How important is fitness?

[Deebz]

I really wish I was in better shape. I've not yet encountered a hunting situation where I didn't feel up to the challenge of completing the hunt, but I know I could stand to lose some weight and improve my cardiovascular fitness. I always look forward to fall each year because I know all the time I'll spend outside will help out. I walk in to my stand about a mile each time I hunt. Pheasant hunting has also been a great way for me to get excersise while having fun shooting my 12 gauge. Seems a little backwards, but rather than spending time getting fit to hunt, I spend time hunting because it helps me get fit.

I wish we could hunt things all year long, then I'd have no excuse to fall out of shape!

[JPH]

... then I'd have no excuse to fall out of shape!

I hear you there. The excuses are the real killer. Life get's busy. We have to earn a living, we have to be attentive to our families and we have to rest. All to often, we find no time for exercise in all of it.

I think the problem is that we fail to recognize how important our bodies are in the pursuit of the things that really matter to us. Not only are our bodies our primary tool as hunters, but they are the platform we use to launch or intellect and spirit in everyday life. Not only are we more effective hunters when our bodies are strong and well conditioned but we are better workers and family members as well.

One of the best ways to combat excuse syndrome is to distill fitness down to its most basic elements. Liberate yourself from the need for gym memberships, specialized equipment, trainers or any other extra BS. Make it about a battle between your body and gravity. You talked about walking Deebz. Awesome! Strive to walk for 20 minutes every day. 20 minutes! You may not have time to run to the gym, but I bet you have an open spot in your bedroom or office where you can do 10 minutes of pushups, squats and situps. 10 minutes!

I'm not trying to tough talk you. I'm actually just giving you permission to do something basic and believe that it can make an impact.Good luck!

[Deebz]

Right on JPH. I actually went in with a group of people to share the cost of the Insanity series... We all got our own copy to keep at home. I know you're not a huge fan of the gimmick workout series deals, but I'm hoping that this could be something my wife and I could do together when we get home from work. (we both work in the school system, so our schedules match up pretty well) That way it's just us and if we decide we need to stop after 10 minutes so be it. I'm hoping that she'll be more motivated to get fit as well after spending a hunting season in only 2 different stands because she didn't feel up to walking the extra distance in to the deeper parts of the timber.

I've also got baseball season coming up in a couple months (i coach)... and I sort of have a reputation to uphold. I lost about 30 pounds last winter/spring and the boys were impressed with my ability to hop over the fences. We'd do sprint packages where I'd run with the boys and if EVERYBODY beat me, then they'd have to run less. I can't tell you how many times I've heard them say, "wow, you're fast for a big guy!"

[JPH]

You are right, I'm not big on workouts that are built on DVD collections BUT if it works for you then it is the best thing in the world. I will never argue with results.

I also like your being motivated as a coach. One of the big milestones in my fitness life was when I was assigned to my department's academy for a tour as an instructor. We were in the early stages of revamping our PT program and I did not want to ask the recruits to do anything I was not willing to do with them. Our PT instructors do the morning PT sessions side by side with the recruits. I did not want to be embarrassed.

Bottom line brother, whatever motivation and method works for you is great!

[kellory]

Deebz, I used that principle when I ran a construction crew. I made it clear, "If at any point, you believe you are working harder than I am, we will swap jobs for the day." No one ever took me up on that offer.

[Deebz]

I worked with union construction outfit my summers home from college... I didn't need a workout program. Being an unskilled laborer sucks, but it's great for conditioning. I must have moved thousands of sheets of 3/4 tongue and groove and bunks upon bunks of 2x4's... I had a foreman who liked to send me 2 streets over for plywood but never let me use his van. As crappy as that work was, it is still one of my favorite jobs I've worked.

[kellory]

I had a foreman who made you run with (2) 2x14x 20 through deep mud. it was common to feel your femers pop out of socket if you boot stuck in the mud. He would dock your pay if you took a leak on company time, yet he stopped a truck on the way to a job with 8 guy in it, so he could cut the rack off a road kill buck (small one) I have worked for human beings too.

[strampoline]

Hey there, in the previous post I had described some importance of doing fitness exercises. But yesterday I came across some other important stuff of doing exercises and its necessity. So here are some other points I want to share:
1. Helps you to live a better and satisfied life.
2. Doing exercise, you will find that you are reborn and be healthy.
3. Increases cardiovascular efficiency and increases your body's endurance power
4. Helps in increasing the strength of your heart
5. Increases blood circulation that helps to deliver oxygen and nutrients to other tissues