Good Fitness Test?

[crumy]

I live in Laramie, WY at 7200 and a friend comes from Columbus, OH (600-700) to hunt every year and we hit some good mountains. Even though I live here, I still run a lot. In fact both started training for this year on December 1. Sounds corny but we email each other about our work our to keep us honest. I think HIT (high intensity training) is the most important. I can run about 4 miles at a decent pace but I learned quickly the slow steady inclines will hurt you quick so you really got to press yourself to be ready. Here is a sample work out that I do at 7200 feet. run on a treadmill at 8.7 for 1 min 0 incline then with a 10 sec break (to set speed) I go 4.5 speed walk at 8 incline for a min then rest a min.... repeat till failure. I find this really helps my lungs. other days I will lift weights and do a 60 min walk at 5 incline. I have heard of people back east have gone as far as using a surgical or dust mask to limit oxygen when running/hiking but I think that is dangerous. I would just work sprints or going fast on a stepper into your work out and push yourself for quick recovery (interval training) and do plenty of squats or lunges and work in walking with a large incline.

 

[ProjectCO87]

I personal train for a living. Here is what I recommend if you would care to listen to my 2 cents. First of all, change your nutrition a bit. Lower your carb intake to teach your body to burn more fat as a fuel source. Get your carbs from mainly veggies and some fruit and limit the granola bars and crap that is out there. All they really are is glorified candy bars. I would recommend starting that about 6 months out. Then focus on lifting weights for our legs and train them heavy. Stick to the 8-10 rep range. The final piece is getting a backpack and or weight vest that has roughly 40-60 lbs of weight. Start training with that regularly on the stair master or put the incline as high as possible on a treadmill. I would get a mask like this in order to acclimate. http://www.trainingmask.com/products/TRAINING-MASK-2.0.html.

Start with the 3,000 foot piece and build up to the 9,000-12,000 level. If you take care of these things before your hunt, you will be a rock star and you will feel much better on your trip. My uncle came out in CO for an elk hunt and didn't listen to a word I said. He just about passed out within an hour of our first days hike. The horses had to do everything for him. Terrible, so be prepped!

 

[pcc2b]

If I could only do two exercises to prepare for a mountain hunt I would choose free weight squats (as heavy as you can) and swimming. The lifting obviously for the leg strength and the swimming to train your muscles to operate very efficiently at a high level with minimal oxygen. Swimming has been a game changer for me living here in Tennessee and hunting in colorado at 12k feet

 

[az.mountain runner]

There is little u can do to adjust ur lungs to thin air but like,others have said go slow if u can arrive acouple of days in advance increase ur elevation by a thousand feet each day and give ur body a chance to adjust to the elevation, and wilderness athlete makes a very good product that helps ur body and lungs adjust.

 

[JMSZ]

There is little u can do to adjust ur lungs to thin air but like,others have said go slow if u can arrive acouple of days in advance increase ur elevation by a thousand feet each day and give ur body a chance to adjust to the elevation, and wilderness athlete makes a very good product that helps ur body and lungs adjust.

Good point, my plan this year includes driving up mid-day (I live about 2 hours from where I will set up base camp), set up camp at ~8,000ft and spend the next day making camp nice, do a final prep of my gear and a little light exercise. The day after that I'll push up to where I'm going to hunt at 9,000+

I went straight up to about 8,500ft last year and just started pushing - bad idea. Crappy sleep and not eating enough over the next three days just made things worse.

 

[Jerry]

Find a stadium somewhere and start running up and down the stairs. Better than a treadmill. After not too many round trips running up and down the stairs, it will tell you how in shape you are!

 

[Chippy Hacky]

Since I last posted I have now done "Insanity" and incorporated a mix of Insanity/P90X.

I am in great shape right now, just need to maintain......

 

[Timberstalker]

I think P90X plyo is a good guage. In 2011 I used that with mountain hikes to get in "Sheep Shape' for my hunt. I could do 90% of the plyo video, but was sore all summer long. That's a killer on the legs! It was enough to get me through 14 days of sheep hunting without too much fatigue. I have to mention I was solo, so I just went at my pace, like I normally do. You don't have to be a super athelete to be out hunting, but being in shape will make the experiance more enjoyable.

Chip hack, stay with it! Its early in the year so don't burn yourself out. Thats my biggest problem, if I start getting ready too soon I burn out. I like to start gettining in shape in June, I'm ready by late August. from then on all I need to do to stay in "my" shape is work and hunt.

