What kind of training program do you have going to get in shape for hunting this fall? I'm headed to Idaho in November and am currently concentrating on riding my bike 4 or 5 times a week and lifting weights 2 or 3. I have also been using a Pilates tape that my wife got and have found that to be a great workout for building core strength and flexability. I plan to add some hill climbing at a local ski area carrying some weight later on. It doesn't get any easier as I get older but the work pays off.

Jeff

Skibum
All calisthenics,biking,stair stepper,hiking.

Legs and lungs.

Jeff

I walk to and from work which is 4 miles a day, five days a week and lift weights anywhere from 3 to 5 times a week depending on my cycle. My weekends are also spent doing something active. I don't train to get in shape so much as I lead a very active lifestyle which keeps me in great shape.

One thing you can count on is vertical terrain.
Backpacking in the steepest stuff you can find should get you acquainted with what to expect. Jogging in general also. There are lots of places where it's not too bad but plan on the worst. FYI if you do climb some stuff be sure you can get back down. I went up one streambed once and had to find another way down once I got up. Beautiful country, have fun.

My routine involves lots of bird hunting early in the season......

Seriously, to do well in the mountains, you need leg strength, lung capacity and endurance.

For the last three years, I have taken to using the treadmill, 2 or 3 times a week, as high an incline as she'll go, and as fast as I can stand it. 3 miles per setting, and I'll start adding a pack this month. By elk season, I'll be up to a 70 lb pack, 3 mph, 10% incline.

I've also found swimming to do wonders for my lung capacity, but it doesn't do much for the rest. HTH, Dtuch.

Skibum, I am 48 years old and was once a runner until nagging injuries caused me to spend more time recovering than exercising. In frustration, I searched for an alternative exercise program that offered a similar cardiovascular work out, and produced the same endorphin/dopamine induced euphoria.

I feel like I have found the perfect exercise for me and one that keeps me in hunting shape year round and it is free. I live near the Kennesaw Mountain National Battleground Park in Atlanta where I do a 1 hour and 40 minute hike, 3 to 5 times a week. I carry 30 pounds in a day pack which includes enough water to keep me hydrated in the 90 degree summer weather. The routine is 5 miles and offers some good elevation gain and loss throughout the hike.

Compared to my old running regimen, (about 30 miles per week), I feel like the hiking is a far better cardio workout and I have literally reshaped my legs over the 3 years. And best of all, the endorphin high is better than ever, absolutely reliable. The only downside is the time it takes to execute this work out, a bit longer than my old 45 minute daily run, but the rewards are well worth it.

One other advantage I have found is that I can do it every day if my schedule permits without suffering the various minor foot, knee, or hip injuries that I once had to deal with.

As you can tell, I have had wonderful success with this exercise regime and highly recommend it as the best alternative (and in some ways better) to running. If you combine a moderate amount of upper body weight training, you would be ready for any hunting experience wherever that might be.

Lastly, I would like to say that I was able to keep pace with my 20 year old guide on a pretty tough brown bear hunt on the Alaska Peninsula last year. We were up at dawn and hiking up to 10 miles per day over terrain that had similar elevation gain and loss as Kennesaw Mountain. I can honestly say that there is no way I would have gotten my bear, had I not spent the time doing my hiking workout.

Best of luck to you.

I live in Idaho and all my hunting is done is very steep country. Sometimes I backpack and sometimes I truck camp and hunt from there.
I start lifting weights in March and start walking hills in May. I start scouting in July so need to be in fair shape by then each year.

I have a very steep hill I walk 4 days a week, up and down for 30 to 45 minutes at a brisk pace. I lift weights every 5 days. It is hard to get the right balance of workouts vs. rest but I err on the side of walking hills too often. As I get into the end of August I add weight till I get up to carrying 30 pounds on the hill and add in some days of biking up the steep road to the local ski resort at 7000 feet. Most of my hunting is done at 7000 to 10000 foot elevations.

One area a lot of folks miss if they are coming out west to hunt is the downhill workout. You really need to find a hill and walk up and down it. There is no other substitute for walking down hills than doing it. I think most of you who have hunted the steep country will agree it is the downhill that kills you not the uphill.
Also there is a big difference between being in hunting shape and being in meat packing shape.

