So how do you get into shape???

[MHO]

Put on a pack and get to walking. Also do as much cardio as possible. Ive done the gym thing with work out plans etc. Ive noticed the best shape ive been in is buck as many hills or mountains(depends on were your from) as you can. Increase weight and distance as much as possible.

 

[270 lefty]

I have found that drawing a tag helps with the incentive to exercise. A goat tag I lucked out drawing for in my home town worked wonders for my incentive. The best
exercise was to scout the mountian I was hunting and also running a stash of supplies to my base camp. I live @ 4880 and was hunting 10,000 to 11,000 first trip the altitude sickness got me I wasnt sure what it was, but never had it again on my many trips up the hill. next use a little logic. the goat meat on a big billy isnt the best, but you do need to get the meat to the freezer even if all you do is give it to unsuspecting friends who havent worn out there jaw muscles trying to chew it. So I took a small ice fishing tabogan with me and boned the meat tied it in the tabogan give it a shove toward the truck it would go maybe a hundred to a hundred and fifty yards then i would retie and give it another shove down hill. my friend who was in much better shape than me packed out the full body cape & head. killed the goat @ 7:00 am had him to my taxadermist @ 2:45 the same day
Now I just invested in a long range rifle and make sure my son's one who is an active Marine the other a fitness junky has leave & time off. thats the best solution for us outta shape lazy old farts

 

[davkrat]

Just got back on the wagon after packing on pounds this past winter. Don't know how other parts of the country are but we are like 2 months late it seems for weather. Should be 20 degrees hotter right now. Rain every day of Memorial Day weekend is unheard of in California LOL!

Look in to burpees, the prison work out! No equipment needed and they will flat out ruin you. The basic burpee is a push up in to a squat jump and repeat. Here's a bunch of crazier variations
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqRkfgXOPck&feature=channel_video_title]YouTube - ‪Burpee clip from Brutal Recess DVD‬‏[/ame]

Body Tribe is a gym my brother goes to in Sacramento, all sorts of crazy body weights, flipping tractor tires, swinging lead filled bats, kettle bells, sand bags and not a single mirror in the entire gym! These guys put a lot of emphasis on mobility and general fitness as opposed to body weight and or fat percentage.

I recently started climbing the hill my street is on with 50 lbs. of sand wrapped up in a plastic bag and duct tape stuffed in to an old backpack. It's BRUTAL but so is that first day at 10,000 feet. That combined with squat presses, lunges, burpees, kettle bell exercises and medicine ball twists and planks for the core.

Taking 10-20 pounds off your belly will make a much larger difference than shaving a few ounces by fluting a barrel.

 

[thewileyone13]

Start earlier than you think that you need to. No matter if you start walking around your block, treadmill, stairclimber... whatever just get started. Then advance to using a heavy pack walking and stair climbers work great because you will need those muscles for going up the mountains. Some people use the P90X or Insanity to help overall but a stair climber will do you a lot of good, that or go somewhere that you can walk bleachers/stairs... this way you can get stamina going up and down. I know some people who struggle with their footing coming down the mountains.

Just my two cents...

 

[permaculture]

I have an advantage over some as I live at 6,600 feet A.S.L. and am more used to the altitude. Regardless, hiking from 8,000 to 11,200 with a big pack is hard work. I was in a t-shirt last year hiking in a light snow flurry I was working so hard at it.

I am not specifically training for elk hunting but more of a general, overall fitness. Many may respectfully disagree with my approach, but this is something I am doing in coordination with my doctor. I get regular check-ups and blood tests as part of a larger solution we are working on.

First of all, I have stopped running long distances on a regular basis. My opinion from my research is that the type of trail running I was doing, chasing the 147 lb marathoner from work did more harm than good. It possibly raised my cortisol levels too high and made putting on muscle too hard. I may run 3 or 4 miles once a week, but that is it. Instead I try to perform 30 seconds sprints up a hill at max effort for up to 8 sets, though recently 4 or 5 is all I get.

