Are you "fit" to hunt?

[Dave Bulla]

Well, the season of the hunt is upon us....About time to don packs and bows and hit the trail once again.

How bad o' shape are ya in?

I'm finding out I ain't so whoopy any more.

All my life growing up I was the "skinny kid".  When I graduated high school I was 6'1" and 154 pounds.  Oddly, I was in many ways as strong as a lot of guys in my class who were much bigger.  Certainly not in bench press but curls, lat pull downs, rows and stuff like that I sometimes outdid some of the "big guys".  After graduation I went into the marine corps and gained about 20 pounds in basic.  Kept trying to gain weight for the next 15 years and eventually got up to about 210 and pretty fit.  Ate anything I wanted and as much as I could stand to shove in my face.  Lifted weights almost every day and burned calories practically before I ate them.

Got married and started in with the 5 to 7 pounds a year trick.  Now I'm 6'2" and about 250-260 and for the first time in my life starting to really FEEL out of shape.  At my new job I'm doing two weeks of orientation and part of the routine is that we do exercise in a group.  I couldn't BELIEVE how out of shape I felt.  I'm simply carrying too much weight to easily do things I'd never have thought twice about a couple years ago.  I feel like for the first time, I'd have to have help to drag a deer out of the woods!

So, the question is.... who else is in the same boat with bow season nipping at our heels?  What do yo plan to do about it?

This really has me thinking.  I've got a 14 year old daughter and two boys 8 and 5 years old.  My wife and I started our family a little later than the norm.  Didn't get married until I was 25 and didn't have our first kid till I was 29.  I'm gonna be 45 on Sept 13th and that's simply to young to feel like this.  When my youngest boy is 12, I'll be 52.  If I want to keep up with the kids and stay healthy, I've got to get back in shape.

Thought maybe if there were some of you all who were in the same boat.... Guys who need to "get in shape" either for hunting or for their health or kids, maybe we could kinda group up and work together.  Sort of egg each other on, provide some support and encouragement or even get a little competitive in a friendly way.

I've been wondering about the P90X plan they show on tv.  Having been a marine, into weight lifting, gone through border patrol academy (tougher than the marines!) I'm certain it would work, but it's not a short cut, loose weight while you sit on the couch type plan.  It's just a lot of good honest hard work, diet and exercise.  I talked to my family doctor about it and he basically said, "It's tough, but if you could stick with it you'd loose weight like crazy."  Any personal "success" stories with it here?

Whaddaya think?

[GMMAT]

I bought the program.  I'm gonna mix it in only a couple days a week, this fall.

I was a D1 college baseball player....but I let myself go for many years.  I got up to 236#'s in 2003.  It made me sick.

I bought a treadmill....and promptly lost 45#'s.  Nowadays....my "Mendoza line" is 200#'s.  I got back up to 206#'s a few months ago....and got back on the treadmill.  I've been doing 20+ mi./wk since early June....and watching my intake.  I'm supplementing with protein and good vitamins....and I weighed 192#'s a little while ago.  I'd love to see 185#'s again ....for the first time since I was in college.

Plan is to scale it back to 3.5mi runs - 4-5X/wk. during hunting season (I typically lose weight during hunting season, anyways).

I'm 44 (45 in Oct) and I've never felt in better shape.  It's contagious.....once you see some results.  I wish you luck.

[D. Devall]

im six foot 5, 320. i was a powerlifter, shot thrower, and offencive lineman last year. i can still pick up anything short of a pickup truck, but i aint to good for climbing or running.

[Deadbolt]

For people out of the game for a while I think its a great routine.  Myself it wouldnt work for me...I am fit (done 2 bodybuilding shows denim weight a heavy weight) and in decent shape going to the gym regularly and am currently looking to put mass on (I'm 5'5" looking to hit 200lbs).  Just doesn't fit my goals but I honestly think you are the perfect personf or it.  I was once 250lbs and obese!!  Lost 100lbs and started really getting into fitness...I did a bodybuilding show at 152lbs and another at 224lbs.  I tore my rotator shortly after and that was really the end of it for a while.  Now I am steady from 175-180lbs and am currently trying to get back up to 200lbs.

