Getting Into Elk Shape

[bigfish87]

Hey guys,
I've been elk hunting in MT once and got in great shape but I definitely had room for improvement. Here's a write up of my work out plans for this year, Hybrid-Outdoors – How To Get Into Elk Shape
http://www.hybrid-outdoors.com/home/how-to-get-into-elk-shape/.

Let me know what I'm missing and anything that you think I could focus on to better ready myself for 2016!

 

[RyanC]

Without knowing what exercises you are incorporating it is hard to discuss what you are missing. It seems like a very general format and a very traditional work out program. Just by looking at it I would suggest staying away from performing isolation movements where you are only moving one joint at a time like bicep curls and incorporate movements that involve multiple joints like olympic lifts. That work out plan is also going to keep you in the gym for a very long time. If he is doing 4 exercises per muscle group at 3 sets of 10 counting rest time between sets…..your looking at 90 min to 2 hours of gym time each day. I've done that type of workout before and stopped doing it nearly 10 years ago. Some people still workout like that but I don't want to spend 2 hours a day in the gym.

Incorporate shooting your weapon into some of your workouts as well. If you have never shot your bow with an elevated heart rate or when you are tired, it is very different than shooting when you are rested, fresh, and have no pressure. Let me know if you have any specific questions I will be happy to help.

Ryan

 

[Poser]

One thing that really jumped out to me was the 225# backsquat for 100 reps broken into 5x20.

Unless you have a 600+ pound backsquat, I'm going to assume that 225# for 20 reps is difficult. Take a look at some of the credible 20 rep squat programs. They having you doing 1 set of 20 reps 1-3 times per week. Maybe someone else will weigh in, but if you are doing 100 reps in sets of 20 at a weight that is reasonably demanding, the result will most certainly be muscle loss. Is there a particular reason for that goal? It seems entirely arbitrary. Honestly, if 225# is a challenging weight for you do at 20 reps (and that is going to be reasonably challenging for most people with less than a 450# backsquat), depending on how hard you pushed yourself and how much rest you allowed yourself, that could potentially be a good candidate for resulting in Rhabdo. I read in the news just yesterday about a HS football coach he punished his team by making them do 200 consecutive jumping squats with a barbell and multiple players ended up in the hospital hooked up to a dialysis machine.

I think that a much more reasonable goal would be to establish a 1 rep backsquat max and then follow a 20 rep squat program that, over the course of many weeks, works up to 20 reps at the starting 1 rep max. If you can make it through that program, it is very impressive and you'll gain some serious muscular endurance and probably only lose a little bit of actual strength. That's my 2 cents.

 

[xcutter]

Awesome information for a flat lander like myself. Enjoyed the article.

 

[bigfish87]

I appreciate the feedback. Ryan, I do spend that 90 minutes in the gym at a time but I love it. Thanks for the advice on shooting w an elevated heart rate.
Poser, the goal for squatting 225#, 100 times is not arbitrary. I guess that's a nice assumption though. I do not have a 600# back squat either. Like I stated, I am looking to build on endurance and this is based off what worked for me 2 years ago. I like the program you explained and I will definitely look into the benefits of a program like that vs my own.

 

[elkyinzer]

Good read.

I would think about stressing the importance of eccentric leg work. Eccentric muscle fibers in the legs and core resist gravitational forces and take the stress off the skeletal system, particularly important for downhill hiking. These fibers oppose the concentric fibers that power us uphill.

I think that this is a significantly overlooked aspect of mountain hunting workout programs. Lunges, eccentric quad box work, proper squat technique, isometric work etc. So many guys focus on getting up the hill fast, but it's the wear and tear coming down hill that always gets to me over the course of a week or 10 day hunt and where the eccentric work really benefits. Downhill skiing programs tend to emphasize eccentric work really well so that is a resource to look to.