2-3 days week - bench press, squats, dead lift. I try and max out one day/week.
2-3 days week - shoulder presses, power cleans into a push press, bicep curls, weighted pull-ups.

I also bought an Army 3 day assault pack and loaded it with pea-stone. It weighs about 38lb. I brought it to work today and walked about 2 miles during lunch up a loop with a hill. I will do this several days week. I work in a company with a casual dress code and can wear shorts or change/shower if need be during the summer.

I plan on doing hill work from my home with the same pack - maybe with more weight. I can hike a butte near my home that has a 200-300 foot 35% vertical rise and go up and down like stairs. I also take the pack to the soccer field with some dumbbells and do farmer's walks with the dumbbells and the pack.

I will continue to mix it up. I used to do Crossfit style workouts but no longer do. At my age, packing on muscle is very hard so that is my focus.

I also have a contrarian diet that makes people at work cringe. I eat an ancestral Weston A. Price diet similar to paleo but not quite as strict. I eat lots of saturated fat and shoot for 50% fat intake. Bacon, sausage, eggs, coconut butter, coconut oil, coconut milk, real butter, raw unpasteurized politically-incorrect milk from the farm, grass-fed beef along with vegetables and fruit. I take the FDA food pyramid and flip it upside down. I avoid grains and legumes but do eat them on occasion, often when travelling for work.


Though the focus of this thread has not been nutrition, for me, that is a big part of how I am living my life these days and it is part of how I am getting in shape. I am new to the forum and don't know the average age. What might be appropriate for someone 22 years old might not be for someone 62. For comparison sakes, I am 42 years old, 5'-11" @ 178lb.


PS, OTC tags go on sale July 12 @ 9 AM. Less than 12 hours from now.

 

[permaculture]

being respectful continuing the exercise content from the http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f86/good-pack-elk-74582/index4.html thread a more appropriate thread.


BrowingLover - I said I report back on the squats and here it is. Last Wed I worked up to 4 sets @225 and the # of reps were 10, 7,8, 5. At one point I thought my eyes were going to pop out, at another point my nose felt like it would bleed. I followed up tonight with 4 sets of 7. I have safety bars but am still a little leary of dropping the weight if I can't get it up. I have worked my way up to 300 for 1 recently, but never over 5 for anything significant. For squats I feel a big difference between 5 and 10 reps, unlike the bench press. I have a torn disc and two herniated discs in my back so proper form is key. One might argue not going it at all is better but I feel a stronger core helps my back.

The 37lb pack is working out well too. I can handle more weight in it but I am not sure what the pack can actually hold. The pack is a 3 day Army Assault pack (surplus).

I dead-lifted 370 tonight. That is an all-time record for me and over twice my weight.

 

[Browninglover1]

Permaculture

That's awesome that you are squatting that much. I found the same problem that after 5 reps I found it much harder on squats. The way we got around it was to make sure we always got to 10 reps, even if it meant that we had to drop weight. We found that more reps with less weight actually helped us out on the mountain a lot more than higher weight and lower reps.

Set a specific goal and keep working at it. Maybe do 4 sets with 185 pounds till you feel comfortable, or do two sets of 10 at 225 pounds and then drop down to 185 pounds for your last two sets. As you mentioned proper form is everything. When you get to the higher reps it is very important your form stays good or you can really hurt yourself.

Let me know if it helps you in the hills. I know it made a huge difference for me and my hunting buddy.

 

[permaculture]

I addition to general fitness, I have to short-term goals.

The first is the 300/400/500 of bench/squat and DL

The second is to get a washboard stomach. A "very opinionated expert at everything on another forum said it could not happen after 40 years old." I plan to prove him wrong.

I think tomorrow night I will back down to 205 and go for 4 sets of 10. I will probably do this for 3 more weeks then change things up to a crossfit style.


