Wake Up Call

[BKhunter]

I'm 33 from NYC and am in the process of planning my first Elk hunt for this September. I believe myself to be in good shape and realized yesterday that doesn't mean anything. I do cardio and lift weights roughly 3-4 days a week. Yesterday I decided to crank up the incline on the tread mill to the max and the speed to roughly 3.5 MPH. I was able to get through it, and could have gone longer but it was a lot more difficult than I thought. I believe my workouts are about to drastically change and I will incorporate this type of workout a lot more and will wear a weight vest to try and mimic the real thing. Hard to really prepare for the real thing here in NYC so I guess this will have to do.

 

[zman]

I live in NJ and it can be tough. Luckily I spend alot of time in VT and there we have a mountain pretty much out the back door. Not much in elevation but the same rockfields and blowdowns that you will experience out west. Good for toughening up your legs. See if you can get out of the city on the weekends and find someplace rugged...

 

[elkyinzer]

Stairs are good to train on. Better representation of the real thing than a treadmill in my opinion. Those aren't too hard to find in NYC.

 

[IdahoElk]

You guys are at sea level,the altitude is what really sucks the life out of you.Keep up the hard work!

 

[fngTony]

Here's an idea. See if you can find a building that will let you run the stairs with a pack. Also see if you can have access to a local highschool football training equipment. The one where you step in and out of tires, that can help with blow down practice.

Even if you can't come out to scout the area. Try to make at least one flight to Denver and experience the altitude. Evergreen is close with trails and elevations from 7500 to 8500 (close to the elevation in the unit you're looking at).

No matter how good your cardio is come hunting expect to be out of breath.

If you have your hunting pack already add weight to it and train. You'll feel more confident knowing it and your body are dialed in.

 

[elkyinzer]

You're also pretty close to the Catskills, Adirondacks, and Green Mountains, take your pick. They may not be as high in altitude, but you can very easily find mountains just as steep up there with a few thousand feet elevation change. Skip the worn hiking trails and do some bushwhacking to replicate hunting conditions. Get a topo of your hunting area and compare to find a similar steepness. Not intended as a regular training routine, but it's going to give you a very good barometer how you'll handle the steepness out West to adjust your training accordingly. Do a weekend trip in March or April before greenup and the weather will be pretty similar to fall in elk country and serve as a great test run for all your gear as well.

 

[BKhunter]

You're also pretty close to the Catskills, Adirondacks, and Green Mountains, take your pick. They may not be as high in altitude, but you can very easily find mountains just as steep up there with a few thousand feet elevation change. Skip the worn hiking trails and do some bushwhacking to replicate hunting conditions. Get a topo of your hunting area and compare to find a similar steepness. Not intended as a regular training routine, but it's going to give you a very good barometer how you'll handle the steepness out West to adjust your training accordingly. Do a weekend trip in March or April before greenup and the weather will be pretty similar to fall in elk country and serve as a great test run for all your gear as well.

Thanks for the tip.....I was actually planning to do a few of these trips from spring into summer....I wish it was a little closer so I could do it more regularly, like twice a week after work. Have to make due with what you got though.

 

[Stwrt9]

elevation is the toughest part to train for and is near impossible. like others said try and make as many trips as you can to somewhere with some sort of elevation. going from sea level to 9,000' is no joke and can kick the crap out of you even if you are in shape. it's just hard to replicate for us easterners!

 

[texag10]

I'll echo the others talking about elevation. Whenever I go from DFW to visit my parents in SLC, my (29 year older) dad routinely kicks my butt up hills for the first day or two.

 

[elkyinzer]

Respectfully, I think the effect of elevation is overblown and frequently used as an excuse for simply being out of shape, or not in the right shape for the mountains. Some guys may even be gym warriors or great runners, but simply do not have their body accustomed to climbing brutally steep mountains, commonly referred to as "getting your mountain legs". Mountain legs and altitude adjustment while related, are two separate issues. I like to go into a trip knowing I have my mountain legs, because those simply take some painful reps on steep stuff before you get them. If you don't have steep stuff, well that is the challenge for Midwestern guys, but I am thankful to have mountains to train on so I can go into a trip knowing I have my mountain legs. I can adjust to the altitude in a couple days.

If you can haul ass up 30-40+ degree slopes on our lower elevation Eastern mountains, you may go a little slower the first couple days as your body adjusts to the higher elevation out West, but you aren't going to have hunt altering catastrophic failure. As it relates to AMS or altitude sickness, yeah, you have to be diligent about acclimatization and watching out for the symptoms, but anecdotally I've heard it strike people in tremendous shape so I see that as a separate issue.

