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Big Deal Hunt: A workout routine can help endurance in hunt
By Tim Renken Of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
07/27/2002
What if we are so sore from the long horseback ride the first day of our hunt that we can barely walk the second? What if in scrambling around on a mountainside the second day we sprain an ankle severely enough to spoil the rest of the hunt?
What if we are so tired after two or three days of vigorous hunting that we lose interest in the whole thing?
All of these worries are valid. What can a person do to reduce their likelihood?
"Get in shape, physically, for this kind of activity," said Valeri Strang, certified fitness instructor and personal trainer at St. Louis Workout in Crestwood Plaza. She has helped many people prepare for such activities as hiking, hunting, skiing, etc. She said a workout routine that includes specific exercises can help prevent many of the bad things that can happen on such mountain hunts.
"In activities like that you are using muscles in ways you never use them in normal life," she said. "It helps a lot to strengthen those muscle for those specific stresses."
As an example she named several exercises to reduce saddle soreness. "In horseback riding you use inner and outer thigh and outer calf muscles to retain your balance," she said. "We have machines to strengthen these muscles. You're still going to be sore if you haven't ridden, but not nearly as bad."
Just walking or climbing around on mountain terrain is an unusual strain for somebody who walks mostly on flat, hard surfaces, she said.
"This puts a lot of stress on the muscles around your ankles, knees and hips and on your lower back. If those muscles are strong, they won't get as sore and they won't get injured as easily."
Mountain hunting, too, puts extra demands on the heart and lungs, she said.
"Just regular walking is great, but if you walk right, you increase your lung and heart capacity. Simple things like climbing stairs or varying your walking pace can help."
She said that it takes two months of training for the body to respond, so a person needs to plan ahead and allow ample time. "And the whole process goes a lot faster, and more successfully, if you at least start out with personal instruction," she said.
Strang charges $55 for one session, which includes an analysis of where the person is starting out. She said that it takes two sessions with a trainer, usually, to get a person started right.
"You can do this on your own, and almost anything is better than nothing," she said. "But you'll do it better if you work with a trainer."
Next: Wilderness hunting.
******
This is the ninth in a series that will appear every other Sunday about a once-in-a-lifetime elk hunt my son and I will make, our Big Deal Hunt.
By Tim Renken Of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
07/27/2002
What if we are so sore from the long horseback ride the first day of our hunt that we can barely walk the second? What if in scrambling around on a mountainside the second day we sprain an ankle severely enough to spoil the rest of the hunt?
What if we are so tired after two or three days of vigorous hunting that we lose interest in the whole thing?
All of these worries are valid. What can a person do to reduce their likelihood?
"Get in shape, physically, for this kind of activity," said Valeri Strang, certified fitness instructor and personal trainer at St. Louis Workout in Crestwood Plaza. She has helped many people prepare for such activities as hiking, hunting, skiing, etc. She said a workout routine that includes specific exercises can help prevent many of the bad things that can happen on such mountain hunts.
"In activities like that you are using muscles in ways you never use them in normal life," she said. "It helps a lot to strengthen those muscle for those specific stresses."
As an example she named several exercises to reduce saddle soreness. "In horseback riding you use inner and outer thigh and outer calf muscles to retain your balance," she said. "We have machines to strengthen these muscles. You're still going to be sore if you haven't ridden, but not nearly as bad."
Just walking or climbing around on mountain terrain is an unusual strain for somebody who walks mostly on flat, hard surfaces, she said.
"This puts a lot of stress on the muscles around your ankles, knees and hips and on your lower back. If those muscles are strong, they won't get as sore and they won't get injured as easily."
Mountain hunting, too, puts extra demands on the heart and lungs, she said.
"Just regular walking is great, but if you walk right, you increase your lung and heart capacity. Simple things like climbing stairs or varying your walking pace can help."
She said that it takes two months of training for the body to respond, so a person needs to plan ahead and allow ample time. "And the whole process goes a lot faster, and more successfully, if you at least start out with personal instruction," she said.
Strang charges $55 for one session, which includes an analysis of where the person is starting out. She said that it takes two sessions with a trainer, usually, to get a person started right.
"You can do this on your own, and almost anything is better than nothing," she said. "But you'll do it better if you work with a trainer."
Next: Wilderness hunting.
******
This is the ninth in a series that will appear every other Sunday about a once-in-a-lifetime elk hunt my son and I will make, our Big Deal Hunt.