I will do descending sets from 10 reps to 1 with 95 lb. I can't press 155 like in the video unless I throw a lot of leg into it and maybe 3 is my max. So, I will do:

10......1 of

• 95 lb thrusters
• 2x push up
• 2x situp with abmat
• 1x dip
• 1x pull-up

I really like the MtnAthlete.com and MilitaryAthlete.com workouts. I used to do those for a while. I like to mix things up.

 

[Browninglover1]

I'm a long freaking ways away from a washboard stomach and I'm still nowhere near 40 hahaha However your expert can kiss it!!! I worked out with a family friend that kicked my butt in everything we did in the gym. He did over 100 pullups in one night between our chest workouts; he can outlift me in every single workout; he has one of the best 6 packs I've ever seen and he's 61

It was honestly humiliating to get out lifted in everything,and above and beyond that have him look better too; at over 2 times my age. Oh well..... it shows you can do it

 

[Snubbie]

Well I'll weigh in with my experience. I started getting my middle aged body in shape about a year ago, mostly motivated by keeping up with my 5 year old. Started walking then walking/jogging then mostly jogging. Lost 20 pounds, felt good.
This year, anticipating deer season this fall and a mule deer hunt out west next year I really ramped up the jogging. Now I only run about 4 miles at a time, so I'm not talking long distance here. Long story short, I developed knee pain and now have a torn meniscus and bone contusion underneath that. Surgery is scheduled for Aug 12.
This injury is common amoung (young) athletes but us older guys(I'm 50) can get it by pounding our joints continually.

My advice for getting in shape is do what you do while hunting. Hike with a loaded pack. Pack it up and down the hills.

Leave the joint pounding from jogging alone. Not worth it. You can get the same results without this much risk to your joints. Even if you're fit and exercise regularly, us middle aged guys aren't 20 anymore and need to take that into account.

 

[MHO]

I live at 7400 feet so the altitude does not bother me. Starting walking UPHILL/ stair climber. Once you get your cardio built up then throw on a pack and keep increasing the weight. Start earlier than later. Make sure you hydrate a lot before hitting the mountains. It will help you with the altitude. Most important work on your cardio.

 

[KurtB]

For those considering running, I strongly suggest going to a running store and dropping about $125 on running shoes. I am fairly big at 6'7" and 230 pounds and once I started buying shoes designed for my body size, the aches and pains in my joints went away.

I like to mix up running with carrying a backpack and 40 or 50 pounds. That and lifting weights 3 to 4 times per week have me in elk condition at age 45 still. Living at 6000 feet helps as well, as does high altitude fishing trips during the summer.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

Let me start out by saying that I am 69 years old, 2 time cancer survivor with a colostomy for the last 16 years! I am a former college football player whose playing weight was 235-45. I have also had a total knee replacement 8 years ago. Nuff said...

I do a walking program near my place here in SW Colorado and got serious about training about 18 months ago. I go to the gym 5 to 6 days a week and concentrate on stretching/flexibility and cardio work. Spend about 15 to 20 mins on the eliptical stairmaster and 45 to 60 on the treadmill. I use the "hill" program of various elevations at 3.5 to 4.0 mph. My walking program is done in the pm (after am gym work), usually after dinner. My route is 3.5 mile r/t and the last 1/2 is all uphill to my home, Takes about 1 to 1 1/4 hr to cover. (I also live at 6800. )

I have dropped 55# and want to lose another 10 before my September Thorofare Wyoming elk hunt. I also do some trail and cross country work. I completed a 12 mi r/t trail hike to a backcountry wilderness lake that I made in 8 hrs with an elevation gain of 3500 ft (from 8000 to 11,500).

Bottom line is it can be done, just takes time, dedication & perserverance. Oh yeah...helps to be retired with lots of time available!

