Howdy all,

I've been diligently waiting for my Bighorn sheep license to show up this year(just like the last 28) with no luck. I had been planning on getting my flabby ass back in shape when it showed up. It didn't. But my legs are still needing some miles on them.

I'm getting a jump on next year! Goal- drop fifty pounds by mid-September. Wish me luck! After all, there is still Elk hunting!

Atkins Diet works great.The perfect man diet.

I'd second that. Especially if you're a carbo-junkie like me!

When you think you're hungry go for a walk instead. Briskly, not just a stroll. Get the heart rate up. I did this for 45 minutes a day for three months, dropped thirty pounds, no other changes in diet (which was pretty much low fat to begin with, due to heart problems). - Dan

You are actually looking at two objectives: losing weight and getting in shape. I would go along with the Atkins diet and would add weight training to it for weight loss. Increasing muscle will increase your metabolism even at rest. two to three times a week is plenty. As far as getting in shape start with cardio-vascular. Start with walking for at least 20 minutes four times a week. Maintain a brisk pace. You need to bring your heart rate up and work up a sweat but you should still be able to maintain a conversation. You can increase intensity, add in jogging or biking, and do specialized excercises ( I would add in stair climbing) but these will give you a good basic start. Remember that you can't get in shape in a week. You need to get on a schedule that you can stick with.

Jeff

Slowly lift your rifle over your head 50 times. Hold it at arms length for a minute; repeat with each arm. Use masochism to vary the theme. Then move to bayonet drills. I shoot out in the woods, so it's no problem to do parries, thrusts, butt strokes and smashes for 50 yards, then whirl and repeat them coming back. It can be highly aerobic and it really helps with rifle-specific upper body strength. You will really notice the difference if you have a desk job.

Hope this helps, Okie John.

Going in at a crisp 170 lbs., I'm looking to add some more meat this fall. Got to get back to climbing those mountains again for I have goat on the menu!

I'm starting to haul my my beer belly around on my mountain bike. It's 10k return just getting my mail.

A gentleman I knew gave a great idea I use. When you take your walk take with a back pack with weight in it and I added the idea of carring a heavy pipe (to approx the rifle weight). The pipe also keeps away unwanted unfriendly. That exercise helps a lot. If you tke along your wife or girlfriend they think you spending quality time. In fact I should take up my own advice and do it more.

Hcliff

Boilerroom's got it right, hop on a bike and do all your chores on it. I was lucky enuf to get a bighorn last year in the Sangre de Cristo's, but it was TOUGH, even at 45 y.o., and i was in the best relative shape of my life. That ram was the highlight of my hunting career. Good Luck.

Dieting to loose weight has one giant flaw. When you eat fewer calories than you need, you loose fat and muscle mass equally. This is Stravation Posture. When you stop dieting, you have less muscle mass than you started out with. Unless you keep your caloric intake down, and very few do, you will put all that weight back on as fat. Our muscles burn 98% of the calories we burn.
I suggest you look at what you eat and change that. If any of what you eat has 4 grams of fat per serving or more, and most of us do, you will probably not loose weight. In fact, most of us consume alot of "hidden fat." That's why 62% of us are over weight. We, here in the US and Canada, we consume about 43% of calories in the form of fat.
If you switch your caloric intake to complex carbohydrates, and reduce your fat intake to 20-30%, you should be able to eat all you want, slowly loose much of your extra fat stores, and none of your muscle mass. The weight loss will be slow - about 2 lbs. a month - but you can improve your physical condition while you are doing it, which is what you really want. E

First, get a physical and take your doctor's recommendations. For those that are in relatively decent shape, but not sheep shape, hit the hills. After that gets easy, get your pack, put some rocks in it and hit the hills again. Mountain legs are a little different than flatland running legs. Hit the hills.

GOWYO, Don't feel alone, I didn't draw either. I have all the points so it is only a matter of time. Thanks for the pics of the rifle to. I am still interested.

Weight lifting is an excellent way of losing weight. I have a friend that slimmed right down from just doing upper body work outs.

Try cutting out as much soda and juice as you can stand, those are loaded with calories you don't need. I have read that if the average male cut out all the soda in his diet that would be 4 pounds a year he wouldn't gain. 40 pounds a decade.