I can relate with the over 40 crowd, I am 47 and have to work out harder and longer each year to hunt in the areas where I like to go. I enjoy working out anyway and it is well worth it to be able to hunt the mountains.

rukidnme said:

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One area a lot of folks miss if they are coming out west to hunt is the downhill workout. You really need to find a hill and walk up and down it. There is no other substitute for walking down hills than doing it. I think most of you who have hunted the steep country will agree it is the downhill that kills you not the uphill.

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I could not agree more!!!! Great point here!

There is an article in this month's "Backpacker" magazine, which looks at the fitness levels of backbackers/hikers. It basically found that people who backpack regularly have the fitness levels they would expect to find in the top endurance athletes in the world (marathon, cross-country, distance runners, etc).

Add that to what I've read from other's on this thread, and I'd say you should get out and hike some hills!

Skibum,
try this http://www.wildsheep.org/magazines/six_minute_hill.htm it worked for me

RWS2,
Good info.
Sounds very close to my hill work out, only my hill is VERY steep and only takes about 3 minutes to climb so I go up and down it a bunch of times fast and with weight.
I like to use the shorter hill so my heartrate does not go down too much on the way down before I start back up again.

The hill needs to be steep enough and your pace fast enough that when you get to the top your legs are burning and you are winded, then turn around and go back down without stopping to rest, then when you hit the bottom turn around and go back without stopping to rest. You need to keep your heart rate up.
For me I hit the weight room so don't need the pushups.
That workout as he stated will definitely do the trick. You will need to push yourself as making it into a stroll you will only be cheating yourself.
Depending on the hunt you have planned you can modify your workout to be ready. Lots of guys don't work out at all and still have lot of fun hunting and have fair success.
Good luck on your Idaho hunt.
What are you coming out to hunt?

For the kind of hunting I do I really don't have to be in shape. The Mississippi delta is flat as a pancake, no hills whatsoever. However, I recently started jogging again after about a 12 year layoff. I'm mainly interested in losing the pounds that have slowly accumulated over the years and to get in a better general physical condition. I used to be an avid runner, doing about 8 to 10 miles a day back in my prime.

You can also take a heavy pipe in your arms in the place of the weight of a rifle too

Hcliff

I do a combination of running, biking and hiking. I have a 5 mile loop that is up hill 3/4 of the way that I do 5 days a week. I have a 5 mile bike loop that I do 3 days a week and I hike on Sunday with a 30lb. pack. This worked out well for me last year when I went to hunt SW Colorado. I was able to go hard all week at 10,500 to 12,500+ ft. I have been doing my routine for 2 months now and have 2 more to go until my trip in early September. I will be ready! I can't wait.

Hitting the weights every other day. Stationary bike in bad weather, mountain bike in good. I also fish a lot of farm ponds and I peddle around in a peddle boat. Some of these ponds are up to 10 surface acres. A couple of times around one of them is a nice workout every evening and catching bass helps pass the time. Lawdog

I basically use the 6 minute hill that rws2 mentioned. My hill is very steep, in fact you can basically reach out and touch it as you climb. The down side is that it is low elevation, about 5000 feet, but not a lot I can do about that. I make 4 10 minute climbs, meaning I go as far as I can in 10 minutes, immediately turn and come down, which takes about 6 minutes, hence I take just over an hour and have no time for push-ups, as I start right back up as soon as I get down. No rest stops are allowed, up or down. I initially do this 3 times a week, then about a month before I go I shift to 5 days a week, then the last week or 10 days I do it every day. I do lift weights (hate it!) 3 days a week. I am 56 and begin the above about 2 months or so before I go to hunt. The rest of the fall, actually until about the end of January, I stay in pretty good shape hunting every Saturday and Sunday, most often chukars, which ain't on flat ground! Once hunting season is over, I take it easy until the cycle starts again, but I don't sit around too much. I don't (never have) own a TV.

I work out every day pushups situps lift weights and hit the heavy bag. This is before work in the morning. In the after noon I run 4 to 5 miles every other day. Some times bike also. On the days I don't run I bike 25 miles or so.