What's your favorite program for hunting?

[Healthy Outdoorsman]

I was just wondering what everyone's favorite way to get in shape for the season.

I usually lift heavy in the winter and spring, then shift to higher intensity, higher rep routines in the summer.

[DanburyBowhunter]

I like to mix up the routine and combine scouting with working out when possible. In general:

Winter: Lift for strength (3x8 sets of near max weight), run (indoor if too cold or icy to be safe outdoors), cardio, yoga/pilates
Spring: More outdoor running, ramp up cardio and reduce lifting for strength
Summer: Swimming, either many laps for endurance or sprints for cardio, run (indoor if to hot/humid to be safe). Lift either with cardio work out or for strength.
Fall: Hunt

To combine scouting/working out I take a pack with 50lbs of sand and target 1-2 miles of fast scouting, distance depends on terrian. I'll walk with the pack all year 'round except hunting season trying to vary distance and terrian type.

Looks like a lot but this is a general menu. I mix it up with working out 2-3x/wk.
Also, I'll work in some target shooting (butts, 3D) year round ramping up to weekly in late summer through the hunting season.

Looking forward to more ideas from others.

[bobow]

I was just wondering what everyone's favorite way to get in shape for the season.

I usually lift heavy in the winter and spring, then shift to higher intensity, higher rep routines in the summer.

Smokin' cigarettes & watchin' Captain Kangaroo.....

What do you mean by higher intensity? Heavier weights or more times per week?

[Healthy Outdoorsman]

By higher intensity I mean shorter rest periods and less weight

[bobow]

By higher intensity I mean shorter rest periods and less weight

Thanks!

[JPH]

Great question!

As I round the bend and head for 40 yrs. old, I find variety and recovery to be extremely important factors. I will take time now and then to chase a particular goal, such as running a fast 5K or improving my deadlift but these will usually last < 2-3 months. After I test myself in a particular goal, I use a general physical preparedness (GPP) program for the rest of the year.

I am a career firefighter, so I have a professional interest in fitness. The nature of firefighting makes it hard to be "sport specific" in one's training. For one thing, you cannot prepare for an event the way an athlete does. Your "event" comes without warning, at unpredictable intervals. Secondly, the work requires a wide range of physical attributes. I'd say strength is the single most important factor, but it is far from the only one. And finally, I intend to be a healthy firefighter well into my 50's or beyond. I cannot afford to overtrain any one area and invite injury.

So, since I cannot really do "sport specific" training for my profession, and I do not participate in any sport competitively, I have to come up with my own overall fitness goal. I have finally settled on preparing my body for a zombie apocalypse! I figure that if I can train myself well enough to run for miles with my weapons and supplies on my back and barricade a vacant building, yet remain explosive enough to bash a zombie's head in...well work and hunting season should be easy.

Here is a sample of what my current workout schedule looks like:
Monday = Max strength (DL, bench, squats, etc. at high weight and low reps)
Tuesday = Intervals (sprint intervals on the track, hills or even in the pool)
Wednesday = Core/recovery (circuits that focus largely on core strength and little else)
Thursday = Strength conditioning (lifting or calisthenic routines that focus on low weights and high reps)
Friday = Mileage (road/trail runs or weighted ruck marches of increasing distance and/or weight)
Saturday = Core/recovery (circuits that focus largely on core strength and little else)
Sunday = Rest

[Healthy Outdoorsman]

[quote="JPH"
I have finally settled on preparing my body for a zombie apocalypse! I figure that if I can train myself well enough to run for miles with my weapons and supplies on my back and barricade a vacant building, yet remain explosive enough to bash a zombie's head in...well work and hunting season should be easy.
[/quote]

That's a GREAT way to put it JP! We'll have to do some zombie bashing together when the time comes

I like your training split as well.

I would argue that you in fact CAN train for firefighting though. Strongman training is as close to firefighter training as it gets. Lifting odd objects(like you would on the job), pulling/dragging sleds, flipping tires, farmer carries, etc. These movements help develop power like none other. They also make your body more functional and it's an *** kicker as far as cardio goes. Just my 2 cents.

[JPH]

[quote="JPH"
I would argue that you in fact CAN train for firefighting though. Strongman training is as close to firefighter training as it gets. Lifting odd objects(like you would on the job), pulling/dragging sleds, flipping tires, farmer carries, etc. These movements help develop power like none other. They also make your body more functional and it's an *** kicker as far as cardio goes. Just my 2 cents.

Fair enough. I am a PT instructor in our academy and I do some classes for civilians on the side. We use a lot of odd object/strongman lifts in intervals. I agree that these translate well to firefighting.

I think that what I was driving at is that firefighting is very diverse work. Depending on where you work, structure fires can be few and far between. Strongman workouts do provide a great foundation for that aspect of the job, but a great deal of the workload is EMS related. Core strength/durability is extremely vital to longevity there. Plus, heart attacks are the single biggest killer of firefighters. If you look at the body types of most strongman athletes, they do not suggest tremendous heart health.

Before I lose all the hunters in the room, I'd say that firefighting, hunting and zombie survival all require a wide range of physical attributes. If a person expects to be physically ready of any or all of these, they should do what works for their body type, but always keep an open mind and a diverse workout routine.

[jonny5buck]

Great topic guys....im old school and was brought into powerlifting back in my twenties....the gym was rough...the guys were beasts... and lots of chalk and weight belts was the norm.....this was fine for a while, and i enjoyed the strength gains, and muscle i piled on back then.

I must admit i learned a lot... i never got suckered into steriods.. and always was happy with my results..this is a good base /but as we age ..me included-- i found that the daily tolls can be harmful, and have changed accordinly.

I enjoy bench presses but was taught a closer grip /and the bar had to touch the chest otherwise it wasnt counted in competition..This was good for strength, but i gained more triceps than chest..i now lift a LOT LESS weight with i wide grip and slower stricter control.
I still enjoy free weights to everything else..i know longer do squats and deadlifts at all...i do other exercises and again concentrate more on fluid /precise/ movements...when i can make it in the gym....because my job is heaving 50lb bags non stop for most of a 12 hour day..i get a damn good maintenance workout.

In the summer i also dont lift heavy...in the winter i loved doing 5sets of only five reps of my max. weight lifting capacity....3 sets of exercises for each muscle group...i usually do pushing one week and pulling the following week....than i lay off that routine...i love the ''down sets also'' nothing makes you feel weak like having someone strip weight off the bar with no rest between reps until you have just the bar and no weights and you cant lift it anymore- --

Since im in 40 yr old club...i have dropped the real heavy mentality and go for super slow quality reps and down sets mixed up...muscle confusion is awesome...i would like more cardio and can sprint short distances well but because of a powerlifting injury my hip socket hurts when i jog..i stopped that yrs ago...i still scout and low impact cardio and the sled machine doesnt seem to hurt at all... i also like to lift light weights for 12 15 reps with almost no rest..it gets the heart rate up good...i wish i could do more cardio but have no creative thoughts because of the hip problem..any suggestions are welcome-thanks

[Healthy Outdoorsman]

Jonny,

I haven't done a ton of cardio as of late, but I guarantee I have more stamina than most. The reason is because I have been doing circuits 2x/week. Basically, I pick 4-5 compound(more than one joint moving at a time) movements and perform them for a minute each with no rest in between exercises. Holy heart beating out of your chest!! I actually posted a video of a great bodyweight circuit on my channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2eRUfhKXXI

These are a great substitute for regular "cardio" and will burn more fat than you would if you simply went out and ran 5 miles. Also, doing bodyweight exercises is easy on the joints and can really improve functionality and range of motion. Hope this helps.