Excercise practices?
 

Ok, if this topic gets turned into a 10 plus page debate about how this person has stupid ideas, or that person doesn't know what he is talking about, or the guy in the corner needs to pull his head out... Well, I will just give up on posting in here, lol;)

Ok, so now for the question, and it would be nice for everyone to be honest in their answers.

What does your excercising consist of during the year to get ready for big game hunting? From the spring, all the way into the cold, dark winter months?

I must say, before my kidney transplant, while in high school, I was pretty poor at keeping myself in shape. I had my kidney transplant April 1st last year, and have been cleared by my doctor, and have been SSSLLLLOOOOWWWWLLLLLYYYY working myself to get into better shape. I was doing real good about a month ago, walking almost every day with a pack of about 20lbs, then the weather turned south again, and I lost a real desire to actually go outside and do anything for a while. Lately I have been doing more crunches and push-ups about every other day, and have been trying to ride my bike when the weather allows. I hope to be back walking again with the pack as soon as I can. I have also spent a few days out, counting sage grouse, which have allowed me to walk a little bit in what I would normally wear hunting.

Soo... what does everyone else do to get in shape. How do you keep your energy levels up, and keep yourself from going crazy during the cold off months?

Now lets just hope this one stays civil;)

RE: Excercise practices?
 

ive always been heavy, but in the last few years ive started really knocking that off. been doing circuit training at the weight room lately which is helping a lot. i would do aerobics, but i love heavy lifting, so this is a happy medium. in the summer i jog, play city league softball, and shoot my bow a ton. winter lift wights, since i like it.

guess my only problem is, even with all the weightlifting, im still a wuss!!!

brad

RE: Excercise practices?
 

I started playing semi-pro football this year, and I have been whipped into shape and but quick. I practice 3x week plus game on Saturday, lift upper body 2x week, lower body 1x per week, run sprints and agilty drills 2-3x/month. Really enjoy the weight lifting, also purchased an eliptical glider for post work out warm downs, my wife mainly uses that.

RE: Excercise practices?
 

Hey hnmuley, what kind of program are you on?

RE: Excercise practices?
 

Just walking.

RE: Excercise practices?
 

During the winter months I like to go to the gym and weight train along with cardio. As soon as I can get outside I mix in rollerblading and bike riding along with hiking the foothills around Boise. I spend the summer fishing mountain streams and lakes and taking a trip to hunting camp one to two times a month and hike around just to see what has happened during the winter. I also play baseball once a week from April until archery season starts.

muley- semi pro football will get you in shape in a hurry. Just don't get hurt so you miss time out in the woods.

elkaholicid
Michael

RE: Excercise practices?
 

Work requires I maintain a high level of fitness. Cardio everyday for at least 30min, usually jogging outside. Interval training twice a week running hills or alternating sprints between light/power poles with a slow jog on the next 2. Weights 3days a week, although because of a ruptured tendon in my hand I've had to cut the weights out for the last few months. If I really want to kill myself I run up and down 3 floors with 65lbs for 5 sets of 5. Plus lots of push-ups, chin-ups and crunches. Helps too that we are so high above sea level here, makes it easier to transition to the eastern slopes to chase elk come the fall.

RE: Excercise practices?
 

It is kind of funny this is here. We have a lot of posts from guys back east asking about elk hunting in the west. Colorado in my case, so what do I do? Well, I think a lot of guys know I have bad knees here [5 surgeries]. The bike is what the Doc orders and it does help. But I have a home gym and use it for legs and upper body. And a ton of miles at timberline for cardio. I like a lot of guys here have added pounds, 145 to 165. That may not sound like much to a lot of guys, but it makes a difference. A lot of that weight went into my shoulders from pulling a bow string. And the rest is that tire around the middle and that probably isn't going anywhere soon. The winter isn't hard for me to stay in shape, like it is for some guys. Bird hunting behind my 3 German Shorthairs keeps me moving. The thing I can't fix is the age thing, 50 next year. And for you young guys, you are full of it; it will catch you sooner or later. You are talking to a guy that played hockey all my life till 40. I was a rock and ice climber 20 plus years. So I have been in great shape all my life till now! And I am OK shape now, just not like 20 years ago. If you wish to hunt at an older age, stay toned up, you will thank yourself.
Gselkhunter

RE: Excercise practices?
 