Where this comes from personally is where the best learning experiences come from, failure. My first trip to Colorado a few years back I got tendinitis in both knees on the drive home so bad I could barely walk. A visit to the ortho and a couple weeks of PT discovered my workout program hadn't worked on the eccentric muscle fibers enough which stressed the knee cartilage to the point of inflammation.

Now I am sure to do a lot of eccentric work year round. Mostly lunges, reverse squats, wall squats, and box jumps. Otherwise I stick to a pretty similar program as you with less structure. I can't stand distance running so I tend to just do a lot more hiking mixed in with a couple days a week of wind sprints to keep my cardio up.

 

[elkguide]

The saddest thing that I ever saw while guiding was the guys that had saved for years for their first big game hunt and got out there and found that the places that elk go.... they couldn't.

I don't have any specific routine that I follow. I work construction and am very active but still before a hunt, (starting in May) I am at least walking three miles, three days a week. My bicycle rides get longer than my usual 30 miles a day. I also try and hike with my rifle or bow in hand and every so often stop and shoot.

I always try and get to my hunting area at least a couple of days early since I come from about 270' above sea level and that "low octane" air gives me a terrible spark knock the first few days when I hit the hills.

 

[5MilesBack]

The saddest thing that I ever saw while guiding was the guys that had saved for years for their first big game hunt and got out there and found that the places that elk go.... they couldn't.

They "couldn't" get there, or "wouldn't" go there? I don't know many people that really "couldn't" get to these places, even if they are overweight.

 

[elkguide]

Couldn't get there. They were out of shape enough combined with the low octane oxygen and they just could not climb the hills.

 

[elkguide]

I did have a couple of hunters that wouldn't go there either. Couldn't understand why someone would pay that much money and not be prepared for the hunt and wouldn't try to exert themselves just a little bit.

 

[LongWayAround]

One thing that really jumped out to me was the 225# backsquat for 100 reps broken into 5x20.

Unless you have a 600+ pound backsquat, I'm going to assume that 225# for 20 reps is difficult. Take a look at some of the credible 20 rep squat programs. They having you doing 1 set of 20 reps 1-3 times per week. Maybe someone else will weigh in, but if you are doing 100 reps in sets of 20 at a weight that is reasonably demanding, the result will most certainly be muscle loss. Is there a particular reason for that goal? It seems entirely arbitrary. Honestly, if 225# is a challenging weight for you do at 20 reps (and that is going to be reasonably challenging for most people with less than a 450# backsquat), depending on how hard you pushed yourself and how much rest you allowed yourself, that could potentially be a good candidate for resulting in Rhabdo. I read in the news just yesterday about a HS football coach he punished his team by making them do 200 consecutive jumping squats with a barbell and multiple players ended up in the hospital hooked up to a dialysis machine.

I think that a much more reasonable goal would be to establish a 1 rep backsquat max and then follow a 20 rep squat program that, over the course of many weeks, works up to 20 reps at the starting 1 rep max. If you can make it through that program, it is very impressive and you'll gain some serious muscular endurance and probably only lose a little bit of actual strength. That's my 2 cents.

I mix up my squat days regularly, including days where I push for 100 reps at 225lb. I don't lose muscle and have never had rhadbo. I don't do it every week, maybe once or twice a month or so. I do it 10x10 typically but occasionally hit 15-20. I also don't have a crazy high 1RM (about 400#?). Doing high volume workouts don't guarantee you're losing muscle... Just the same, going to your heaviest isn't going to ensure muscle growth.

The key is to find your proper mix of volume and intensity for your goals.

You probably don't want to go super high volume every time you hit the gym, just the same as you shouldn't go max intensity every time.

 

[Poser]

I mix up my squat days regularly, including days where I push for 100 reps at 225lb. I don't lose muscle and have never had rhadbo. I don't do it every week, maybe once or twice a month or so. I do it 10x10 typically but occasionally hit 15-20. I also don't have a crazy high 1RM (about 400#?). Doing high volume workouts don't guarantee you're losing muscle... Just the same, going to your heaviest isn't going to ensure muscle growth.