You have a fitness background with years of exercise and just need the routine and lifestyle change to get back to where you need to be.  This is a factor that teaches you what you need but doesn't stress you out in figuring it out P90X educates but still provides the guidlines for ya.  It even helps with your diet (and diet is how these people made it on TV for the commercial...average people lose average weight these people maximized their results by paying close attention to their diet)

If not P90X just a basic fitness program willw ork for ya bud.  If you need some help devising a plan PM me I can figure something out...its what I got to school for.

[tradtusker]

im young still
don't lift weights anymore
but exercise using only my own body weight
keeping fit is important
in my opinion you need to be fit physically as well as mentally to really reach your full hunting potential, i feel you owe it to yourself and the animal to be both mentally and physically prepared
and if you are married with kids ( i am not) but i would not feel good if i could not take my kids out really "hunting" due to fitness restrictions.

if your interested i could show you some really good exercises to keep fit and strong nothing fancy no equipment needed only a determination and commitment to get into it.

there is no miracle workouts or extravagant workouts needed like you see on TV, basic common sense will get you strong and fit

i know some 55 plus year old guys (mountain goats) here in CO that, will out hike me and hunt hard every year that means i have 30 plus years to go at it HARD in the mountains, really depends on what you want for your hunting and kids hunting future.

drop me a PM and ill give you a few things you can do to really get back at it

dont make it complicated... some very simple things/changes can make a HUGE difference, doing them is easy, accepting/trusting something so simple is the difficult part

[TexasTrad]

Dave:

I am about the same age as you and have kids about the same age as your kids.  I went on an elk hunt last year and realized just how out of shape I was.  I started looking around and realized just how many people our age are really out of shape -- so bad that they can't do the things they want to do (like climbing trees to bowhunt or chasing elk or playing any sports).  I made a committment to start getting back in shape and over the course of the last nine months or so have lost about 20 pounds and feel as good as ever.  I am sure that P90X would work great -- I believe the main thing is to take a very long term view of your health goals.  Try to exercise every day and quit eating junk - don't go on some radical diet because it i impossible to stay on.  I suggest that you read a book called Younger Every Year which is written for guys about our age.  It was co-written by a MD and a guy in his seventies and talks about the things you can do to extend and improve the quality of your life.  I am working very hard to get into even better shape.  Good luck an keep us posted of your progress.

Paul

[Zbearclaw]

We all know the hard way that it is easier to maintain incredible fitness than to get to mediocre fitness from bad fitness.

I was a good wrestler, attempted Navy Seal training a few times during my 6 years in the USN, but got lazy.  I was still only about 5-8lbs heavier than my fittest, but the muscle made up less of me than prior.  

I decided to get back in shape and decided a half ironman was the ticket, did two in the last year and now am going to do some ultra marathons before jumping into the world of the full iron.

I take my kids outside and they play and act like monkeys as I do pullups, situps, multiple types of explosive leg workouts and pushups/dips.  I used to love using weights but learned that they don't make me any stronger than using my own body weight for stuff I actually do.  No I can not bench double my body weight, but I can do more pushups than when I could bench double and I don't have bruised rear delts and shoulder issues.  

I just try and make myself come within a gnat's beard of puking once a week, and then run 4 days outside that.  Works for me.

Stay healthy and don't do what I do, mamma said I got issues!

[Davo]

I'm a toad.  too damn fat.  Been riding bike and trying to drop weight but everything I cook tastes so good.  So I quit cooking so now I have frostbite my heads in the fridge so much.. very discouraging.  Bad for me and irresponsible,  bike more eat less.  Maybe start trad gang aerobics.  Funny how I was thinking man Im fat and I find this post.  Thanks guys.

[John3]

Remember it is all about calories!!!  Cut your intake and only eat healthy NON FAT foods and you could sit in the living room and loose 20 pounds... Don't believe it..? Make a detailed list of what you actually eat in a week. I guarentee you are getting too many calories and too much fat.  Research quality foods and don't stray.. You will get there. You don't have to run 5 miles a day.. Walk whenever you can. The pounds will come off.

I see a bunch of fat people everyday. Most of them eat fast food and suck down at least a 12 pack of diet soda a day.  9 tablespoons of sugar in a 12oz. soda..!  QUIT drinking any soda, even diet soda will make you fat...