 

[permaculture]

I'm a long freaking ways away from a washboard stomach and I'm still nowhere near 40 hahaha However your expert can kiss it!!! I worked out with a family friend that kicked my butt in everything we did in the gym. He did over 100 pullups in one night between our chest workouts; he can outlift me in every single workout; he has one of the best 6 packs I've ever seen and he's 61

It was honestly humiliating to get out lifted in everything,and above and beyond that have him look better too; at over 2 times my age. Oh well..... it shows you can do it

Thank you for the encouragement. 100 pull-ups by anybody puts someone, I am just guessing here, in the top 0.00001 percent of people. The most I have ever done at once is 23. I recommend you pay close attention to this workout partner as he is doing something right.

Well I'll weigh in with my experience. I started getting my middle aged body in shape about a year ago, mostly motivated by keeping up with my 5 year old. Started walking then walking/jogging then mostly jogging. Lost 20 pounds, felt good.
This year, anticipating deer season this fall and a mule deer hunt out west next year I really ramped up the jogging. Now I only run about 4 miles at a time, so I'm not talking long distance here. Long story short, I developed knee pain and now have a torn meniscus and bone contusion underneath that. Surgery is scheduled for Aug 12.
This injury is common amoung (young) athletes but us older guys(I'm 50) can get it by pounding our joints continually.

My advice for getting in shape is do what you do while hunting. Hike with a loaded pack. Pack it up and down the hills.

Leave the joint pounding from jogging alone. Not worth it. You can get the same results without this much risk to your joints. Even if you're fit and exercise regularly, us middle aged guys aren't 20 anymore and need to take that into account.

As I posted the other thread, I am hiking around with a pack during lunch and trying not to run as much. I still run but avoid endless miles upon miles.

I live at 7400 feet so the altitude does not bother me. Starting walking UPHILL/ stair climber. Once you get your cardio built up then throw on a pack and keep increasing the weight. Start earlier than later. Make sure you hydrate a lot before hitting the mountains. It will help you with the altitude. Most important work on your cardio.

I live at 6,600 but that does not make me immune from altitude sickness. I tried ascending Mount Antero a few years back. I got to within a few hundred feet of the 14,000+ summit and had to stop. I was dizzy, delirious, but still smart enough to give it up. I think lack of water/food may have contributed. I recently bought an MSR water filter from ebay to mitigate situations like this.

For those considering running, I strongly suggest going to a running store and dropping about $125 on running shoes. I am fairly big at 6'7" and 230 pounds and once I started buying shoes designed for my body size, the aches and pains in my joints went away.

I like to mix up running with carrying a backpack and 40 or 50 pounds. That and lifting weights 3 to 4 times per week have me in elk condition at age 45 still. Living at 6000 feet helps as well, as does high altitude fishing trips during the summer.

I like Nike Air Pegasus. Once I deviated away for another corrective Nike model and got shin splints for a year. I did not tie it to the shoes but another running store recommended the Pegasus again and the shin splints went away. I also lift weights and my pack currently weighs 37lb.

Let me start out by saying that I am 69 years old, 2 time cancer survivor with a colostomy for the last 16 years! I am a former college football player whose playing weight was 235-45. I have also had a total knee replacement 8 years ago. Nuff said...

I do a walking program near my place here in SW Colorado and got serious about training about 18 months ago. I go to the gym 5 to 6 days a week and concentrate on stretching/flexibility and cardio work. Spend about 15 to 20 mins on the eliptical stairmaster and 45 to 60 on the treadmill. I use the "hill" program of various elevations at 3.5 to 4.0 mph. My walking program is done in the pm (after am gym work), usually after dinner. My route is 3.5 mile r/t and the last 1/2 is all uphill to my home, Takes about 1 to 1 1/4 hr to cover. (I also live at 6800. )

I have dropped 55# and want to lose another 10 before my September Thorofare Wyoming elk hunt. I also do some trail and cross country work. I completed a 12 mi r/t trail hike to a backcountry wilderness lake that I made in 8 hrs with an elevation gain of 3500 ft (from 8000 to 11,500).

Bottom line is it can be done, just takes time, dedication & perserverance. Oh yeah...helps to be retired with lots of time available!

I hope I am as fit as you when I reach your age. Congratulations on surviving your cancer.