My 100lb plan for 2016 elk hunt

[Andy Backus]

Keep up the good work Justin!

I'm really looking forward to sharing elk camp with you again this year during the LRH Group Hunt. This time I'm definitely bringing a notebook to write down some of your hilarious Kentucky hillbilly quotes.

Those mountains are steep and deep. Keep it up!

 

[backyardsniper]

Things are starting to come along a little better now, 276 lb this morning, down another three pounds since the 30th of April. Shooting for 269lb by 01June. I bench pressed 350lb this morning but unfortunately I can't really count it because the guy spotting me felt the need to touch it, which prevents me from actually counting it. Kind of glad he did though, it was about the ugliest bench press in history, so I'm gonna give it a couple weeks and try it again. Hopefully I will be able to handle it a bit more gracefully next time Ha Ha. My running is really coming along now, it seems at this point every pound I loose really allows me to push that much harder during my cardio sessions which in turn is burning more calories. I like the direction things are headed in now, It is just a matter of keeping the diet clean and staying focused. The 276lb weigh in this morning puts me down exactly 25lb since I started. I was hoping to do a hundred but I would say 75lb is a more realistic goal by hunt time, I'm really gonna push these last 23weeks until the hunt and see where I end up. I'll keep you posted.

That's right Andy bring your note book, it's on this year. I'm really looking forward to this hunt and I know the better the physical condition I am in the more enjoyable the hunt will be. I have an old Army buddy of mine that I just got confirmation is coming with me to be my non hunting guest/spotter. It will be an epic trip no doubt, i can't wait for you to meet this guy, me and him have had some ridiculous adventures together all the way from Germany to the Middle East, he will have you in stitches with some of the stories he can tell you.

 

[Andy Backus]

Can't wait!

 

[Timber338]

Keep up the fight, it's never easy especially as we get older and have more and more responsibilities. But you can bench 300+ so you're a beast... you are obviously very gifted physically ... just stay focused and you'll get there by fall.

I have one of these pictures next to my alarm clock and another one behind the cupboard door to our pantry that has junk food in it. Helps keep me focused especially in the mornings when there are a thousand excuses I can use to crawl back in bed and skip my morning workout.

 

[soren]

I'm going to put in my two cents here.

I used to be one of those guys who put too much effort in a big bench, 350 nice, but it won't help you on your hunt. You need to drop weight and put more effort into exercise that will be more productive for the hunt.

Squats and DL's are good, but I would drop them at this point to avoid injury....at least the squats. You need to work more on movements ie. stairclimbing, planks, hyper extensions/roman chair for lower back, farmer carry w/ dumbells, overhead dumbell press, cycling. Get a chest harness for tire drags.

Think hips, thighs, back and shoulders as far as strength goes. I wouldn't run too much at your weight...save the knees.

Last time I was in Colorado hunting one of my fellow hunters brought along two 15 year old kids. These skinny kids had no problem walking up the mountains compared to us adults who were loaded down with our size and gear. Weight really matters up there. Good luck.

 

[Dr. Vette]

Things are starting to come along a little better now, 276 lb this morning, down another three pounds since the 30th of April. Shooting for 269lb by 01June.

My running is really coming along now, it seems at this point every pound I loose really allows me to push that much harder during my cardio sessions which in turn is burning more calories. I like the direction things are headed in now, It is just a matter of keeping the diet clean and staying focused. The 276lb weigh in this morning puts me down exactly 25lb since I started. I was hoping to do a hundred but I would say 75lb is a more realistic goal by hunt time, I'm really gonna push these last 23weeks until the hunt and see where I end up. I'll keep you posted.

869 days ago I started a diet. I did it to see if one of my theorys regarding intake and output was correct. After all, I see people every day who tell me that they "don't eat very much" yet can't lose weight. I also did it because I knew I was getting sleep apnea, and I wanted to avoid CPAP if possible.