Booze is packed with calories and also slows down your metabolism. But sometimes beer is too good to drop.

I find weight lifting makes me feel much better and almost happier when I start to feel in better shape.

Hope it works for you what ever you try.

Mark

I'm not fat nor overweight, that just isn't in me, but I'm cursed with weak joints. Either that or the weight training I did in my early twenties messed them up. Anyway, I find that I can train the muscles much easier than everything that holds them together. I suppose with humans it is like with horses. Getting a healthy horse up to par to finish an entry level endurance race may take only a few months. To strengthen his joints and tendons so he can go to the higher levels of endurance without problems takes 3-4 years! If you are like me, having a sedetary life, and not particularly sporty, take it easy in the beginning.

I'm blessed with a wonderful practice hill behind the house. The first week I only walked the climb via the gravel road. The second week I felt strong and I walked the hill the hard way (narrow trail going straight up) twice on one day. Next day...pain in the left knee, took a week of gently walking the gravel road to get rid of it. Now I'm back to climbing the harder way, but zigzagging instead of straight up. It strengthens the stabalizing muscles and tendons in ankle and knee. As long as I don't overdo it, I'm fine. I'm a long way yet from putting rocks in the pack!

BTW, my dog loves it! That hill is infested with gophers. At first she would run blindly across the hill. Now she's changed her tactic, she stalks individual holes...for a while, than she loses it and she runs off blindly into the distance. I have fun seeing her battling up hill when I call her in...her shape is getting better too!

Frans

Lots of good info and ideas here-

Frans I am with you the joint thing is big time tough. I fight the knee's a lot, it is keeping me out of the excercise game pretty much now. Just waiting for the sawbones thoughts on the right meniscus (speliing?). It's probably torn again. It does suck to fight the joint problem!

About adding weight to the backpack try this, use old plastic milkcartons and fil with H2O. Pretty easy to add or subtract weight and they are easy on the back thru the pack.

Being a jogger, actually competitive runner from days gone past I would big time suggest that people seriously think about the bike thing instead. In my opinion jogging is not the way to go-please please protect those knees and joints.

"GET TO THE HILL"

Dog

I lost 25 lb. on the Atkins Diet and increased muscle mass at the same time.

BTW, you can get into excellent physical shape and still be miserable if you don't get your boots in shape.

Whatever you'll be wearing on your feet, start wearing it now and get boots and feet well used to each other. When I was 25, ignorant, and very fit; I bought a pair of boots 2 weeks before hiking in the Sierras. It was a 10 day hiking trip, and the blisters were torn off my heels by the end of the first mile. By the end of the day, various other parts of my feet were raw, and we had over 50 miles to go.

Another aside. Duct tape is the best blister preventative going.

H. C.

Well I have my own theories on getting in shape. I have been a health / Fitness nut all my life. I am in better shape at 32 than I was at 22. Mainly because I have found what works for me. I have seen some talk of the Atkins Diet, not my favorite plan by any means, but you can drop some quick weight on it. I would suggest staying on that diet no more than 8 weeks. After that it will be better in the long run if you do it the right way. Just ask Fernando Vargas who had no carbohydrates 1 month before his fight with Oscar De-la-Hoya. Vargas looked GREAT, and was strong the first few rounds. Then he ran out of gas and had his ass handed to him!
A good diet for anyone is a low GL (gliseren Index) diet, like type 2 diebetics use. Carbs and Fat are not the enemy most people think they are, High Fructose corn surup and Sugar's are (with the eception of some good fruits). The difference between this and Adkins is that you can still have Pasta's, Whole Wheat & Pumpernikel breads, and veggies. (Your brain needs carbs & veggies by the way, not to mention carbs are just fuel for working out.)
Walking and Biking are going to be your legs best friends, I don't suggest starting to run unless you already do. Take it from someone who ran competitive cross country for 7 years, and did a LOT of road work. Your knees can do with out that. If you want to do some sprints or Hills for strength training that would be ok. Weight lifting is also (as mentioned) a good way to burn calories, but don't get carried away with numbers.
I bench 250 comforably (285max), trying to bust 300+ Lbs off my chest is not going to improve my conditioning any. If anything I chance a Sports ending or Lord forbid Hunt Ending injury.
If you are up in age and weight, I would second the suggestion to see a Doctor first. A fitness trainer may be able to help you "cut to the chase" so to speak, as to what you want to achieve.

