Gun Dog Forum

Just wandering what if any thing does everybody do to help themselves stay inshape for hunting or just in general? I guess I walk more than anything.....6 miles a day.....6 days a week

I do some strength exercise and ride my bike. I try to work up to 70-90 miles a week by the end of the summer.

I exercise regularly. For me exercise is the easy part, it's the eating right that is hard. It's not that I eat that bad as I don't eat chips or drink soda or other sweet drinks, and I try to limit my intake of a lot of processed food. My weakness is my terrible sweet tooth. I think my biggest problem is I usually end up at the grocery store after I go to the gym and that is the worst time to go.

I had a bleacher that was pretty tall that I would go run stairs every other morning until the city took it down a few months ago. It was old with wooden seats and stairs that had some give in them so it was easy on the joints.

I got a horse. Not a tall one either.

RayG

Usually just hunting or hikes with the dog 3 to 4 miles 3 times a week. This cold weather has put a damper on getting out more. This mornings temp was -4 with a wind chill of - 15. Not much fun going out to do anything with those temps. The good thing about it is maybe it will kill most of those darn ticks and come spring they wont be a problem.

I ride a stationary bike Monday through Friday for about 45 minutes, or until I get bored. Then I do squats, cleans, and bench, until I am bored or cant move. Then ride the bike with the resistance cranked up really high for five minutes, then shoot 50 or so arrows at my target in my basement.

RayGubernat wrote:I got a horse. Not a tall one either.

RayG

LOL I'm getting a new knee. That should help.

Sharon wrote:

RayGubernat wrote:I got a horse. Not a tall one either.

RayG

LOL I'm getting a new knee. That should help.

My wife just had her knee replaced. 1.5 wk. into the rehab.

Be VERY careful where you have it done. Some hospitals/surgical teams have more incidence of infection than others and a systemic infection in a replaced joint is a real disaster. Ask hard questions and get hard numbers... how many surgeries, how many post-op infections. HARD NUMBERS. How many relative to your two nearest hospitals, etc.
They have the data and the hard numbers but they do not like to give them out, especially if they are not favorable.

Find out if your surgeon uses glue or staples. The staples leave two holes each, after removal that are potential infection sites until they heal, and they leave a more noticeable scar.

Also, decide whether you will be going to a rehab facility post surgery and if so, find out their infection experience. Again...hard numbers.

We decided to do the rehab at home with a visiting therapist, 3X per week for 3 weeks or so. Minimizes infection exposure in that way and it is easier on my wife. Her only problem is putting up with me and my lousy cooking for that long.

Get the strength building exercises ASAP and start building up those leg muscles. It will make the rehab easier.

Good luck.

RayG

Get to the gym for an hour of strength training every weekday, and try to get in 30 minutes or more of cardio at least five days per week. Running, stair climber, or elliptical. Also do quite a bit of cycling in the summer, on both a road bike and a mountain bike. The off-road bike excursions are great for the dogs as well, although I worry about rattlesnakes. No bites in over thirty years of riding with my dogs along, so I've probably used up all my good luck and am past due for trouble....

RayGubernat wrote:

Sharon wrote:

RayGubernat wrote:I got a horse. Not a tall one either.

RayG

LOL I'm getting a new knee. That should help.

My wife just had her knee replaced. 1.5 wk. into the rehab.

Be VERY careful where you have it done. Some hospitals/surgical teams have more incidence of infection than others and a systemic infection in a replaced joint is a real disaster. Ask hard questions and get hard numbers... how many surgeries, how many post-op infections. HARD NUMBERS. How many relative to your two nearest hospitals, etc.
They have the data and the hard numbers but they do not like to give them out, especially if they are not favorable.

Find out if your surgeon uses glue or staples. The staples leave two holes each, after removal that are potential infection sites until they heal, and they leave a more noticeable scar.

Also, decide whether you will be going to a rehab facility post surgery and if so, find out their infection experience. Again...hard numbers.

We decided to do the rehab at home with a visiting therapist, 3X per week for 3 weeks or so. Minimizes infection exposure in that way and it is easier on my wife. Her only problem is putting up with me and my lousy cooking for that long.

Get the strength building exercises ASAP and start building up those leg muscles. It will make the rehab easier.

Good luck.

RayG

Thank you very much.

Run two miles at a 7 min pace every other day, lift weights
The other days

Db

Round is a shape.

