Exercise/Routine of the Week

[JPH]

8/31/2009-9/6/2009: Hit the Heavy Bag

In order to be successful in your physical fitness goals, you must enjoy what you are doing. Few activities are more fun, and more effective for cardio conditioning, than going a few rounds on the old heavy bag! You don't need to sign up for a boxing gym. Many commercial fitness centers have a bag or two off in the corner, or you can often find a used bag at a second hand sporting goods store.

Too many people have the idea that you have to be a boxer in order to work a heavy bag. Nonsense! Punching a bag that does not hit back is not rocket science. Here is an excellent link where you can learn everything you need to know in order to get a good workout and not feel silly doing it: http://www.rosstraining.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=5

The one thing that is extremely important is that you MUST protect your hands properly! Hand wraps are cheap and the above link has instructions for their use. Additionally, proper gloves can be had for under $30. Personally, I use mixed martial arts gloves because they allow me to use my hands between rounds.

So, wrap your hands, wear your gloves and learn to throw a few basic punches. Now you are ready to work the bag! Try going 3-4 rounds of 3:00 with 1:00 rest between each. You'll love the stress relief and the workout!

[JPH]

9/7/2009-9/13/2009: Thrusters

The thruster is an excellent "total body push" movement with excellent strength and conditioning benefits. As with any exercise, using heavy loads and low reps will produce a strength focus, whereas low weight and high reps will benefit conditioning. Couple this movement with opposing sets of deadlifts (strength workouts) or pull-ups (conditioning workouts) and you've got an excellent routine.

In the following photos I am using a boulder for weight, but you can use anything from a weighted backpack to a barbell. Begin with feet shoulder width apart, toes slightly outward, and the weight loaded at the chest level (photo 1). Drop to a parallel squat (photo 2). Thrust upward, extending the hips and the arms simultaneously until you are fully extended (photo 3). Again perform heavy wt./low reps for strength and low wt./high reps for conditioning.

[JPH]

9/14/2009-9/20/2009: Tree Stand Hunter's Workout
 
Bow season is here and tree stand safety should be a hot topic. Sadly, too many people think that all you need is a good harness. Not true! While a restraint system is a must and will save your life in the event of a fall, solid strength and conditioning may keep you from even testing it.
 
This workout is designed with the needs of the tree stand hunter in mind. Do this 2 times a week for a month and you will be far better prepared for the stand.
 
3 sets of:
A1. Rope Climb (post #24) X 10-40 feet
A2. Inch Worm (post #30) X 10-40 feet
Rest X 1:00
 
3 sets of:
B1. Pull-ups or Body Rows (post #6) X Quality*
B2. Walking Lunges (post #5) X Quality*
Rest X 1:00
 
3 sets of:
C1. Dips (post #18) X Quality*
C2. Mountain Climbers X Quality*
Rest X 1:00
 
3 sets of:
Plank (post #2) X 1:00
Rest x 1:00
 
Quality* = Perform enough reps to create a good "burn" but stop 1 or 2 reps short of failure.
 

[JPH]

9/21/2009-9/27/2009: Sandbag Shouldering

We have not used our sandbags lately. If you haven't built one, any fairly heavy odd object will do. The "shouldering" movement is as simple and effective as it gets! It will focus on developing the posterior chain of muscles but it is considered to be an excellent total body exercise.

Begin with the bag in front of you, feet shoulder width apart, toes pointed slightly outward. Squat deeply and grasp the bag while keeping the head and shoulders up. Lift upward with the hips while hoisting the bag onto the shoulder. Lower the bag to the ground and repeat, alternating shoulders.

I suggest performing 3-4 sets of 6-12 reps early in your workout. Performing this exercise late in a workout may result in poor form and "rounded back" lifting that can result in injury.

[JPH]

9/28/2009-10/4/2009: The Wall Sit
 
Sorry I'm late. Since I have an upper body injury, I'm going to share an exercise that is sure to give that end a rest. The wall sit is a simple isometric hold that can be of tremendous benifit for conditioning the legs and core.
 
Place your back against a wall, with the feet firmly on the ground, shoulder width, toes slightly outward. Now slide down the wall until your thighs are at parallel. Hold this position for as long as possible. For most of us this will be somewhere between :20 and 2:00.
 
Perform several sets of these with brief rest between each set. Wall sist will be of the greatest benifit when used immediatley prior to explosive movements, such as jumping squats or sprints.

[JPH]

10/05/2009 - 10/11/2009: Machine Interval #1
 
Exercise machines are in every commercial, hotel and home gym in America! You got airdyne bikes, elliptical machines, versa climbers, stationary bikes and even the goofy thing pictured below. To be honest, I don't really care for them, because too often people use them for long, slow workouts in front of a TV screen. That is a nice way to get a little blood moving or to recover, but you may not see a lot of progress this way.
 