I've been planning this elk hunt this fall for the past 5 years. It so happens that I have a 19 year old son that ran track and played basketball. He is the reason I started working out with the goal in mind of getting in shape for an elk hunt. So in the past 5 years I have done a lot of running. I've completed 3 marathons and continue to run 5-6 days a week. I lift weights, upper body and legs, 3-4 days a week and do numerous push-ups and sittups. I am 45 and probably in the best shape I've been in since high school. I've heard the warnings to get in shape before going on an elk hunt. I plan to be the fittest hunter in camp in Sept. The only thing I can't plan for, is the altitude. We are at a stunning 600 ft. elevation here in corn country. I guess I could climb the tv tower 3-4 days a week! LOL :D:D

RE: Excercise practices?
 

I am thankful that I have always been active,and relatively free from injury.There is no down side to being fit,yes it takes time but it brings you so much back in return.For us it gives us the ability to hunt harder and more comfortably.I am soon to be 47.I exercise 6 to 7 days a week,usually always early in the morning.I maintain a routine of two days in succession of resistance exercise(combination of weights and bowflex machine)and on the aerobic days I use my mountain bike that is set up in a trainer so I can use it as a stationary bike,I will ride the bike for an hour each time.I used to run quite a bit but it became to punishing for my knees and hips so the bike is a better answer.I do believe that nothing will burn the fat off your body faster than running.
The right balance of strength and endurance can sometimes be confusing.I believe that if you can't get to the area's you want to hunt (leg's and lung's)your ability to drag or pack won't be put to that much use.For me to put on weight and greater muscle mass I have to eat like a pig and do very little aerobic exercise.You have to do the best you can with genetics you were born with.

RE: Excercise practices?
 

muley69,

our local gym got a grant for a circuit training set up a couple years ago. the way its set up, there are machines to work about every part of your body. leg exensions, leg curls, leg press, bench press, incline bench, pec dec, military press, preacher curls, triceps pull down, pull up counter balance, lat pull down, back extension and pullover. that pull up counter balance machine is prety cool, anybody can get to 20 pullups with it. anyway, in the middle of all this is a bunch of steps, and a timer on the wall. it works like this. every 45 seconds the timer goes off. for 45 seconds you jump up and down on a step as fast as ya can, then when the times sounds ya go to the nearest machine. do it for 45 sedonds and back to one of hte steps. it goes in a circle, so in about 25-30 minutes you have worked every major muscle. all of the weight on the machines is quickly changeable, so you make it as tough as you want. its hard as hell if ya push yourself, i sweat twice as much doint that as i do running.

brad

RE: Excercise practices?
 

Good subject. When I learned that you have to be in good shape for elk hunting, I decided it was the type of hunting for me.

In addition to other workouts mentioned above, I backpack with weight like Mr Brown. I can get a workout just walking the dog, and it's easier on my 47 year old knees than jogging. 3 miles on workdays and 5 to 7 on days off. Obviously the more hills the better. I use both the streets and the trails behind our house.

I did this last spring/summer to get ready for my sons' 50 mile scout pack trip in August, and kept it up through hunting season. As the oldest guy I was able to stay ahead of the pack most of the time. Lost 15 lbs and its not back.

Two bags of lead shot and some rocks (I'm up to 60 lbs) in a higher-end camelbak with good quality shoulder straps. Fits under or over my jacket.

Mr Brown - this works great on a treadmill if you have access to one. You don't have to stay on that boring machine as long when you have weight on your back.

RE: Excercise practices?
 

I think the best way to get in shape is with a solid weight lifting program. You will be amazed at how much easier things become when you start to gain strength. Leg workouts, if done correctly, are not fun and highly effective. Strengthening your back muscles pays huge dividens as well. My workouts are for strength gains, not toning or pulling my shirt off at the beach. I work hard on three phases: total body strength with an emphasis on posterier chain, running sprints/explosiveness and flexability. Don't neglect the flexabilty aspect of training, it's critical. For those of you who want to seriously get into shape and have quick and noticable strenth gains I recommend the following training program: Defrancos' Westside for Skinny Bastards, and no you don't have to be a skinny bastard for this to work. Takes less then an hour 3x week and the results are terrific. Just type defranco weight lifting into your google search engine and go visit his site.[8D]

RE: Excercise practices?
 

I alternate days of riding my bike and weight lifting. In the winter I ride indoors.

RE: Excercise practices?
 

I wish I were a skinny bastard, but I downloaded this anyway. Makes a lot of sense; I'm going to put it to work. The further we get into this subject the further we get from the subject of hunting, but thanks for the info.

