Getting into Sheep Shape
 

i'm beginning my workout routine for Montana sheep season 2011.

i'm 26, will be 27 years old, 190 pounds and 5'10. i have a solid and muscular frame.

so far, i'm planning mostly cardio work. i hope to get to about 175-180 pounds. i've been running 2 miles 5 days a week, i will increase to 4 miles, 5 days and am lifting very lightly so i don't build muscle (if i even look at free weights, i'll bulk up like arnold swartzenager) so let's just avoid that.

i've been thinking about p90x, but i don't know anything about it. do you guys use it? if not, what do you use.

i will lose a couple pounds, and gain muscle in the right places, but how do i make the elevation changes less damaging to my system?

i won't be walking through the hills after sheep, i may want to run!

I'm certainly not an expert at it but I've been getting ready for elk hunts over the years and will tell you what has worked for me. Main thing is that your upper body won't carry you over the mountain. The legs would be the main focus. I try to maximize my training by finding steep hills and walking or running them. The steeper the better and add weight in a pack as the weeks go on. Don't overdo it when it comes to training or the weights. At your age you probably don't have to worry but as you get older the muscles and joints don't work as well and I for one have hurt myself by pushing it too hard too early. I now try to make it a year long thing. You'll get alot more positive alot quicker by running hills then flat ground. In the weight room, work on lunges, pullups, abs, dips, etc. plus if you run the treadmill work on bumping up the incline a little each week until you are doing 10 to 15%. Is it fun running/walking hills?? Maybe not so much but the work you put in now will pay when you get there...

you have a sheep tag? unlimited unit?

I'd say cardio cardio cardio, but what I need and what you need may be 2 different things.

p90x, heard good things, heard yea it works if you can do it/keep up, but good luck at that! I'm sure you could if you can push yourself.


and what do you mean elevation changes hurting your body? altitude sickness? coming from low altitude? eat your fruits/veges at altitude! no booze/caffeine. plenty of water, relax recover, day 1 I wouldn't plan on running up and down mountains, or at all unless you have to! slow and steady wins the race.

No offense, but unless youre seriously jacked, you might wanna drop about 20lbs, running wont do it, you might wanna change your diet, cut out breads, cakes,dairy, chips ,pasta, white rice and wt potatoes cut down on your sugars too and no fruit juice. eat Bfast as soon as you wake up and eat a meal with about 10-20grms of protein every 2-3 hours. dont believe the myth about eating late either. try to eat more all natural foods too, as they tend to contain less sugar, preservatives and other stuff that causes the body to store fat.

For cardio training, switch to 2-3minutes sprints on inclines.

Yep get into the natural foods for sure. Drink lots of water. I don't know what type terrain you have where you live, but where I do I very rarely hit the gym. When I was that age it was waterskiing swimming biking, or just hiking with my hunting pack on.I was lucky to grow up with parents that invested in a Home on lake front proerty. I got a little more invested I bought a kayak. Runnng doesn't do a heck of alot to help out.Now with famlly and work in the way of everything and don't have alot of time to train, a P90X an hour a day 7 days a week or bootcamp an hour a day 5 days a week will get you there.Especially bootcamp.This works you out huge and it's amazing the results you get in a month, over anything else.My wife is an instructor, it ain't just for fat folks. LOL . This training is alot of the same training pro athletes use in their dryland, but modified to suit their
conditioning. But if you are fit , their is no excuse, go high impact. You will have to change your diet increase your callorie intake but you will notice a difference fast.You will be able to ascend and descend with a 80 lbs pack forever.

But don't just exercise in good weather. I'm out in 20 below and 40 above rain blizzard sleet and snow and heat. It doesn't matter how good of shape your in, if your defeated mentally you will be defeated physically.It's been minus 10-15 not including the wind chill for the last week and a half where I live,even though it limits what can do cause of family and work, I was out for 2 hour every evening pitch black darkness, freezing cold weather hiking this tower on top of this mountain in gusting winds, ice covered pathway hiking with 3 dogs.
Wouldn't get home till 10:30pm but dogs have to get waked everyday reguardless of weather, and you never know what weather you may encounter in the mountains,so I use that to my pets to my advantage as well.Hunting high country isn't all about physical fitness there is way more mental toughness involved that alot if hunters think there is. Don't under estimate mental state.

i got back into working out in a gym last year, and i was really surprised how much the science has changed in strength and conditioning. In a lot of circles, cardio is getting really frowned upon....basically you burn calories but youre really just breaking down your system. You may want to look into tabata protocol training......its hard but i did have a lot of success in a short amount of time with it as far as conditioning goes. With my limited knowledge i think id recommend tabata, sprint training and some weights......and not so much the long drawn out cardio unless youre just trying to burn calories for the sake of burning them.

