Help me Train . . . Please . . .

[LckyTylr]

So, I'm having a rough time training for elk season this year. Last year, I was (against my will) entered into a 198 mile relay race where each member of the 12-person team runs xx miles and then passes off the baton throughout the weekend. Luckily for me, the race was in mid August, so I was in REALLY good shape last year right up to Archery season.

This year . . . is different. Last year I HAD to train or I was going to let the team down. I also had a different schedule last year, I was working 30 hours/week and going to school full time. As busy as I was, I managed to find 45-60 minute blocks of time 4-5 days/week to run. Now that I have graduated, I'm working 50 - 60 hours per week, I have a 18 month old Son, and it's HOT out. I get to work at 6 every day (construction) and am usually there until 5 or 6 at night. Then I race home so I can spend an hour or two with my Son before he goes to bed. Then I'm STARVING so we eat. After dinner, it's till 95 degrees outside and with a full belly, I can only imagine how far I'd make it before I toss my cookies.

Soooooo, I am having a really hard time finding time to work out. The simple answer is to wake up early and work out before work. I have tried, the problem isn't waking up, it's the motivation to actually put in the effort needed to push myself. I typically spend 30 minutes just going through the motions because my body refuses to give me more than 75% and I can't seem to get my MIND to kick it into High Gear.

Arghhh, frustrated.

Does anyone have any ideas or tips?

[RockChucker30]

Did you do a Ragnar race? I did one in 2010. It was fun/miserable.

What kind of construction work are you doing? Are you active throughout the day?

[cnelk]

I think you have entered what us elders call 'LIFE'....

There is no turning back. It is all uphill from here.
You will have fond memories of hobbies, and will often say " I remember when..."

Then as you get get older, you wont even be able to remember....

Enjoy it

[JGH]

Mental endurance is important, and it sounds like you are getting a workout for that every day.

Don't stop doing the things that you know are good for you just to pick up some exercise. Get good sleep, good nutrition, and spend time with your family -- those things are good for you, and are not options of where to "steal" time, in my book. Exercise, like sleep, nutrition, and spending time with your family, should lower your stress level, not raise it.

So, what do you do? I tend to think that -- for me -- daily workouts 5-6 days a week is best mentally, but there are other regimens that give good results with less time input. Several years ago, Wife and I and some friends used the "Power of 10" workout -- there's a book by the name -- which involves very slow weight lifting 2-3 x per week. It was, actually, very helpful. Was it as good as P90x, or going to a Cross-Fit gym? No. But it was much more effective than the time I put into it, and would be a great option for you.

Come to think of it ... that was back when I didn't have time to think, too.

Good luck. And look up "The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution". I know there'll be exercise gurus on both sides of the "slow burn" debate, but there's no doubt that it won't hurt to do this, will help to do this, and won't require you to steal time from sleep, nutrition, work, or family.

There'll be time in the future for Cross-Fit, long-distance running, power-lifting, swimming, P90x, etc. But this'll get you there.

[ElkNut1]

Sounds like you are already working out! (grin)

If I had little time to workout & I only did one thing to condition myself for elk season it would be carrying a pack for 30 - 40 minutes 3 days a week. Start with 40# & work up to 70# over a 4-6 week period. Try to cover 2-3 miles per workout & as much hilly terrain as possible, this will help a ton to condition yourself for this years hunts!

ElkNut1

[ctdad]

I went through this a few years ago when my boys were little and my business was new. At that time I did my best but the workouts weren't consistent. Good thing about being young Is you can suffer through the mtns easier.

I hate working out early am. I do either lunch or night workouts after kids in bed. To avoid over eating and being too full, I eat a protein bar an hour before dinner, then a light dinner. Then I still don't want to workout but two minutes into it, I'm all in. Then I snack a little more before bed. I still do a lot of these workouts. I have struggled with motivation as well so now I do some sort of competitive race every year to help motivate. Triathlon on Sunday and I'm ready.....or at least I better be.

[Triplebhunters]

Squats and lunges are quick and VERY effective. Add not only vital strength but stamina, stability on uneven ground as well.

[Harmy]

Here's something a bit new. My neighbors really looked at me like...

Try mowing the lawn with an 80 lb pack on. Took me an hour and 30 minutes yesterday. Plus I am breaking in new boots at the same time.

Also, every day I have to take the dog for a walk. Now while walking the dog I carry my pack loaded with steel weights. Typically an hour a day. Started at 50 lbs. Now at 80 lbs. The first few days hurt. Now it feels easier. I am hoping an hour a day carrying 80+ lbs should have a significant impact on my hiking ability come Oct 5th. I need to do more hills though and get up to elevation whenever possible.

[pointysticks]

Construction? Doing the work or directing the work? If you're in the field. You will be fine.

You have youth on your side.