The key is to find your proper mix of volume and intensity for your goals.

You probably don't want to go super high volume every time you hit the gym, just the same as you shouldn't go max intensity every time.

Fair enough, but a 10x10 program, despite being high volume, is still a fairly different set of circumstances and intensity than doing squats for 20 reps (at a difficult weight, say greater than ~60% of your 1 RM). Most 10x10 programs are mass gain programs, but you can't necessarily equate 100 reps to being equal no matter how you split it up. If 225# is indeed a "death march" weight for a person, then 5x20, at the very least, is going to be very damaging and severely limit how much volume you can productively do. For example, the original, old school 20 rep challenge only has you squatting 1 time per week and only 1 workset of 20. The reason I asked about the numbers being arbitrary is because the numbers, as presented, did not seem to be based on anything other than a weight and a maximum number of reps.

Still, though, if 5x20 at 225# is indeed a goal, then I suppose it would be worth discussing what is the most efficient way to achieve that ends?

1. Do 5x20 sets of weight starting at, say 185# and then work up over time, say 5# a session until you get to 225#

2. Increase your total strength through linear progression or intermediate programs until 225# is a relatively light weight, say ~30% your 1 RM, where one can reasonably expect to perform 100 reps in a 5x20 scheme.

3. Regular attempts at performing 5x20 at 225# until you can complete the task

 

[5MilesBack]

Couldn't get there. They were out of shape enough combined with the low octane oxygen and they just could not climb the hills.

I'm willing to bet that if a grizzly was chasing them up the hill that they could find the ability to get up the hill. Most of these guys don't have the mental strength to overcome their shortcomings in shape. Failure is just a frame of mind.

 

[Poser]

I'm willing to bet that if a grizzly was chasing them up the hill that they could find the ability to get up the hill. Most of these guys don't have the mental strength to overcome their shortcomings in shape. Failure is just a frame of mind.

I've heard that its not uncommon for guys in outfitted camps to only be able to hunt every other day. These are guys who are paying $7,500 to be there, probably closer 10k by the time its all said and done. If I were paying $1500 day, I would damn sure show up ready to hunt every minute of every day, short of being severely sick. Those scenarios would have to get super frustrating under a 2:1 client to guide ratio and the other client you are paired with is out of shape.

 

[Hi Line Hillbilly]

I've been doing some pack training to get in elk shape. Put a 60 lb sandbag in my HH Full Curl, and carry all my normal hunting gear, sans rifle. Go on a 5 mile hike about once a week. Pack comes in about 80 lbs. Other than that, just regular old push ups, planks and cycling. No need for a health club membership.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Hard to say what you're missing. I don't see any plyometrics in there. These are great for getting eccentric contractions, as pointed out by elkyinzer.

I personally would steer more towards compound lifts that work a number of muscles groups and do them high intensity style to get some cardio benefit from it.

You might enjoy spending 90 minutes in the weight room, but you're not maximizing your benefits by doing so.

 

[MOshorthair]

I have tried to stay in good condition for hitting the mountains this fall. I've been working out 5 or 6 days a week. I weigh 155# and don't see a need to squat 225# 100 times, but I think finding a good baseline to test yourself at various times is important. Go to the Train to Hunt web page and look at the baseline workouts and try some of that. It's a good functional test of what you should be able to achieve and it's something you can track. Altitude is a bitch for us hunters from the Midwest. It affects people differently. A few years ago I took a few guys out and after one guy didn't stay hydrated went really hard the first day got a touch of altitude sickness and ended up spending the next day in his sleeping bag because he couldn't go. Mentally he wasn't ready either, we got snow and he was a little freaked out that we were miles from the trailhead with no way out. Tough workouts test you physically and mentally to get through a backcountry hunt. I do crossfit and I do 1 heavy pack day 3 - 6 miles with 80#. I also shoot every day.