RE: Excercise practices?
 

A good idea comin' back from adversity. Of course slow is a whole different matter when your 65, and can't walk fast enough to exercise your heart, cause the bum circulation in your legs causes them to cramp when you walk fast. [:o] Jest don't git in that bad a shape. ;)

RE: Excercise practices?
 

Let me know how it works for you, any questions PM me, I'm in my 6th week of the program and I love it, I just keep adding weight every session.

RE: Excercise practices?
 

When I had my ACL replaced in 2001, they told me I would be in rehab for 12 weeks. They kicked me out in 5 weeks, told me there was not anything else they could do for me. But I had 2 more surgeries on that knee since then. The Doc told me I should back off. Big question, how do you do that elk hunting? It isn't in my personal profile.
Gselkhunter

RE: Excercise practices?
 

WOW!! Glad to see this generated so many good replies!!

I bookmarked that page, but have yet to read through everything, though it looks like a good program.

The only problem I face about lifting weights is the fact that there is no real gym here where I live. I am stuck to going to the high school when they allow it, which does not work with my schedule very well. So what else do I do? I am going to get some 5, 10, and 15 lb dumbells for doing delt raises, butterflys, and lunges, but I just don't have much room for a full bench or home gym...

Hmm.. what to do?

RE: Excercise practices?
 

Do you own an excercise bike? That does more for me than anything, especially in cold or wet weather, because I can do it in my living room. I bought a basic model from Wal-Mart for less than $100.

My limiting factor has become my knees and my back, and I can't jog anymore because of them. However, hitting the bike really strengthens my knees for the steep country. For my wind, I usually powerwalk with a backpack up and down hills when the weather will permit. I also have a treadmill, but that just gets too boring for me.

RE: Excercise practices?
 

Pushups, pullups, and situps (crunches). I used to have my daughter sit on my back while doing pushups. You can do them with a backpack on, too. You're benching a little over half your weight plus any additional you can balance. Raise your feet high for more weight. Put your hands in different positions. You can see how much you're "benching" with a bathroom scale.

If you can't pull up, stand on a chair and put as little weight on your feet as your arms can stand until you don't need the chair any more.

Ab workouts and stretches are the most important ones, like muley69 says.

Write down your program so you do it regularly.

RE: Excercise practices?
 

Yeah, about the only things I do right now are basic crunches, and push-ups along with quite a bit of stretching. Never thought about adding weight or the other things you mentioned. I have written down my BP, pulse, weight, and what excercises down in a calendar, though I have not done it for a while as I have not done much for excercising. I already have to keep track of my BP and weight because of my kidney transplant.

That doesn't make any sense for some reason. Can you clarify it a bit. Thanks.

Edit - Never mind the last, it makes sense now. Got it!:D

RE: Excercise practices?
 

That's my writing for ya!

I am starting to feel my age; I used to be a pull-up fiend, but now I struggle if I get away from them for a few months (or more). I get on a chair and grab the bar so that when I pull up, it's all with my legs, nuthin but pure cheat, basically doing squats while holding the bar. Then each night, put a little less weight on my legs until I'm pulling up entirely with my arms.

The other thing you can do is use a chair to start with your chin at bar level, pick up your feet, and let yourself down as slowly as you can.

Of course, if you can do pullups, you just ignore all this.

If you can only do one or two, do several sets of one or two a night (every other night) and keep increasing.

Type in "workout without weights" in google or yahoo and you can get all kinds of ideas. In college my roommate was a gymnast and he had all sorts of creative ways to use body weight for a natural workout.

You can get pushup bars that elevate your hands about 8 inches to do a deeper pushup. You can also build dip bars - great exercise.

Sorry again if I'm getting too far off hunting.

RE: Excercise practices?
 

I could build dip bars too. That is nothing for me to come up with. Thanks for the ideas.

I don't think this is getting too far off hunting. The reason I put this topic in here anyway was because a lot of the game covered in here has to do with hunting in areas that require a person be in at least "good" condition, which requires excercise, which is then linked to this thread.:D

RE: Excercise practices?
 

Charley Brown I sir will ask you a question before I give you my routine OK. Now what are you getting in shape to do? What are your goals and how old are you etc? Sorry that was more than one question.

However, it is important to set goals for ones self but always be careful not to over due your expectations and get plenty of rest in between workouts.

