takes far less time to build cardiovascular fitness than physical strength and muscle.

Above all, mental toughness will get you farther than physical fitness. However pushing yourself with physical training also builds mental toughness.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

I'm very curious how one goes backpack hunting without actually carrying a backpack. An example. Lets say you go on a 5 day hunt, you only walk around in the daylight, and daylight is 12 hours per day. So that's 60 hours of hikeable time. 0.01% x 60 hours = 36 minutes...and that's round trip, so 18 minutes each way. This would imply that your camp is at most about 1 mile from the truck. Also this would imply you didn't kill anything that you had to carry out, which is reasonable since you're 18 whole minutes from the truck.

A reasonable daypack with weapon, optics, clothes, and food is 20 pounds. 20 pounds on your back at 11,000ft is definitely noticeable. Most backpack hunters never go anywhere without their day pack.

I do agree that carrying heavy weight all year will just beat your knees and shins to pieces. Staying in shape year round helps a lot, but that can just be staying strong and not fat. Crushing cardio in February for a September hunt is totally useless. Unless you're a big ol fat guy that needs to cut a bunch of weight, just lift weights year round then ramp up the cardio 4-6 weeks prior to a hunt for conditioning. It takes far less time to build cardiovascular fitness than physical strength and muscle.

Above all, mental toughness will get you farther than physical fitness. However pushing yourself with physical training also builds mental toughness.

I have do not carry a heavy pack regularly, outside hunting season, I have noticed that being an issue, that said last season my first hunt was in august and I hung up my pack in December, might be different if you just do 1 week long hunt a year

To your point I think my pack on average weights 20 - 45lbs, most of the time.

 

[DouglasR]

I boldly and proudly display 26.2, Taos valley and bridger bowl on the air cleaner of my semi.
KMA!

 

[RSET]

Last season my buddy and I packed an elk in one trip off the mountain and back to camp. Dumbest thing I've done to date. Should have made two trips. Lucky I didn't blow a knee, our put a tine through my leg. I did a full ass over tea kettle 30 yards through a patch of willows with the head on my pack.

Ouch! Did something similar with two mule deer quarters, meat bag, full cape and head. That was painful, but not as bad as with an elk!

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

I boldly and proudly display 26.2, Taos valley and bridger bowl on the air cleaner of my semi.
KMA!

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise-intensity/art-20046887.

I reject the premise that I will age.

 

[ZMT588]

Most of my workouts came from the MTN tough program. I added sand bags when I started to plateau with my progress. I try to run as often as I can. I went too hard last month and I'm pretty sure I have micro fracturs in my tibia from trying to up my mileage too fast. So my workouts have changed to rowing and biking for cardio. Squats and lunges. Low impact everything for the next month or so. I've been hiking a local hill more often, and I've notice a huge difference getting up and down. Some days with 35lbs some days without. Just whatever my legs are feeling when I wake up.