 

[dhershberger]

Got a new personal record tonight! 3.5 miles in 25 minutes which is a 7:08 pace! Pretty stoked! I live at 7500' as well so I hope I can stay in shape over the summer so that I will be ready for September 1.

 

[crumy]

Nice. Job on the run. Been walking with 72 lbs in a kifaru pack up to 3.5 miles at 3.4 pace. Goal is to do 4 consistently. Also she'd 9 lbs so far

 

[tttoadman]

My knees are pretty shot. I do almost all of my workout at 10deg on a treadmill. I stop every 2 miles and do a short little round on a bowflex. At my current pace, I should shed about 20lbs this month and be close to 180. Based on what I have seen from others, I should then load up one of my old packs with 45#(that is about what my 10 day pack weighs in at), and get after it some more. I think strengthening my legs with relatively low impact has helped pull my knees together and made down hills much easier on me. I think a good goal for me by july/Aug would be 8 miles in a day with a (med)pack on and not be burned out and sore the next day. This is all a little new to me in the last few years. Getting old and sitting at a desk everyday really takes a toll.

If I bump the speed above 3, I start getting the lungs burning a little. I assume this is what I should be doing to help train for high altitude?? I am at a whopping 350ft EL in the Willamette Valley.

 

[Doe Nob]

Got a new personal record tonight! 3.5 miles in 25 minutes which is a 7:08 pace! Pretty stoked! I live at 7500' as well so I hope I can stay in shape over the summer so that I will be ready for September 1.

That is hauling serious ass, congratulations on that. I had someone at work bet me I couldn't run a 7 minute mile, been training for that, got it down to 7:13 so I'm right there, can't imagine doing 3.5 @ that pace!

I have to say having just come back from a week in New Mexico, that air quality is definitely something I'm noticing. The pollution and the ozone and humidity and heat here are definitely something to struggle against. At 10,000 ft in NM, I could tell there was less oxygen, but the air was very pure.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

As the weather has gotten warmer, i started bumping up my workouts. Been doing some new leg work at the gym and did something to my right knee, sore as hell for a couple of weeks. Got an appointment with the ortho Doc Wed, hope I didn't screw it up. Same knee I had scoped 2 years ago. Don't want to have any major surgery this late in the year as it will really put a damper on my hunting this fall. We'll see Wednesday.

 

[Trevor_20]

i would say join a crossfit near by. that will put you in the best shape of your life when it comes to cardio and strength. eating right also will help. you want to eat lots of veggies and greens.

 

[Kevin Root]

As the weather has gotten warmer, i started bumping up my workouts. Been doing some new leg work at the gym and did something to my right knee, sore as hell for a couple of weeks. Got an appointment with the ortho Doc Wed, hope I didn't screw it up. Same knee I had scoped 2 years ago. Don't want to have any major surgery this late in the year as it will really put a damper on my hunting this fall. We'll see Wednesday.

I hope your ortho appointment goes well on Wednesday CC and or your knee feels better soon. I'll gather major surgery could put a damper on fall hunting. As I've gotten older I get concerned about my knees. Not being able to hike would bum me out. My wife likes to run uphill on our hikes but I just don't like the pounding that my knees get anymore. Seeing my mom get a knee replacement put a damper on my running or at least how I run these days.

Best wishes to you on the upcoming appointment.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

Thanks.
I already have had one replacement knee, had it for 10 years now. It is absolutely great, but it really takes 10 mos to a year to get back to full strength. They have some new techniques that do less damage to surrounding muscle tissue, so that might be less now. Too much wear and tear on both knees when I was playing ball. We'll see Wednesday.

 

[sjsmallfield]

Good luck with the knee CC. Hope everything works out.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

Just got back from the Ortho Dr. and he say its Tendonitis. I'll have to modify my workouts and ice it down afterwards. Compared to the xrays taken 2 years ago when it was scoped, looks good. At least there is no surgery needed.

 

[Kevin Root]

Sounds like great news Colorado Cowboy! Modify workouts and ice sounds so much better news than surgery.

 

[Doe Nob]

That is good news. I managed to crack my radial bone in my right arm on th 18th. Rifle pronghorn is still on, but my bowhunting season may be over, go in for more xrays on Wed to determine if i need surgery or not.