I am from the old school and had good teachers along the way, who taught me not just how to exercise but what to eat and how many times etc per day.

My work out routine now days consists of lifting "free weights" 3 times a week and doing walking and swiming 3 times a week, alternating the walking and swiming. I lift light, meadium and last workout of the week is heavy, with Saturday and Sunday off, no workouts.

I lift a total of 4 sets during my workout, the starting set is a very light warm up set (dumbells) after I "Stretch My Body" completely. I also strectch in between sets. The other 3 sets are as follows: Medium weight (65lb dumbells bench press) using 10 reps, Medium Heavy*** with Olympic bar at 190lbs doing 8 reps***Heavy bench press with Olympic bar totalling 225lbs at 6 reps. I do this on my last workout of the week.

Now come time for elk hunting I do less lifting and more walking (cardio work for the heart and lungs) up and down hills with a rock sack on my back starting out at 20 pounds and working up to 75 pounds for 3 miles. I do this for 8 weeks before a hunt. I only lift 2 days a week during this time with light weights, no more than 150lbs (15 reps) on the bench and 3/4 squat no more than 2 sets of with last set being 200lbs at 12 reps.

I also make sure I am eating plenty of protein 100 grams a day and drinking lots of good water and juices too. I take 2 naps a day, I can do that being a senior citizen nowdays.

RE: Excercise practices?
 

Hi Ball - What am I trying to get in shape for? Well, I am trying to mainly stay in shape for my annual hunting. What are my goals? To be able to hike more comfortably and make it home without suffering a bunch of pain. I am 22, but as I stated in my 1st post, I had a kidney transplant a year ago. I have been doing as much walking as the weather will allow, and have been riding my bike also, as well as push ups and crunches. I started this mainly to find out what everyone else does for excercise to get ready for big game hunting, but have seen some good ideas that will work for someone that has very little chance to even get to a gym.

RE: Excercise practices?
 

CB< don't underestimate the power of pushups, pullups, and weighted dips, these are solid exercises. Two points, however, you simply must give your body time to repair the damage done by a workout, 72 hours is the optimum. Many people feel the more and harder they work their body, the better the results, this simply isn't true. Your muscles grow during your rest period. After about 45-60 minutes of working out, you start to have deminishing returns and focus and intensity are often loss. Point number two, don't allow your body to get acclimated to your exercise regime, you have to change up the order your doing your excercises and the kind that your doing, you need to shock your system and keep it guessing. If you don't have much room, invest in a dumbell weight set up, one for each hand. It is small and you can do many excecises w/o a bench. Bent over rows, dumbell bench, butterflys, delt flyes, kickbacks, hammer and concentration curls, and for the legs, DB squats, lunges, step ups etc. these are just a few of the excercises you can do that are highly effective with just some dumbells and some weights. Keep your diet clean and take it lots of protein, 1 gram for every pound you weigh for good muscle gain.[8D]

RE: Excercise practices?
 

For me my work out consits of,
I sit at home watching baseball,archers choice,hunting the country and so on,then a little nap,eat as much high calorie food (candy and dougnuts-Love Burger King),and drinking beer.

No not realy,I try and stay as active as I can through the winter 3 nights aweek at the gym,45-60 min work outs,lots of running,weight's and swimming.I alternate days one day work the upper boddy,next day work the legs,abs and swimming.In the spring and summer lots of hiking,and hunting climbing the hills.Then hunting season is here and I bust but from Oct. to the end of Dec.

From Late July to end of August I run 3 miles a day with a light loaded pack frame 30-35lbs,alternating wind sprint in between.
BBJ

RE: Excercise practices?
 

In my earlier years I didn't have to work out much. I went to the gym and threw around some weights and that was it. I've always been strong. I still enjoy lifting wieghts, but I hate cardio. In high school I was a baseball player and the practices kept me in fairly good shape. After highschool I started riding rodeo. The low pay kept the wieght off because I couldn't afford much food. Now, I sit at a desk and eat way too much. I try to make myself walk daily and watch what I eat ... Its tough. I recently bought a Bowflex, it works good. I miss free weights though. I still have a hard time making myself do cardio though. Every year about this time I start worrying about the upcoming season and I will pick it up a notch. The problem is that every year its harder and harder to get where I need to be. If I where a smart man I would work all year to stay in shape, but then again I've never been accused of being smart.

RE: Excercise practices?
 

muley69,

I grew up competing in soccer, baseball, football, tennis, swimming and did martial arts.