I lost most of the weight in the first 9 months and the rest by the 15 month mark, settling at 50 pounds total. My goal was to get under the 25.0 number for BMI, and I did it. Even better, 2 months ago I was still there and hit the "preferred" (lowest) rate for a new life insurance policy.

Based on a tip from a patient I looked for an App to help, and settled on MyFitnessPal. https://www.myfitnesspal.com/ You can use it on your computer, but it actually works much better on your phone or iPad. The beauty is that you can scan bar codes on food or look up restaurant choices, and it tells you how many calories there are.

If you aren't tracking intake I would highly recommend doing so. I have patients and one partner who have done it and lost significant weight. The program takes your height, current weight, current activity level and goal weight loss, and then projects how many calories per day to eat. What it really does is give you a budget, and staying within the budget is the goal.

Some key tips:

1. Log everything. Even if you only eat 3 potato chips, log it. If you cheat on the little stuff, it will get easier to cheat on the big stuff.

2. Nobody eats one serving of anything. Serving sizes on the bag, box, etc are a joke. Be honest with how much you eat.

3. Exercise will allow you to "add" calories to your budget. Some choose not to add those back in so that they may lose a bit faster. Be careful if you do so.

Not related to the program, but a note - weight lifting won't do much at all to help with your fitness for the hunt. Put cardio over lifting. Walking, treadmill, stairmaster, cycling; you get the idea. If you have hills in your area then use them for training.

 

[blackdog]

Not related to the program, but a note - weight lifting won't do much at all to help with your fitness for the hunt. Put cardio over lifting. Walking, treadmill, stairmaster, cycling; you get the idea. If you have hills in your area then use them for training.

I was with you until you made this statement. IMO, there absolutely needs to be a balance of cardio and lifting. All the cardio (see marathon runners) in the world isn't going to do you squat (pun intended! ) when you need to strap that 90lb pack onto your back for the 3 mile hike back to the rig after just having spent the last hour and a half breaking down your bull. So, sorry, but the bolded statement above is simply false.

 

[Timber338]

I was with you until you made this statement. IMO, there absolutely needs to be a balance of cardio and lifting. All the cardio (see marathon runners) in the world isn't going to do you squat (pun intended! ) when you need to strap that 90lb pack onto your back for the 3 mile hike back to the rig after just having spent the last hour and a half breaking down your bull. So, sorry, but the bolded statement above is simply false.

Dr. Vette was spot on with his advice. You can never apply a blanket statement to any single person, and Dr. Vette was speaking directly to a person who has the ability bench press 350 pounds and squat huge amounts of weight as well. Being strong and lifting a 90# pack will never be a problem for anybody with that type of build and capability. The limiting factor here is endurance, and you simply cannot build endurance by lifting weights.

 

[Dr. Vette]

If you were 300#, and now you're 225, your body is more than able to carry that 90# pack since you just lost 75. I could hardly believe how much easier the mountains in WY were to climb after losing weight, and I wasn't even to goal at the time. My Dad always blames "altitude" for being tired on hunts. After that hunt I let him know that it's not the altitude that is making him so tired when we walk and climb...

I ask people all the time if they exercise, and get back "I lift weights." Usually they're overweight, and think they're somehow helping themselves. Losing the weight and having a heart that has the stamina for the exercise will get you much further than lifting.

Don't get me wrong, I think that lifting can be of help, but it's 3rd or 4th on the list of priorities when it comes to getting in shape for any type of hunt. It should not be given the same emphasis as cardio fitness or losing excess weight.

 

[backyardsniper]

I have been focussing mostly on my cardio lately. I still try to get in a few days of heavy lifting here and there, but mostly cardio. I had gotten down to 269.8lb on a post workout weigh in but i hit a bad stretch and have been in a rut for about a week. Too much beer and too much food. Weighed in much too heavy this morning so I am about to tighten it back down. The struggle is real. Believe it. Ha ha. After abhard day at work it is really hard to come home and say " you know, instead of relaxing on the couch and drinking this cold beer I think I'll go run a couple miles. " I've found working afternoons is best for my eating and working out. It gives me time in the morning to get up have breakfast and have plenty of time to got to the gym then after work it is late enough that I'm ready to go to bed and be ready to work out the next day. None the less the clock is ticking and that hunt is coming whether I'm ready or not, so i had better get things squared away. Even with deviations I've had the end result is that i am slowly moving in the right direction. The 270lb mark put me down 31lb. Of course that was post workout which meant an extra few pounds of water weight but i would say I've lost a solid 25lb so far. Dr. Vette you are right about the my fitness pal app. It is extremely handy. I'll check back in with hopefully better news at the end of this month. My goal is mid 260's by the first of July.