[ 05-05-2003, 18:19: Message edited by: Mark G ]

Emericus and Yukon Jack hit the nail on the head. However, if the exercise/diet regimen are very good I say 1# a week is possible without sacrificing muscle, 50#'s by September is not the best plan. Eat min of 3 meals a day (idea is to teach your body to burn fuel, not conserve it), 3 meals and 2-3 snack is ideal (just not huge portions and be consistant w/exercise).

For the future, the best plan is too never get too far out of shape. For this season set your goal at no more than 20#s between now and September 1st. I try to do a little of everything (treadmill, bike, hills, pushups, etc. 3-4 times a week for 30-60 minutes). Crash courses RARELY work. I have learned through many years of competitive sports that consistancy/specificity, not necessarily volume of exercise are most important. I increase the intensity and training specificity (hunting pack/boots/hills, etc.) leading up to hunting season then rest myself with some moderate activity for a week prior. Be creative/flexibe in your approaches to exercise. For example my kids are young and it is not fair to the wife if I bolt and leave the kids with her. Solution, I pack my wiggly 4 or 6yr old in a pack and wade mountain streams (shallow,safe, etc.) flyfishing upstream (she casts her zebco over my head, I spend most of my time balancing and getting her lure out of the trees, we have fun and I get to fist/exercise, etc) or we rabbit hunt (she's not armed) in the same pack setup. My wife gets a day break from one of the kids (not to mention me). I take "Aleve" to sooth once there since I don't need a swollen knee to slow me down. If you know your going to "crawl" after antelope or other beasts, take knee pads & work gloves. There is ALOT to be said about "muscle memory" so load up the pack and hit the hills. I once got off the couch and went hard on a 4hr light pack 3000ft up then down. My feet were not used to the incline on the descent. There is a ligament or tendon across the top of your foot that is very prone to injury/cramps and mine cramped badly. For two days I could have sworn I broke my foot, but I didn't. The moral here make sure your body is ready for the application and take "Aleve" with you. Had a buddy trash his knee deep in the mountains hunting alone last season and he had to end the hunt early (he didn't carry asparin or aleve and did not use pads), hike out, have surgery, and go without elk for a year. Gotta keep those bodies in shape for the next time, but you don't have to overdo it in order to do so!

Said alot and I hope that was okay.

Deke.

I am going to take a different tact than many of the folks here. If you can afford it and you are already a gym member, get a personal trainer. I did this for 18 sessions @ $55/session and dropped 40 lbs in 2.5 months. She, yes she, designed a tailored work out regemine, and a specific diet that worked great and kept me reasonably satisfied. I am still trying to lose the weight I had set as a goal but this is a great method and there is a professional watching your every step to ensure your safety and success.I wish I could afford a trainer for every work out, man is it a luxurious experience.

Best tip I can give you is get a book of food calorie listings and keep a journal of what you eat every day and it's callorie value. you'll be shocked at how much you are probably eating. then with the calorie book you can tailor meals to a specific calorie count. I was limited to 2000/day and for luch I could eat either 2 Wendys grilled chicken sandwhiches or 2 Carls Jr. grilled BBQ chicken sandwhiches (only 550 calories for BOTH!)Only problem with that is each Sandwhich is $4.

Hcliff,

Wondered why you were carrying a pipe rather then the real thing until I noted you were living in a socialist state.

[ 05-06-2003, 04:57: Message edited by: WY ]

Howdy all, thanks for the replies and ideas. I'm definitely not a runner, hiker and biker is the way I used to go and will do so again. I'm 41 and the past five years have seen a downward trend (upwards if looking at weight.) I cracked a transverse process in my back and while recuperating gained 20 lbs that didn't go away. Then 3 years ago I shattered my Left ankle. That compounded with a job where I travel a lot and eat out of the drive-thru have not been good to me. The fact that I eat like an 18 year old when my metabolism is slowing down hasn't helped either.