[FemoralArchery]

Sounds like you are already working out! (grin)

If I had little time to workout & I only did one thing to condition myself for elk season it would be carrying a pack for 30 - 40 minutes 3 days a week. Start with 40# & work up to 70# over a 4-6 week period. Try to cover 2-3 miles per workout & as much hilly terrain as possible, this will help a ton to condition yourself for this years hunts!

ElkNut1

This.

My dad is 53 years old and he can outwalk 90% of the guys on the mountain. He doesn't lift weights or run or any workout programs or anything like that. He packs his full hunting pack 5-6 nights per week and usually for less than an hour.

[LckyTylr]

Lots of good stuff here guys. I'm going to try a combination of a few of them

For work, directing the work. I'm a field engineer, so I am constantly running around talking to my subcontractors and discussing their issues and trying to determine solutions. Luckily, we are building an 18 story office building. I stopped taking the elevator and since all of the actual work is taking place at the top of the building, I'm running stairs all day. It's REALLY Miserable with this heat. It was 100 today and of course OSHA requires long pants, boots and a hard hat . . . all things that just make it hotter.

I'd love to just throw my weighted pack on for the day or part of it, but being in a supervisory role at my age (27) already puts me at a disadvantage, I don't need to give anyone more ammo.

I'd REALLY like to get a weighted vest, but they are expensive. Anyway, I'm going to start with lunges as I think that's the best bang for the buck. I think I can get my mental energy ramped up enough in the morning to make them effective as a workout.

[ElkNut1]

Dude, at 27 & in construction, let's get serious here you need no real training! Guys & gals your age recover so quickly that you have nothing to worry about unless you are extremely over weight! I seriously doubt that.

ElkNut1

[ST52V]

All you probably need to do are a few burpees. From a standing position drop down and do a push up and thing spring into a vertical jump. If you can do 100-150 in a row you'll be fine. Try them and let us know what you think.

[LckyTylr]

Not overweight at all. I have a very athletic build.

BUT

I remember two years ago when, on the last day of the season, my friend and I were hiking back to camp to get an early start of breaking down camp so that we wouldn't have to do it in the dark. We hadn't heard a bugle that whole weekend and couldn't spot any elk on their feet. We were frustrated and I was just about to eat my tag when we heard a bugle. It was in a place that my friend Matt call's "HELL-Hole". Mind you, Matt is a triathlete and an iron man. He does at least one of both races just before each season starts, he's in extremely good shape. He told me that he calls it hell-hole because if you kill anything in it, the haul out takes about 2 full days of non-stop work. From above, looking into the tall timber, it did look awfully steep. Two of the three sides of the bowl were rock faces that only a mountain lion and the sheep and goats would consider. The other side was just dangerous looking. He could tell that I was trying to find the determination to take the first step towards the bugle and decided that he should level with me. He then told me that it was full of blowdowns, about every 50 feet, that the trees were scattered around down there like pick-up-sticks. That was IT for me. I walked the last 200 yards to camp and started packing up. I listened to that bull bugle for another hour and a half and I have no idea if he was bugling at cows or just bugling to taunt me. Over the next several months, I vowed that I would NEVER let myself down like that again in the elk woods. I would never let a lack of physical conditioning send me home eating tag soup.

Last year, as I mentioned, I trained really hard for that race and my work situation was different. On the last weekend of last season, my friend Matt and I again found ourselves deep down in a canyon. We were already about 2200 ft below the saddle that we camped in when Matt spotted a herd of 7 elk further down the canyon. Even with his spotting scope, we couldn't see any antlers on the biggest bodied and lightest colored elk. We were certain it was a bull and the chase was on. We decended for another 25 minutes of jogging down the side-hill game trails that we were using. I can't believe we didn't roll an ankle or worse, but soon we were directly across the canyon from them. We literally slid down the hillside to the creek bottom and used our hands to grab hold of branches and small trees as we ascended the other side of the finger ridge where we thought they bedded down. We picked our way up to the elevation that we thought would give us the best thermals and I peeked over the ridge. THERE THEY WERE!!! At 40 - 60 yards in the trees, some bedded, some milling about. I looked them all over, cows, calves, adolescents, but couldn't see the bull. Just like that, a wind swirl gave us away and down they went. I didn't notch my tag, but for the first time in 5 years of Elk hunting, I didn't go home empty handed because I didn't try hard enough. It was a LOOOOONG walk back to camp, but I was proud that I gave it everything I had. My legs locked up on me twice on the way out, but I would have NEVER gone down as far as we did if I hadn't been in such good shape.

This year . . . I'm just having a hard time finding the time. For the first time in my life, I feel exhausted every morning when I wake up. I used to wake up before my alarm, even in the AF when I was working odd shifts, I rarely ever needed an alarm. I'd sleep my 6 hours and hop out of bed ready to tackle the world. Now, I hear my alarm and I'm one of "those guys" that wants to roll over and sleep another hour. It stinks.

Sooooo, I'm going to kick myself in the a$$ and start telling myself that "it's either wake up and smell the elk stench . . . or sleep in and surrender".