When push came to shove, in HS, I stuck with football and swam but also started throwing.

I played football in college.

After college, I boxed and fought full-contact martial arts.


It is because of football that I am now in my predicament... I played at 6' 240 lbs and had decent wheels and loved demolishing linebackers. I have always be one of those guys that played through the pain and I played at a high level...

Once my college career was over, I was still in good shape and maintained roughly similar fitness until about 28 years of age. My weight started to slowly creep up but it wasn't that much of an issue.

Then the years of football started to catch up with me... in the period of the last 4 years... I had 2 knees cut... I had a shoulder cut... I had an ankle cut... then I sprained each of my ankles within 6 months of each other... By the time I was done with all of this cutting and spraining, I put on 50 pounds...

I still hunted alot... heck, I did an antelope hunt in a boot and crutches... but it drove me nuts... I was always aching and hurting...

Thankfully, I was in good health when I started. My colesterol was in the 160s and my BP was 110/70 even at my initial 300 pounds. My doctor had me retested and then proclaimed that I was "in the best shape he has ever seen a fat guy" and that I need to be "on-call" to retest to settle any wagers with his dr buddies.

CHARLIE BROWN,

In the last 5 weeks, I have dropped 22 pounds...

The secret for getting in shape and building muscle has never changed... Here are the 2 magic ingredients...

1) Diet
2) Hard work

CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN BEFORE DOING ANY OF THE BELOW because the level of your kidney function will definitely effect what you can do on your diet in terms of supplementation and dietary intake. This is something that you should really determine with a nutrionist.

DIET

You need to monitor your diet and adjust it... be it down in calories... up in protein... eliminating carbs... increasing carbs... cutting fat... etc...

The key is writing your dietary consumption, at the time that you actually consume it, and then calculating your caloric intake... your calories from fat... your fat/carb/protein grams per each meal... the spacing of your meals... and the timing of your intake...

For me it was easy... I reduced my caloric intake and increased my water intake. My issue wasn't what I was eating, it was how much I was eating.

I have spread that over 3 meals and several snacks. The only difference (meals and snacks both include 1 protein severing) between my "meals" and my "snacks" is the inclusion of a fruit, veg and salad to lunch and dinner and the inclusion of a fruit to breakfast.

I try to keep my fat grams at under 25 grams, with no saturated fats being best, and my carbohydrates in the 50-60 gram range. The rest of my diet consists of PROTEIN either in the form of lean meats (fish, chicken & pork loin) or in the form of powders (whey isolate, egg, soy and cesin).

Also, I drink 150 ounces of water spread out through my day. I don't drink alcohol or caffiene so I didn't have to eliminate them. I eliminate all sodas, fruit juices and etc. Water, decaf ice tea and crystal light are it for beverages. However, only water counts towards my minimum intake of 160 ounces.

When you drink that much water, you need to supplement your diet with vitamins. I take 6 multi-vitamins a day and additionally dose C, Potasium, Calcium, B, A and essential fatty acids.

EXCERCISE

Somebody mentioned it earlier but the easiest way to burn fat and get into shape is to increase your lean muscle mass. The more lean muscle mass that you have, the higher your metabolism will be at rest.

I have a friend that is a pro body builder. He is 290lbs of pure muscle. The amount of food that he eats daily just to sustain his muscle mass is frightening.

If you increase your cardio, especially right when you wake up, before you eat/drink anything, you'll raise your metabolism even more.

Personally, I believe in 30 minutes of hell approach to cardio which is the following...

For the first five minutes, use it as a warm up period...

The next 30 minutes, do the maximum effort that you can sustain for 30 minutes be it walking, jogging or stairs...

For the last 5 minutes, do a cool down period. Walk comfortably until the 5 minutes is up.

Here is my day... Monday thru Friday...