On the other hand, the weather is going to turn cold in a few months and even though we are tough enough to hunt in it, many of us will let our cardio training slide. That is when an exercise machine can be your friend. The following is an actual WORKOUT that you can use with the exercise machine of your choice:
 
- Begin with 1-2 minutes of light activity.
- 5 rounds of 1 minute of maximum intensity and 1 minute of rest.
- 5 rounds of 30 seconds of maximum intensity and 30 seconds of rest.
- End with 1-2 minutes of light activity.
 
This is 10 total rounds, consisting of 7:30 of max effort and 7:30 rest.

[JPH]

10/12/2009 - 10/18/2009: "Grease the groove" with pull-ups

In order to perform this routine you need to have a couple of things out of the way. One, you need a convenient place near your home or office to perform pull-ups. See: http://forum.deeranddeerhunting.com/tm.aspx?m=23607 Two, you need to determine what a "quality" set of pull-ups is for you. A "quality" set is a set that works you a bit, but comes a few reps short of muscle failure. Perform as many pull-ups as you can in one set, then subtract about 20-30% from that number. That is your "quality" set. Don't feel bad if you cannot do many pull-ups! In fact, dont give up if you can't even do one. See: http://forum.deeranddeerhunting.com/tm.aspx?m=23630

Okay, so now we can "grease the groove"! The term is meant to denote performing multiple quality sets, throughout an 8-16 hour period. Don't ask me why they call it that. I don't know. Anyway, determine some random or regular pattern in which you will perform a quality set. This can be done with any exercise but pull-ups are a great choice because they are equipment free and they are too often neglected in traditional routines.

Need some examples? Firefighters in busy companies can grease the groove every time they return to the station from a call. Construction workers can grease the groove at every coffee break. Housewives can grease the groove every time they walk past the pull-up bar. A football fan can grease the groove every time there is a touchdown scored. Those who lack imagination can grease the groove every hour on the hour. Any pattern can work!

Remember, pull-ups alone are not a complete exercise program. It is important to balance this with pushing movements as well. But try this 3-4 times a week, for a few weeks and you'll see improvement!

[JPH]

10/19/2009-10/25/2009: Chest Isometrics

Here is a really simple exercise that you can actually perform in your tree stand, without moving. No, I'm serious...stop rolling your eyes at me.

The basic idea behind isometric exercises is that you apply force, without actually moving. This can be done by applying force to an immovable object (such as a wall) or, in this case, against your own muscles. The two that we have here can be done in a standing or seated position. Because they work the large muscles of the chest and upper back, they can also assist in the production of body heat. So, this is an excellent little set of exercises that you can perform throughout a long day on stand. 

Begin by placing the palms together in front of the chest. Slowly begin to apply inward force, attempting to reach peak force in roughly 3 seconds. Hold at full force for 3 more seconds, then slowly relax. Now turn one palm up and the other down, and lock the fingers. Attempt to pull your arms apart, again reaching full force in 3 seconds, holding for 3 seconds, then relax. Take a few moments to restore normal breathing and repeat for 3-5 sets. You'll be surprised at how fast this can get your blood moving and warm you up.

Note: You may want to dress a little warmer than the guy in the illustration.

[JPH]

10/26/2009-11/01/2009: Drag a deer!
 
Here is a workout we all hope to do this fall! There are many ways to skin this cat, and the workout is very dependent on the size of the deer, the distance, and the terrain you have to cover.
 
Clearly, this is something that we all want to make as easy as possible. The use of vehicles, sleds, or wheeled carts are great if possible, and I highly reccomend enlisting the aid of as many hunting partners as you can find. But we often face situations in which we have to go it alone or with minimal help. So this week's entry is both a workout and a hunters how to.
 
I (and Woolds Walker) personally endorse the following method when dragging a deer alone:
You need
- 6' of sturdy rope or webbing in a closed loop
- 4-8' of sturdy rope or webbing
- 2-3' of light cord
- 1 carabineer
 
Roll your field dressed deer onto its back. Lift the front legs to the antlers (or neck) and secure them in place with the light cord. Take the heavy length of rope/webbing and secure one end to the antlers (or neck) and tie a loop in the opposite end about 2-3' from the deer's head. Finally, attach the carabineer to the loop you made, run the other piece of rope/webbing (already in a closed loop) through the carabineer to make shoulder straps. Now, get on your knees and slip your arms through the straps. Carefully stand up, lifting the deer's head off the ground. Lean into the straps and slowly walk your deer out. If you have a partner, have them lift the hind legs enough to take some weight off the haunches. Take lots of breaks and swich places often.
 
Here is a thread that will offer other ideas as well: http://forum.deeranddeerhunting.com/tm.aspx?m=55030
 

[JPH]

Here is a link to a thread that offers photos of the above drag system. ^

http://forum.deeranddeerhunting.com/tm.aspx?m=56036