JDS III

[m midd]

yeah me too. lasy year at this time i was going on my first elk hunt, i started training 4 months in advance. dropped 30lbs  ran 2miles a night, i thought i was in pretty good shape. then i got walked into the ground by a 50 year old 2 pack a day smoker in the mountains of the northwest.But it was a great hunt and i felt good anyway. i couldnt swing the hunt this year so i didnt have any motivation. and i quit copenhagen, so i have eaten everyhing ive been close too.

[craftwelder]

In 1996 I weighed 275 at 6'4" tall...and was in serious shape...then a car crash,,,,shattered left half of pelvis, and broke bottom 5 in my back ....2 years of rehab, and voila  I am 320 of nothing but blubber!!!!!
Went back to work, and slimmed down to 280...still out of shape...lol....2 years ago...diagnosed with type 2 diabetes...started eating right...and now down to 240....I am a union boilermaker....stopped riding elevator, and started taking the stairs....am currently on a new build...climbing, walking several miles a night...walking the steel...and scouting this farm.....thanks to my beautiful bride of 21 years and my career...for a gimp with a serious limp....lol...I am in pretty good shape...I keep up with my 18 year old in the woods pretty good.

[wollelybugger]

Out of shape with a heart condition, but still going strong. When you have a heart attack the part of your heart that doesn't get blood dies. Part of my heart is dead thus it doesn't operate at full capacity. Slow and easy, I still can hunt Turkeys in WV but I climb those hills awfully slow. I cant drag deer and usually have to limit my hunts where I can get help or drive within dragging distance. Funny part is now that I have slowed down I see a lot more game.

[Biggie Hoffman]

Nope

[khardrunner]

I'm a running nut, so I'm relatively in shape. I'm not where I like to race at, but either way I'm doing alright.

I post though to recommend p90x. If you follow the program religiously for the 90 days you won't recognize yourself. I've got a running friend who did the program after giving birth to get her body back in shape. She ended up in better shape than before she had the kid! In only a couple months she was able to start racing again at a decent pace.

[neuse]

I am almost 49, out of shape and under weight.
I getting in shape for about a month now, first time ever. Walking 2-3 miles at a time with leg weights and 27lb. back pack. Lifting weights some and drinking weight gain powder shakes, I have never been able to gain weight, hopeI am on the right track.

[GMMAT]

QUIT drinking any soda, even diet soda will make you fat...

True.

I haven't drank any sodas in 3 mos.  Again...I've never felt better.

Diet is the key to weight loss.  Those folks on TV didn't get washboard abs doing p90X alone (or any other program).  Being cut starts and ends in the kitchen.

LONG....way (lol) to go to get washboard abs (but I can sure see my abs, now!)

[Don Stokes]

With weak legs from polio, I have a hard time staying fit enough to suit me. I'm not much overweight at 5'8 and 160, but any is too much for my knees. I've lost about a dozen pounds in the last couple of months by eating less and drinking less beer. I had to quit caffeine a while back, which automatically got rid of the soft drinks. Roving with a judo point and shooting my bow several times a week have helped. I'll have a tough hunt in the ND badlands next month, but I'll be as fit as I can get when I get there.

Back when I hunted the Colorado mountains with some regularity, I got around about as well as the rest of the bunch. The limiting factor there was oxygen at 10,000 feet, not muscles!

[jbuck9]

As jds3 mentioned , cutting back on fat intake will really knock the pounds off you, I know I did it lost 42 pounds, just look at what the total fat is on any package of whatever you are about too eat
Try too keep below a total of 50 total fat cal per day you wil get there I went down too below 40 a day.
jds3 is right you would be shocked if you really pay attention too the amount of fat cal you consume a day, good luck.

[Red Armed Panther]

I was in the same place. This may sound silly but aside from working out use smaller plates when you eat. I know what the ^%$, but apparently we eat on a visual level also. It does work I dropped 30 pounds in six months and yes exercise is all important also. Best of luck.

[Don Stokes]

Another tip: Eat slowly. Satisfaction is time related as well as volume related. You feel full with less in you.