I go to the gym twice a day. I do weights in the morning for about two hours and I do the treadmill at night to about 4 to 6 miles yes I did this for hunting but to be honest, I let myself go so bad that my diabetes was way beyond control, but from February to now I've lost 85 pounds my diabetes is great and I got to enjoy hunting this year
cc

That's a pretty impressive comeback, CC. Congrats, and keep up the good work!

Having spent a lot of years behind the wheel of a big rig, I wasn't in the best of shape ... few chances for exercise while on the road, fell into some lousy habits and just kind of got lazy. Unlike a lot of truck drivers, I didn't put on the weight, but my general physical condition declined kind of rapidly after I turned fifty. About five years ago, I decided I'd better do something while I was still young enough to do it. Started walking a lot more, made better choices with my diet, started shooting hoops now and then with my grandson, played a lot of catch in the backyard, cut way back on my tobacco use and started spending a lot more time running my dog and doing my best to let her run big and try to keep up with her LOL. Quit my driving career 9 months ago, got a job in a local factory for a lot less money, but I'm home every night, have most weekends off and I'm feeling a whole lot better. Lately, I've been shoveling a fair amount of snow, too, but that's another story ....

Cripes,

I'm not hunting with any of you guys. You'd all outrun me if we were attacked by a bear (well, if I couldn't trip you up first - I can be pretty tricksy). I hunt myself into shape - yep, I'll admit, I don't go to the gym. Just chase the dogs around. Been running the beagles since quail season ended - more walking there than anything. Did take a class at the Y last year that I liked, but I like the cash more, so I'm using it to buy a new gun this next fall. When I lift, it's by the pint .

I am getting tired just reading this thread.

Charlie

Has anyone watched Cam Hanes? The guy is a freak when it comes to bow hunting, and is the reason I started lifting and staying in good shape for hunting season. I watch his " beast mode training and hunting" video on youtube almost everyday before I lift. " TRAIN HARD, HUNT EASY"

I am forced to stay in shape, and do something active daily. That being said patrolling with an 80lb ruck is the best hunting work out I have ever done. If I've been walking around with a ruck on alot, 4 days of 8 miles a day is cake. Once I retire I will never go to the gym again. Chasing the dogs and living life will be all the exercise I do.

deke wrote:Has anyone watched Cam Hanes? The guy is a freak when it comes to bow hunting, and is the reason I started lifting and staying in good shape for hunting season. I watch his " beast mode training and hunting" video on youtube almost everyday before I lift. " TRAIN HARD, HUNT EASY"

He also has a great book out that talks a lot about his hunting style. He is trying to be proof that hunters can be athletes. I do Crossfit 3 days a week and run two days a week.

As I've gotten older I find myself moving more toward a cardio focused workout schedule than weight training schedule. It's a lot easier for me to bulk up than it is to maintain a health body composition. I'm normally a two days cardio with one including abs and one day weights with cardio if time allows. With weights I also try to get my heart rate up so that means shorter rests between sets.

Sharon wrote:

RayGubernat wrote:I got a horse. Not a tall one either.

RayG

LOL I'm getting a new knee. That should help.

I'm going in June to have my knee done. Those years of jumping out of planes is finally catching up with me.

I do a bit of everything to stay somewhat active/in shape......Last year rode my road bike 79 times for a total of 3010 miles...i usually start when the roads are free of ice and about 40 degrees or more and taper off once bird hunting season starts the 3rd week of sept..... Down a little on miles/outings the last few years as I'd rather be watchin my 11 year old son at baseball and football practices and games.....I got the cycling bug as a teenager, raced for 18 years as a hack and still love gettin out on the thing after 29 years..... In the winter to get out we x/c skate ski a few times a week ( did 18km's this afternoon with the Mrs.'s)....We usually get Otto out in a State forest near our house at least once a week so he can blow off some steam...that's usually a 3+ mile walk on top of his dailies of 1-2 miles when its not colder than a well digger's elbow outside

I was one of those lucky people who could eat and drink whatever I wanted to without getting fat. My only exercise was a lot of walking. That lasted until I was about 50 and I got a heart problem. I still am not particularly fat but I get tired very quickly now when I walk at anything above my own pace or when walking up hills. It is a real pest. I like dogs with a lot of "go" but I can't "go" well enough to keep up with them.

Maybe I should go back to training labs ???

Bill T.

ridgerunner wrote:Just wandering what if any thing does everybody do to help themselves stay inshape for hunting or just in general? I guess I walk more than anything.....6 miles a day.....6 days a week

Rowing is good exercise !...................
Helps on them Duck hunts