 

[BKhunter]

Respectfully, I think the effect of elevation is overblown and frequently used as an excuse for simply being out of shape, or not in the right shape for the mountains. Some guys may even be gym warriors or great runners, but simply do not have their body accustomed to climbing brutally steep mountains, commonly referred to as "getting your mountain legs". Mountain legs and altitude adjustment while related, are two separate issues. I like to go into a trip knowing I have my mountain legs, because those simply take some painful reps on steep stuff before you get them. If you don't have steep stuff, well that is the challenge for Midwestern guys, but I am thankful to have mountains to train on so I can go into a trip knowing I have my mountain legs. I can adjust to the altitude in a couple days.

If you can haul ass up 30-40+ degree slopes on our lower elevation Eastern mountains, you may go a little slower the first couple days as your body adjusts to the higher elevation out West, but you aren't going to have hunt altering catastrophic failure. As it relates to AMS or altitude sickness, yeah, you have to be diligent about acclimatization and watching out for the symptoms, but anecdotally I've heard it strike people in tremendous shape so I see that as a separate issue.

I know the altitude will be a factor for me. I went skiing our in CO two years ago and would wake up in the middle of the night short of breath. During the day it wasn't to much of an issue on the mountain, but I felt it at night when I was trying to sleep. This is why I would like to get in as good of shape as I can in order to remove one less variable.

 

[Trr15]

Respectfully, I think the effect of elevation is overblown and frequently used as an excuse for simply being out of shape, or not in the right shape for the mountains. Some guys may even be gym warriors or great runners, but simply do not have their body accustomed to climbing brutally steep mountains, commonly referred to as "getting your mountain legs". Mountain legs and altitude adjustment while related, are two separate issues. I like to go into a trip knowing I have my mountain legs, because those simply take some painful reps on steep stuff before you get them. If you don't have steep stuff, well that is the challenge for Midwestern guys, but I am thankful to have mountains to train on so I can go into a trip knowing I have my mountain legs. I can adjust to the altitude in a couple days.

If you can haul ass up 30-40+ degree slopes on our lower elevation Eastern mountains, you may go a little slower the first couple days as your body adjusts to the higher elevation out West, but you aren't going to have hunt altering catastrophic failure. As it relates to AMS or altitude sickness, yeah, you have to be diligent about acclimatization and watching out for the symptoms, but anecdotally I've heard it strike people in tremendous shape so I see that as a separate issue.

Altitude is no doubt used as an excuse, but it is also, without a doubt, a factor. I live and train year round at 6100' and can tell the difference when hiking/hunting at or above 10,000'.

 

[svivian]

Training Mask 2.0 Original | Training Mask USA

Anyone worried about altitude should try this...

 

[Superkodiak38]

Training Mask 2.0 Original | Training Mask USA

Anyone worried about altitude should try this...

I don't understand how this would help. It restricts the volume of air but the volume of oxygen in the air remains the same where ever you use it. Am I missing something ? Thanks !

 

[svivian]

It's like running for a month... first day you are sucking wind but by the end you can breath a lot more efficiently even though the amount of oxygen hasn't changed. If your lungs are more effective they will use less oxygen.

 

[tuffcity]

The beauty of stairs is that you have to come back down... something a stairclimber or inclined running platform doesn't replicate very well. Do stadium flights of stairs up and down with weight. And if you're rockin' those stairs, start climbing up and over the bleacher seats- up and down.

RC

 

[mtnrunner260]

There are some things you can do to help. Nothing will replace actually being at altitude but depending on how deep you want to dive into it here's a start.
Altitude Training, Hypoxia & Biohacking With Oxygen

 

[nrh6.7]

texag10, have you found a place in the dfw area to hike that has some decent inclines? I'll be starting hiking pretty soon and am looking for a place close by to go.

I'll echo the others talking about elevation. Whenever I go from DFW to visit my parents in SLC, my (29 year older) dad routinely kicks my butt up hills for the first day or two.

 

[texag10]

texag10, have you found a place in the dfw area to hike that has some decent inclines? I'll be starting hiking pretty soon and am looking for a place close by to go.

They're short, but Cedar Ridge nature preserve has some good ones if you go off the main trail. Assuming NRH is the town you live in (Go Rebels!) it'll be a decent drive, but one loop with all the offshoot trails is ~5.5 miles.

 

[nrh6.7]

They're short, but Cedar Ridge nature preserve has some good ones if you go off the main trail. Assuming NRH is the town you live in (Go Rebels!) it'll be a decent drive, but one loop with all the offshoot trails is ~5.5 miles.

Cedar Hill is a drive, but sounds like a nice place to hike. I'll check it out, thanks for the tip!