My 100lb plan for 2016 elk hunt

[j3cub]

I am no expert on exercise programs, but it seems you are over doing it on the weight lifting programs. You need to drop carbs in your food intake, and do more duration climbing and descending. Any steps, hills, climbing over fallen logs, rocks, etc. Last hunt I did was in a burn area six year ago. The trees killed by the fire, but left standing were now beginning to fall everywhere. You wind up climbing over logs, under overhangs, on fallen trees, up and down all day long. I am not saying you will hunt in a burn area, only that this type of area is a perfect training terrain. I don't know where you live, but if there are hills where you live, get up early in the morning and run up and down them. Take your rifle, or something like it, and your backpack and about thirty pounds and go as fast as you can. And again, if you can get out West and do some actual climbing and hiking do it! Why do I say all of this? Because what you want to avoid is some twenty something guide who lives in the mountains of Montana and has been climbing those mountains all his life getting a couple of hundred yards ahead of you, and busting an elk herd! By the time you get up to him, the bull is gone. (this is one of my beefs about some guides, but that is a story for another time)

 

[backyardsniper]

Broke the plateau. Came in at 289lb this mornin. The trick now will be making through the weekend without blowing it. If I can maintain through the weekend next week should be good.

 

[Red Sparky]

Backyardsniper-- I commend you. I will give you my personal experience. I am 6'3" and normally weigh in at 220-230. Went to the doctor and was almost 300 lbs. Went from a 37" waist to a 42" waist. I normally eat a big dinner and my down fall is Dr. Pepper. I usually have at least 4 32 oz. cups a day. So I have a Bowflex Tread climber I have not been on for 5 years. I totally changed my diet and eating routine. I have a protein shake with yogurt in the morning and then snack through the day with low fat, high protein items. Jerky, peanut butter, fresh fruit,etc. and I now have one 12 oz. can of Dr. Pepper a day. I also now have a small dinner, about 600 calories.

For exercise I do the Tread Climber twice a day. That way I increase my metabolism twice a day rather than once. Morning before breakfast and about an hour before bed. I also do some free weights but I do more of an endurance program rather than strength.

The better you can get your lungs doing aerobics the better it is when you get to elevation. If your lungs are in shape they can make better use of the limited O2.

Hang in there as I have 30 more pounds to go but it is well worth it.

 

[Wachsmann]

So quite a few years ago I did something similar to the effect of going from 325ish down to 215. I did a lot of walking at an incline until I could jog on the tread meal. Once I was able to jog and after a while I started at doing it at a 3% incline. I was living in Colorado springs so the elevation was good to train in at 6000 ft. I was hunting in about 10,000 to 10,500. My point is I think the more cardio you can do the more it helps more than any thing else. I did some weight lifting but it was more endurance weightlifting. Would do exercise that closest to something like hiking...or basically do a lot of high reps until I could no longer lift. But by far the running did the most. The more you exercise your lungs at a higher activity level the better you will do in the high elevation. My hunt that year from camp to hunting spot was a 7 mile hike one way then most the day hiking. On average I probably hiked about 18 to 21 miles a day. down fall...I still did not get anything that year as the elk had been blown out the first hunting season. Only seen a few cows and could not find a bull to save my life. Hunting Gunnison Co. West elk wilderness area. Great time. Seen lots of deer and one mountain lion at a far. It was still a great hunt because I was in good shape and I enjoyed the high alpine areas of the mountains with all the wildlife. So I'm 6 foot and I was (was ) 215 at the time. I could run/jog probably 6 to 7 mile and not really think twice about it. At a minimum my jog was 5 miles on the tread meal sometimes longer if I had the time. I hope some day to return back to something close to that. It was a great feeling and I never had a problem doing any thing back then. Now I'm a little older and about 280ish and it gets a little tough but I just go slower.

 

[Deleted member 48126]

I am workout freak. I think I am one of those few, sick individuals that turned it more into a hobby than something you have to do to keep the doctor away. I have some work outs if you want them. If you PM me your email I can email them to you. In the short...less calories in, more calories out, replace whatever you are drinking with water and only water (no sugary drinks, limit beer, etc.), lift low weight high reps, introduce cardio at least 3x a week with your cardio lasting a minimum of 20 mins. Do not stop lifting, you burn more calories after the lift as your muscles try and repair themselves. Lastly, get at least 8 hours of sleep a night and weigh yourself once a week in the mornings. If you weigh yourself daily you'll get discouraged from not having immediate weight loss. gun)

 

[jaeger19]

Listen to the folks that calculated your basal metabolic rate ...they are on the right track. Two tips. Check your body fat percentage and have them factor that as well as you lose weight you won't be moving as much around so your basal metabolic rate will change.. which could mean a need to reduce calories.. however you also need to keep lean muscl e mass so keep an eye on body fat.
Another tip is to do cardio AFTER the weights. When you start cardio your body doesn't know if you are going for a ten mile hike or walking to the fridge so it will use short term fuels like glycogen. Working with weights will use glycogen readily so if you hit weights first your glycogen will be depleted and your body will be more likely to burn fat when you hit cardio.
Oops last trick. Be wary of sweet tasting foods or diet drinks with even no calories. Studies show that sweet tasting foods even though diet foods with no calories trick the body into thinking its goingto get a high caloric meal . And it will tell the body to store. And people that tend to be heavy tend to be better at storing food (as fat).
Good luck.