Sheep hunting is all about burning calories and living off the bare min
food to get it.You are breaking down your system hunting sheep.Mental training and meditation are good things to practice no doubt. But this hunting is hunting lifting packing carrying moving climbing, packing heavy weight, bending crawling, all in adverse weather conditions, using different muscles from different loaction of your body.Its cardio fitness to the extreme. Limited amount of food limited amount of water and combined with an endless body workout.Your body has to get used to min calorie intake and extreme phyical workout.You have to train your body to do this.
Not sure if this Tabata thing you suggest does this but it's required.

Sounds like DBH is reccomending a diet simular to the Zone Diet by Dr. Barry Sears, you could google zone diet something should popup

Nathaniel, my weight and height are almost identical. I'm too am in good shape but I will soon be 60 years old so muscle is a bit harder to develop. Since I have a Colorado elk hunt planned for later this year (altitudes from 7,500 to 9,500 ft.), I too am interested in the responses you will get. Myself and a couple of guys I hunt with are planning a several backpacking hikes to a rocky, hilly area near by to help get in shape.

Exercise is good. Getting to your camp a couple of days early and spending some time before the hunt at altitude will help you get acclimated. A couple of of hiking or "scouting" trips before the actual hunt, will help a ton.

Lose some weight. Work out. Alot easier said than done though. It takes committment, not just talking about it on an internet forum.

Change things up so you don't get stuck in a boring routine, I'm doing workouts using the Kinect on Xbox360, spending time on the elliptical in hillclimb mode while I watch a hunting show, and jogging when I get a chance. I would say that when you are able to run a half marathon in 2 hours you are getting close to "sheep shape".

You need to mix in plenty of hills and burst though, not just steady running.

Simulate your hunt.

Get dressed with your boots, put on your pack (filled to the weight you expect to carry) and find the biggest hills (not the street) and go get'em.

You'll know in short order how much more work you need to put in, & it will never be enough !


Good luck, have fun & be safe !!!

Just a little different angle. I've been on 4 sheep hunts and 1 mtn goat hunt. All were here in Colorado. 2 of the sheep hunts I played sherpa & the other 2-- I was the hunter. The goat hunt I was the hunter. I would camp @ 11,000" & then climb @ 2000"--2500'---to get to where the sheep were. but once I was there, I stayed there all day. When I moved it would be on the same plane of the mtn. I would spend more time glassing than climbing. Finding the sheep is the key, then make your climb/stalk. On my ram I watched them for 3 days in the same basin. The season started the day after Labor Day. I packed in on Saturday, found the rams on Saturday, watch the Saturday nite, Sunday & all day on Labor Day. Tuesday I hiked up, got above them, had the ram down @ 9AM. He was a 7/8 curl. Mtn goat was a jst about a replay. Found them in the early AM----climbed and had the shot @ 2:30 PM.


My wife's sheep hunt was a replay. My 1st sheep hunt was near Aspen. My buddy & hiked all day. We booggered the rams & didn't see them again. Mistake made was we hunted with our legs instead of our eyes.

Get in shape----but it's more important to have good glass & know how to use it. Eye strain is bad. Try looking with your binco's in advance---get your eyes in shape also. An eye strain headache is murder up there.

I use a stair climber rather than running. I think it's more important to have strong quads & hamstrings----than being able to run 5 minute miles.

Using your backpack loaded & hiking up & down the football bleachers is also good.

Hopefully, I get another tag this fall. I've got 3 points plus 4 weighted points here in Colorado---so I've got a chance. Good luck--CB

From a nevada hunt in October last season.

I'm not sure about your region but I would practice in the terrain you plan to hunt in and have about the amount of weight as you plan to packout when you take the sheep... Our area was loose shale and I'm 26. I was about ready to die packing out 80lbs of meat with my 40 year old counterpart. Average hiking per day was around 10-15 miles mostly vertical climb on poor footing.

Id say a good way is to cross country ski at elevation and when the snow melts then start hicking a lot at high elevation. Kill two birds with one stone scout and get into shape all summer long. Keep doing what you are doing but this summer get up above timberline alot and do what you will be doing on that sheep hunt hike like crazy with a big pack. Practice with more weight then normal so when you do go it will be easy. Good luck and happy hunting

i will look into this.

i'll be coming from 900 ft elevtion to 9,000 plus ft. i want to prepare my body for the starin as best i can ahead of time. i'm going to arrive 3 days early and do some light hiking i think. to start to build up my bloods oxygen carrying capacity.

i want to avoid strength training so i don't bulk up. i want lean muscle. i was all pumped up before i went dall sheep hunting once and it whooped my butt for the first 4 days. after that it wasn't bad, but i pushed so hard i didn't have much left.

i do construction work, so i stay pretty lean. but i stand in place and use a shovel or lift heavy objects, that does nothing for my ability to make it cross country.

i like the idea about the bootcamp program. since i live in eastern kansas, i have no hills to hike. i have a treadmill, but i might get a gym membership to do the stair climber.

thanks for the ideas guys

With all this new advice
 

How did I ever get this old?

I exercise and I reduced my food and sweet water intake by the decade, in the front end loaders they give you to eat with.