Do It Yourself Elk - More Than Memories

[sreekers]

Hey all, here is a series that Nathan and I have been working on. Linked is the third piece, but you will find the other articles easily.

Feel free to discuss anything you read, and all the veteran elk hunters please offer your thoughts.

Thanks for reading!
http://seekoutside.com/diy-elk-more-tha ... n-fitness/

[RockChucker30]

We're turning the fitness part into a series, so if anyone wants to jump in on the three week fitness challenges then we may be able to expand it.

[switchback270]

Are you guys familiar with crossfit? From my experience with the crossfit workouts, I think they would be beneficial for mountain fitness preparation. They really work the whole body and it seems like there is a lot of leg exercises involved. I've noticed quite an increase in my leg strength over the last month. Might be something different to look at to change things up for ya..

Nutrition is a major factor in getting in shape. Right now I am in the process of starting the paleo diet.

RockChucker, that was a great story in the Eastman's magazine. I really want to get into DIY back country elk hunting, and your story inspired me to pursue that goal more seriously.

[sreekers]

http://seekoutside.com/soforums/?mingle ... postid-431

As part of this project I have been tracking most of my workouts.

Done crossfit a few times, and I think Kevin has too.

[kevin_t]

I did Crossfit a lot for awhile. Good, but IMO not enough focus on endurance. I could give you an example of crossfit instructors I did a 50k trail race with and well, they didn't finish. They were great at the WODs and great physical specimens. I think Xfit could also use a bit more flexibility focus. Although, I will have to say if you have 30 minutes a day to spend, it's about as good as you can get for most activities and crammed into 30 minutes, especially if you do Paleo , or primal along with it.

P90X is good as well, but not as intense.

[RockChucker30]

switchback,

I'm too scatterbrained to stick with one plan for long. I run, bike, hike, walk, hunt, train with heavy packs, do P90X and Insanity, and also do some Xfit exercises. I do a lot better sticking with activities than with workout plans. I really like trail running because then I can scout and look for tracks while I get a workout.

The challenge we're doing in conjunction with the fitness series is to run a baseline mile now, timed and with good effort, then stick with our workout plan for three weeks, then run the timed mile again. Whoever has the biggest percentage improvement gets a Lil' Chuckler bugle bought by the two losers. After that we'll probably come up with a different challenge and repeat this all summer. This will definitely help to push me harder than I would do by myself!

Thanks for the kind words regarding my article. If I can do it then ANYONE can. Elk hunting was an experience of a lifetime for me, so I want to encourage everyone else sitting at their desk wishing they could to jump in and go!

Nathan

[sreekers]

The biggest reason that I don't do Crossfit is that it costs more than my gym membership and I would also have to work out at the designated times that are available. My schedule doesn't allow me to do that easily.

The other reason I don't do Crossfit on a regular basis is that it can be high impact on the joints. The emphasis of completing and pushing yourself as far as you can is a good thing, except when you are a competitive meat head like me and can't admit defeat. The potential for injury is too much of a risk based on pushing to the point of failure and a lot of people not knowing when exactly that is.

A buddy of mine who used to be a personal trainer put my workout together and added some exercises that I hadn't done for a long time to "get the wheelhouse moving." I did squats, but hadn't cleaned in a REALLY long time, it has made a difference. Landmine twists and woodchoppers have been doing their job as well. Most days this means that I have 12 exercises, sometimes more all grouped into super sets, and triple sets.

I talked to him because I had reached the point where my own research, reading and knowledge had been maxed out. He helped me filter a lot of what I have read in the past, and adjust some things.

So all that to say, I think I have found a happy medium, that takes some of the exercises that are prevalent in Crossfit, and some other exercises/techniques that work very well for ME. Work them together with running and hiking and I will feel pretty good in September.

[sreekers]

http://seekoutside.com/diy-elk-more-tha ... s-part-ii/

Next piece in the series, next up is scouting!