6:00am = Wake up

6:10am - 6:15am = stretch

6:15am - 6:55am = cardio

7:15am = Pre-Workout Boost
[ul][*] Drink 8oz Water [*] BCAA Aminos[*] Glutamine (5g)[*] Carnitine (500mg)[/ul]

7:15am - 8:15am = workout @ gym

8:15am = Post-Workout Boost
[ul][*] Drink 8oz Water [*] BCAA Aminos[*] Carnitine (500mg)[/ul]

9:00am = Breakfast
[ul][*] Whey Isolate Protein Shake (100 cal/15 fat cal w/ 20 grams protein)[*] Glutamine (5g)[*] Strawberries, 1 Cup (50 cal/ 5 fat cal)
[*] Multi-vitamin (2)[*] Vitamin C (2000mg)[*] Vitamin E (1000mg)[*] Calcium (1200mg)[*] Essential Fatty Acids (2000mg Flax Oil Cap) [*] Potasium[*] Vitamin B Complex[*] Vitamin A[/ul]

9:00am - 11:00am = Drink 32oz of Water

11:00am = Morning Snack
[ul][*] Whey Isolate & Egg Protein Shake (98 cal/7 fat cal w/ 21 grams protein)[/ul]

11:00am - 1:00pm = Drink 32oz of Water

1:00pm = Lunch
[ul][*] Lean Meat, 4oz[*] Grilled Yellow Squash, 1 Cup[*] Salad, 2 cup[*] Salad Dressing, 2 T of non-fat low carb [*] Natrual Apple Sauce, 4oz[*] Crystal Light, 16oz
[*] Calcium (1200mg)[*] Multi-Vitamin (2)[*] Vitamin C (2000mg)[*] Carnitine (500mg)[*] Essential Fatty Acids (2000mg Flax Oil Cap)[/ul]

1:00pm-3:00pm = Drink 32oz of water

3:00pm = Afternoon Snack
[ul][*] Soy Protein Shake (117 cal/9 fat cal w/ 27 grams protein)[/ul]

3:00pm - 5:00pm = drink 32oz of Water

5:00pm = Early Evening Snack
[ul][*] Cottage Cheese Low Fat, 4oz[/ul]

5:00pm - 7:00pm = Drink 32oz of Water

7:00pm = Dinner
[ul][*] Lean Meat, 4oz[*] Grilled Asparagus, 1 Cup[*] Salad, 2 cups[*] Salad Dressing, 2 T of non-fat low carb [*] Blueberries, 4oz[*] Crystal Light, 16oz
[*] Calcium (1200mg)[*] Multi-Vitamin (2)[*] Carnitine (500mg)[/ul]

7:00pm - 9:00pm = Drink 16oz of Water

9:00pm = Late Evening Snack
[ul][*] Casein Protein Shake (120 cal/10 fat cal w/ 23 grams protein)[/ul]

9:00pm - 11:00pm = Drink 16oz of Water

11:00pm = SLEEP

RE: Excercise practices?
 

All good advice Spyro, you and I are on the same page, except I eat Pizza on friday night, I found if you give up everything, it starts to suck, so I cheat every friday night, on Saturday after the game I will drink one beer. Other than that my diet is similiar to yours with several meals throughout the day. I also take MSM, Creatine, Glu-CHo, multi, and calcium. I noticed a lot of people jog and thats all good, I don't because my exercise is sport specific. As far as cardio I don't have a specific routine right now because football season is in progress, thats plenty of Cardio right there.

RE: Excercise practices?
 

Yeah, all good advice, glad Brown asked. 'Cept I can't do the high protein thing seeing how I'm a vegetarian. :D

RE: Excercise practices?
 

Sheeze jones123, perhaps your on the wrong site then.;)

RE: Excercise practices?
 

Excellent information!!!

No need to worry about my health. The doctor has given me a full release, and my kidney function is just about as good as someone who has their native kidneys. The only problem really setting me back is the hours I work makes it hard to get a routine, and the town I live in has no full time gym or trainers or anyone who I can look up to for immediate advice and help with everything.

RE: Excercise practices?
 

I have three components to my exercise program. (1) sit-ups, push-ups, and dumb-bell work five days a week; (2) running; and (3) stair climbing.

I think sit-ups and push-ups provide general body tone and strength for all other physical activities.

The dumb-bell work strengthens my arms. I focus on high numbers of repetitions rather than heavy weights. I do 60 curls with 15 LBS weights with each arm; 20 straight-arm lifts, palms down, out from my side up level with my head; and 30 straight-arm lifts out in front of me up level with my head. I am more interested in endurance than short term power, for hunting.

The running is to increase my aerobic capability and endurance and I do it three times a week. I don't run as far as others -- probably 1.5 miles to 2 miles -- but I try to work hard in this length. In particular, I start with a continuous run of about a mile or a bit more. But them I do the rest of the running as shorter, faster segments. I try to do some sprinting as one of these shorter segments. Different muscles get worked at these different paces.