No more excuses. No more fast food. I've got the baby backpack and we're walking. I'll give this a month then move to the bike when the weather warms a little more. I'm trying the Atkins plan for a couple months. I bought the book on Wednesday.

I didn't draw, but my sister drew a bull moose tag for western WY. I'm sure I'll be enlisted for pack mule status.
Thanks again,

Gary

Gary, I'll be 42 nest month so we're the same age... I typically stay pretty active but I also runs stairs... it's the best year-round excercise I've found that's joint and back friendly while getting the heart rate up quickly and working the lungs and legs for those 35 degree elk mountains.

BA

My secret for the last near 70 years is exercise, I do not diet it makes you weak..Most of my life I didn't do squat and when hunting season rolled around I suffered the first day and the rest was gravy..I was lucky as I just stayed in shape naturally without working at it.

I am slower these days but I try to keep in shape and it is getting harder all the time, but lifting light weight, too heavy will criple me and I lose what I gained...light weight and lots of reputations; 300 to 500 stair steppers every day works for me, but I have to be carefull how many as sometime too many days at 500 will injure muscle and that just sets you back; when it get warm I like to walk; play golf, carry my bag and walk our Idaho Mountain courses...Even so I get lazy from time to time and have to start all over and I gain weight easier, but the upside is that I can still hunt and intend to for the next 20 or so years. I can do it, I can do it, I can do it, I can do it......

GoWyo, I applaud your effort. My dad was a superb athlete in his younger days but repeated knee injuries and swing shifts took their toll. When we would go hunting he would get onto me about walking too fast and he would sweat alot and breathe heavily. When I moved away I worried about him out by himself. Just this year he started exercising again several weeks before turkey season. He was honestly worried about having a heart attack out by himself. Not hard to do hunting in western NC, even going downhill it tilts up a little . It was like hunting with a new man and I felt much better about him being out by himself. Even if you don't get your sheep tag you have given your family much peace of mind. Keep up the good work!

Go Wyo and kudu56,

Hang in ther guys, we will draw one of those elusive Wyoming Bighorn sheep tags one of these years. This year marks the 23rd that I have got my money back. I too have the maximum number of points, so it is just a matter of time. The hope of drawing that tag and enjoying other backpack hunts each year provides the incentive to keep myself in shape. Running steps as another mentioned is excellent. I also do distance running and add in some good ol' situps and pushups and pedaling an exercylce to stay in shape for the mountains. As hunting time nears (about three months prior to hunt date), I also do 4 mile hikes with 50 to 75 lbs in my backpack. Now at 51, it is harder to stay in shape. I like to eat and know that I must workout each day if I want to enjoy the fall hunts rather than suffer through them. Good luck in your drawings for next year and others you may still be in for this year. A friend of mine from Wyoming finally drew his desert sheep tag last year. It was his 30th year of applying!!!

Chip

[ 05-13-2003, 09:03: Message edited by: 4214chip ]

I talked to a fellow at the old time fiddlers association in Harrison, Arkansas a couple of months ago who said his doctor told him he needed to walk 7 miles a day. He said he did it for 7 days and had to quit because he ended up 49 miles from home.

I find that the (limited) practice I do on the hill behind the house, has helped me tackle the medium steep stretches, I walk uphill much easier these days, then two months ago when I arrived here. When it gets really steep though, it's the heart and lungs that give up first, not the muscles...heart pounding, heavy breathing, I just need to stop more often than I would want to.

And after some 6 hours on the trail my body seems to tell my mind "enough". Ankles and knees start hurting, footing becomes less controlled, I loose concentration for the hunt and tend to watch where I put my feet more closely...

Maybe it is time to slowly increase the intensity of the climbs on the "practice hill"...
or chance the routine from just walking up to intervals of speedy and leasurely pace. I'm not adding weight just yet, I feel that I walking a tight rope with the knees anyhow. Today my right foot slipped and all weight came crashing down on the left (weak) knee, which bent fully (something I avoid). I hope it'll be fine tomorrow morning....jeez, only 39 and complaining, and my daughter keeps telling me I get bald.

Frans