 

[Dr. Vette]

Keep at it!

No one ever said it is easy, and I can tell you that almost 2 1/2 years later it's still tough not to want to eat more. I just look forward to the next hunt, and it keeps me going.

That, and I don't want to go back up a pants size.

 

[snox801]

Nothing about weight is easy. I am in that boat now. As a wrestler I was always in great shape but never power lifted so I was super skinny. 5'10" 112 lbs and could bench 302lbs. Seems crazy now but I always wanted to be bigger. So I hit the gym hard and two years later I was solid at 170. Then life happens and all that muscle is now some kind of giggly stuff I've never seen before. So now I find myself struggling everyday to not eat myself into a coma. Good luck on your goals.

 

[Bravo 4]

I just piled through this whole thread and just gotta say...Keep it up!
Everyone is different and their bodies respond differently to everything. If it is working for you then keep doing it. I will say this- if you want to get good at something you need to practice that something. Substituting one thing may help but it won't be the same. If you want to get good at carrying heavy loads then carry heavy loads.

I like lifting weights, and probably focus more on it than I should. We do crossfit (one of my guys is a crossfit coach), run often, and do a lot of rucking (12 miles with around 60 pounds of gear). But after that I feel like I need to "workout". You can get endurance from weight lifting, I think it's all about intensity. I usually do a 100 rep workout, but pyramid it down and hit it hard and fast. Start heavy to about failure-then drop some weight to about failure-and so on and so on. Doesn't take long before you cannot lift your arms or even get up off. I seem to keep quite a bit of strength and build stamina at the same time.
I'm currently 5'7" and a muscular 218, however I'm thinking about trying to get down to about 200. This is only because a knee surgery a while back still hurts when I run...maybe a little less weight may help.

 

[backyardsniper]

Hey guys,
Checking back in. I'm down another 2 or 3 lbs since my last post, but I feel the best weight loss is yet to come. I have really dialed in on my eating, using the my fitness pal app again has really helped. I'm keeping my calories at around 1850, I add a couple hundred more on heavy workout days. I have been concentrating on mostly boxing and running. I've done very little weight lifting, I plan to return to it in the future but right now the boxing classes and the rucking and running are accomplishing what I need to accomplish. I'm right at 270lb in the mornings, pre workout and hitting right around 267lb after workout. the most important thing now is how much my cardio level has progressed, I'm up to running 2mi without stopping to walk and I can go 10 rounds training on the pads and the heavy bag doing 3 minute rounds with one minute rest.
I'm eating mostly chicken and brown rice , black beans. lentils, quinoa, greens asparagus, and salads. I found a salad dressing that is made with greek yogurt which makes the salads much more enjoyable. I have been rucking around 3-5 mi with 40lbs which isn't much but I'm trying to make sure I don't blister up my feet right now which will interfere with my running which is where I feel I'm making the most of my progress.
The hunt is almost exactly 4 months out, I believe I can possibly lose another 30lb or maybe a little more between now and then, which would potentially put me in the 235lb-240lb range. I went at around 260lb last time and my cardio level was not anywhere near where it is right now or where I predict it to be by time for the hunt.
I'm gonna give it a couple more week as I feel that there is some really good progress soon to come, and then I will check back in with yall with a much more in depth update including some before and after measurements and before and after performance comparisons between when I started running and where I am now as well as some of the lessons I've learned along the way about what works and what doesn't, at least as far as I'm concerned.