I climb the stairs at work to increase my climbing strength. I work on the third floor -- only two flights of stairs up -- so I continue on up to the sixth floor and hope to increase this to the seventh floor. I don't just plod up the stairs, I semi-jog or semi-run up the stairs. This may seem a small matter, but I noticed a substantial difference climbing hills while deer hunting last year, the first time I had been following the stair climbing regime.

I don't consider this level of exercise intrusive or inhibitive of my life. The exercise I do when I first get up in the morning. The stair climbing is just part of getting in to my job. The running takes a little adjustment. In the summer I arrange to run in the morning, because the ozone level is too high in the afternoon here in North Texas (high levels of ozone make heavy exercise, such as running, bad practice). If I had a real challenging hunt before me I would dial-up my exercise program substantially. Probably more stair work and more aggressive aerobic work. I don't think the aerobic work really helps much with coping with altitude, but it does help with endurance -- being able to keep going all day long. There are alternatives to running, including swimming and bicycling. Running is kind of hard on your body, but it is convenient -- step outside your door and there is the running track! I injured my foot slightly a week ago and laid-off running for a week. Started again last night and it seemed to go well, though I could feel the injury. It happened because of poor placement of my foot. I have pulled a calf muscle before that was a long time healing. People say your joints can begin to rebel against running as you get older, but I have not yet experienced this.

After the big game season is over for me -- usually deer hunting is over the last of November -- I take a break from exercise and dieting until the new year. I then begin to get back into shape again. I'm not recommending this practice. It is an indulgence I grant myself -- to be lazy and eat without much constraint -- on the understanding that I'll have to pay the piper in January. The getting back into shape isn't too bad, but the shedding the pounds I put on in this period of time is tough. I'm 48 years old, 6' 2" tall, and try to keep my weight under 200 LBS, even better under 195 LBS (which gets me under the BMI threshold of normal/overweight).

I have gone back and read the other postings. Some very good information there, it seems to me, from people in some pretty serious exercise programs. One thing I would say for anyone reading is that it doesn't matter where you start from. I'm not at where some of these other guys are and I'm not proposing to go there. If you don't exercise, you can benefit from a little exercise. Where ever you are at, you can improve. For me it is sometimes disappointing to be working out at a level well below where I was at towards the end of the previous year (good or bad, I don't "train" continuously and hence have to build back up after my annual slacking off during December and January). But what I find is that I do my work until I can feel that the muscles have gotten a good work out -- even easier to discern this about 30 minutes after stopping the exercise -- and then I do a little more each time I work-out, or at the start of every week I do a little more. While I'm substantially below the physical levels of some of the other posts I read here, I feel good, I have energy, I can keep going all day long, and I'm in much better shape than I would have been without keeping my weight down and doing my workout, limited though it may be. Also, it is surprising how much benefit can be obtained from plain old walking. When I pulled a muscle in my calf I walked and found it gave my legs the worked feeling that indicates something is being accomplished. Park farther away and walk farther to get into the building at work or at the store.

RE: Excercise practices?
 

I feel fortunate to live in mountainous country that is demanding. I am either hiking, shed hunting, turkey hunting or bear hunting from January to June, then I start my logging jobs in the summer when I am not teaching. I log alone and do all the felling, skidding and bucking myself. I also do a lot of hiking and scouting in the summer evenings. Oh I forgot to mention along with my health classes, I teach one weights class and work out with my students. This year around mixture of exercise keeps me in good cardiovascular shape. My resting heart rate is in the high 40's to mid 50's year around.

RE: Excercise practices?
 

I'll have my cheats but it won't be pizza or anything like that because I am limiting my carb intake. I'll toss a nice 8oz elk steak on the grill or maybe even do a little old school pulled pork (13 hours on my weber bullet).

I am not a big Glucosamine Chondroitin fan because of one thing... It is expensive because of the Chondroitin and, according to Consumer Labs testers, half of them don't give you the amount of Chondroitin claimed on the bottle. None of the Chondroitin only supplements passed the test. A couple of different joint disease organizations recommend using Glucosamine Sulfate only or Glucosamine Sulfate and Glucosamine HCL. According to the Consumer Labs testers, ALL of the Glucosamine Sulfate products passed.

When I was playing, all I did during the season was maintainance cardio and lifting. My bulking cycles (e.g. heavy lifting to produce muscle mass and a 6K calorie diet to provide the fuel to grow it) were from Jan 4 to Mar 1 and then April 1 to June 1.