 

[Magriffey1]

Enjoyed reading the whole thread. I to sign up for the 2016 LRH Elkhunt earlier in the week and am super excited about my first elk hunt! I have 3 pp and have been waiting for the right time, crew and outfitter. Seems like Len and this site are top notch. I've been shooting long range for a few years and have stuck with my two DTA chassis and several different calibers. (300 wm is my fav).

I too am on the quest to get back in shape. I ran the Chicago marathon in 2010 and did a half iron man shortly thereafter at 190lbs (6'2"). Did Crossfit for a year and then total burnout for the past 3. Got up to 233lbs. Started August 1 and went primal (basically paleo with a small amount of dairy. Started back with more relaxed workout sched. 2 xfit workouts a week, one sprint w/o and 4-5 hrs of hiking (65-70% hr max). So far down 10lbs to 223 and would like to get to 205-210.

Have the motivation I need just by being an example to the kids but getting in on this hunt has added a lot.

Look forward to meeting some of you and following your progress.

 

[backyardsniper]

Well the weight lifting is going great and I have been sticking with my eating plan fairly well but still the same results. weight is holding steady at 291 I do see some changes in body composition but that isn't as much what i'm after as just losing the weight. I'm benching 325, dead lift is well over 400 now and my squat is coming up, haven't maxed it but doing sets with 250lb pretty easily. I have been on 2200 calories for a few weeks now and I can see that is too much for me to lose on so I'm going to drop the calories to 1800 and cut the majority of the fat out of my diet, good and bad. I'm go go with the old school body builder type cutting diet. lean meat green vegetables and complex carbs with low to no fat. I am also going to incorporate my pack into my walks now. I'm up to 5 or 6 miles and it doesn't feel like it is doing much so I am going to start out with around 50lb in my pack and carry it on my walks and we will go from there.
Only have a month or so before It will be one year out from the hunt and that can go by in a hurry if you aren't careful so I want to be prepared well ahead of time. I'll check back in when I have something new to report.

 

[Magriffey1]

Sounds like you are adding on some muscle backyard sniper. You are hitting the weights intensely.

I'm done 12 lbs to 221 in 6 weeks of moderate exercise and paleo/primal eating. I strapped on my pack with my 300 WM DTA and hike my farm in the Ozark mTns. OMG! I thought I was sorta fit...but that kicked my butt. I have a long way to go to get in shape for this hunt.

On a positive note...i have several steel targets set up out to 1100yds. I'm getting real comfortable at practicing different shooting positions other than prone. I think right now I'm good to 600 yds in a non prone position. This is where my 300 wm goes below 1800 ft lbs of energy anyway.

Keep up the good work!

 

[backyardsniper]

All right guys. Checking back in with yall. Weight is finally starting to come down slowly. I believe i have tipped the point where the fat burning has surpassed the muscle building. I have lost a total of only 14lb but I have lost around 3.5" off my waist. Bench press is up to 335 and I did sets with 315 today on squats. Been doing a lot of work with tire flipping and interval on the tread mill. Starting to reach the point where I can see a difference in my performance because of the weight loss. I should start to lose weight at a faster pace now but we'll see. I'll keep yall posted.

 

[trebark]

Keep up the good work.

Do you have an office building with 10 or more floors? If so, get in the stairs and walk up and down at a smooth but quick pace. My office is 12 floors. My training partner and I are up to 10 reps (that's 10 trips to the 12th floor). It is an awesome work out and the weather is always perfect.

 

[backyardsniper]

We don't man. I wish we did. We don't even have 10story buildings around here haha

 

[backyardsniper]

Ok people, first of the month check in. I took about a two week hiatus during mid October, work was crazy and i had a wrist that was giving me some trouble, this gettin gold stuff really suck. Just turned 37 last month! Here is the scoop, we are almost exactly one year out from the hunt. I just went back through this thread and was evaluating my progress, I think I',m on the right track but my plan needs fine tuning.. This morning I was 287 which still puts me 14lbs down from where I started, however, there have been some significant changes in body composition and my strength as well as cardio. Currently Bench is 340LB, squat is at 400LB and Dead lift is 455lb, dead is probably a little higher than that but that was the last actual max I had. I did a 3 mile walk/jog today after my workout. 36minutes 10sec for 3 miles. My current plan is to tighten the diet up a little more and incorporate a good bit more running into the program. I felt way better today during the running and walking than I have in a long time, so I can see a vast improvement there and I am about to capitalize on it. My knees don't hurt near as much as they did when I started, I'm going to attribute that to the squatting, as well as the weight loss. Before I start really working on the cardio though I have a goal I have wanted to accomplish for a long time and I'm going to try for it. I am shooting to bench 350lb by the end of the year. That would be a lifetime max for me, 335lb was the most I had done prior to now and 350lb was always a big goal. So there it is folks, still hanging in there, making progress slowly but making it, going to switch over toward more endurance training very soon but gotta get that 350 while it's within reach.

 

[backyardsniper]

400lbs