[pointysticks]

Hey! We do the same job. Sucks Ive been riding the desk once my boss found out I write a CCO fast and clear

But I do mega highway jobs.

[RockChucker30]

You should be fine. Staying active is the big thing.

What does your diet look like? My wife and I started the primal/paleo diet a year ago, and we have both slimmed down a bit, but the big change is that we both sleep better and have more energy throughout the day.

For working out, look at Tabata intervals. A tabata is 20 seconds of ultra intense exercise followed by a 10 sec break, followed by 20 sec of exercise, etc. It repeats for 4 minutes and that is one rep. 4 or 5 reps will wear you out, and it only takes 16-20 minutes.

I've got a tabata timer app on my Iphone so it's easy. The exercises I use are burpees for one rep, jumping squats for a rep, jumping lunges, squat 180 switch pickups, etc. Usually by the end I'm so whipped I'm doing jumping jacks or running in place or something.

Hill sprints are another great way to build up your cardio capacity very quickly.

If you want to look into the science of HIIT then research VO2 Max. Intervals increase it a lot faster than steady state training over long times.

[LckyTylr]

Pointysticks . . . I feel your pain. I was stuck at the desk for 3 years while I was interning/working while going to school. It's Great to be out in the field now.

RockChucker . . . Not THAT sounds like what I need to work on. Great ideas. Burpees . . . ugh . . . more like UpChuckers!

[LckyTylr]

Ugh . . . are you guys able to wake up, kick a$$ training, and then eat a breakfast?

Not hungry . . . forcing food down.

[elkmtngear]

I'm up early and home late. When everyone else at work is sitting down to lunch, I'm running with a 30 pound pack on, after slamming down a protein shake. The other thing I do is 50 bicycle crunches and 25 pushups every time I take a bathroom break, which is like 5 or 6 times a day.

So I've turned work into an opportunity instead of an excuse. It's the only realistic time I have to work out.

[JGH]

Ok, Rockchucker ... I'm going to give this Tabata stuff a try.

I usually get up at 4:46 and do P90x for an hour ... but 16-20 minutes sounds better. Tomorrow is a cardio day, so (gulp) I'll give it a try.

I'll plan for 5 Tabatas.

[JGH]

Did the Tabata training this morning ... 20:50 of exercise ... I think I'll be incorporating this into my usual regimen, at least weekly.

Sets were 180-switch-pickups, burpees, squat press (15#), ski abs, and wide-leg cross pickups (15#) ... sweating thoroughly by 5 minutes. What's nice is that it's a complete workout in under 21 minutes.

[ctdad]

I also like to do HIIT workouts mixed into my workout routine. I also do sustained cardio (running, biking, swimming) and weights as well as hiking with weight. I worry that I would not have the stamina long term for an entire elk hunt by only doing short high intensity workouts. I do think that mixing all of them together has gotten me into better shape than any one stand alone workout ever would. I did a sprint triathlon last weekend, and though I was far from winning it, it really wasn't that hard to finish and I wasn't sore after either. I believe it is the variety of workouts that have worked best for me.

[pointysticks]

damn. i had TWO pieces of pecan pie yesterday. hahah..

[BrentLaBere]

I like what ctdad said. Doing a little bit of everything will help you be more rounded as far as fitness goes. I think everything has its place. Not to mention changing it up every so often will not allow your body to plateau.

[LckyTylr]

Lunges and running again tomorrow morning, took me 3 days to recover from the last one, my legs are STILL sore!

[WindedBowhunter]

You don't have to train for a triathalon, or crossfit world championships!

You just need to push yourself a little past your comfort zone. With that, your mind will want to quit on you long before your body.

So, why train? Because it will help both your physical and mental stamina during your hunts.

Here is an example of a simple workout that we give some folks interested in backpacking the AT or heading out west to hunt:
Run 2 miles (starting out, you can jog, walk or run)
1. Crunches - keep good form, do as many as you can in 1 minute
2. Push-ups - keep good form, do as many as you can in 1 minute (I use push-up bars for range of motion)
3. Plank - keep good form and hold for as long as you can
4. Body weight squats (Squat Challenge) - keep good form, do as many as you can in 1 minute
5. Chin-ups - keep good form, do as many as you can in 1 minute
6. Side Plank - Lie on your side, supporting your body with your forearm, then push up using your arm so that your hips raise off the ground. Hold for a minute on each side, while focusing on keeping your hips rigid
7. Fist Twists (or Medicine Ball) - sit with legs bent and feet raised. Then lift ball, keeping shins parallel to floor. Now twist to right and left, touching the ground with fists/ball.

This is a great little all around workout.

I have a few other workouts as well that are little more intense. You can increase the intensity of this workout by performing two cycles of this workout, with or without the second run. You can also slowly increase the distance of the run prior to this workout.

You only need to perform this workout 3-4 times a week.