My cardio during bulking phases was limited to speed training.

Good deal because to do it right... you need to drink alot of fluids. Ideally you'll want to drink 1 ounce of fluids, mostly water, for each pound of body weight (non-fat) and makes the kidneys work over time.

Second, I highly recommend that you have a physician monitor your blood work... Have it done every 4 weeks. Have a VAP test done before you start and then another at the end of your 12 week cycle. Have your body fat % measured at the begining and end of each 12 week cycle.

Doing all this excercise and diet without having all of the tests done is like trying to develop a load for your rifle and all you have are some potential powders but you don't know what they specifically are and you have no chronograph... just a scale.

You need to know EXACTLY how your body is reacting to the work that you are putting in.

What I would recommend is heading up to Elko or over to Ely a couple of saturdays a month especially in the begining. Have them teach you the correct free weight excercises and make sure that you are performing them correctly. Have them tell you what you should be feeling... where the burn should be coming from... what else should be burning... that you are performing the excercise at the correct speed... that you are getting a good extenstion/contraction.

Go light for the first 2 weeks to get your body accustomed to the new stress and focus on performing the correct montions for each excercise.

After the first 2-3 weeks... Go Heavy... (still maintain correct form)

Weight Training is for building muscle mass. To build muscle mass most effectively, you need to go heavy. You need that muscle to fail.

Cardio is for stamina. Diet is for definition. High reps does neither... It just builds muscle mass ineffectively.

Oh and one last thing, everyone has room for a simple bench and a set of dumbbells.

SA

RE: Excercise practices?
 

Yup, already ahead of you there to Spyro, lol!! I get my blood draw about every three weeks. I also see my doctor every three months who does a normal physical exam on me. With the blood getting drawn, I have Basic, CBC, Magnesium, and another to test the level of Prograf (an anti-rejection med) in my system. Actually, everything is leveled off very well. If you look in my fridge, you will find orange juice, mild, and water. That's all I drink, totaling about 4 litres of water per day or more, depending on my direct activity level, plus a large glass milk or orange juice. My diet consists mainly of FRESH pork, steak, and chicken, farm fresh eggs, wheat bread, fresh vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, and celery. I don't eat as much fruit as I should, which is one thing I do need to change. I try not to eat boxed foods such as mac&cheese, rice-r-roni and such, though every couple of months, it will get thrown into a recipe, depending on what I am cooking. Fried foods are about illiminated, leaving whenever I catch fresh brook trout or maybe once a month, I indulge myself in sliced potatoes. I do not put salt in any food I cook, or add salt to my food AFTER it is cooked. I wake up between 10 and 11 usually, and work from 3 to 11, then go to bed around 1 to 2 in the morning. Another advantage for me, is there are very few restaraunts in town, so I cook my own food every morning and every night. Because of when I wake up, that only allows me to eat two meals. Either way, I have maintained my weight very well. When I went into my transplant, I had 145 lbs on this 5'8" frame. I was absolutely miserable. No energy, I literally looked like skin and bones. I got up to a high of about 175 in November, and that didn't feel right either. I have sustained my weight between 162 and 165 weight in the morning (since about mid December), and feel great. My only chalenge now is just building up a little more muscle mass, adding a few more healthy things to my diet, and getting my lungs in a little better shape than they are, though they are still in better shape than a lot of people I know, which I have never had a problem with. Also, one last thing, the only supplement I take is magnesium because it is prescribed to me. I don't take any other supplements.

Edit - Just read that about going to Elko or Ely a couple times a month. I do go up there fairly often, I just need to actually get in one of the gyms there, instead of spending the little money I do have on a movie;).
Yeah, so go ahead, bash me all you want. I don't own TV!! Actually there is one here. An old one that I can get like 3 channels on, but I have decided I would rather do other things than sit on my butt and watch TV, so I spend an hour or two on the net every day instead!:D;). Along with time out in the yard, out 4 wheeling in my jeep, and other things like that.

RE: Excercise practices?
 

As for the bench. I probably could find a place for one around here somewhere, though it would be pretty cramped. I don't have too much furniture, so I should be able to make it work. I guess the one thing that is really keeping me from getting one is not knowing exactly what to do as far as excercises go. I will have to figure something out. Thanks for all of the ideas!!!

RE: Excercise practices?
 

First establish what you want out of your lifting regime. PM me and I will help you all I can. Try the Westside program, but before you do I would do some lifting for a month or so to prepare your body.