Endurance For Mountain Hunting

Great views on the back of great training

Talking with the homies in the hunting space, endurance hits more in the realm of "suffering capacity" than "aerobic capacity". Hunting for many is a past time used for relaxation and entertainment not a measuring stick for performance. This is where you and I differ from most folks. We look at hunting as both enjoyment and measurement, aerobic suffering if you will. Lately in my professional work I have been on a deep dive into the world of endurance training. Specifically, how best to go about measuring the ability of the human body to do endurance. There are some unilateral applications to the mountains for the things I have learned.

1. What you measure you improve

Without embracing that some type of testing is required every day for performance, you won't be making gains anywhere, but especially not in endurance. There are many ways to do testing in your endurance training. Here is a list of the means I have been using in this most recent training phase;

a. HR Monitor ($100) - this is the least expensive, easiest application of measurement. You can establish training zones, track your sessions, and decide how best to fit your diet in each week around your training.

b. Blood Lactate Meter ($400) - this takes more investment but also gives you a direct insight at how your training is impacting your body. This tool allows you to fine tune your workouts and make daily adjustments to stay on target with training goals.

c. V02 measurement ($1000 +) - this tool comes with a premium pricetag. The purpose is to be research level precise in every single minute of training. Useful to be sure, but not necessary for the outdoorsman-athlete looking for an edge.

2. Meta Planning - Micro Execution

Being obsessed with the daily structure of training tends to drain my motivation. I find more energy to get the job done well if I can focus on the bigger picture. Take the month and chop it up into realizable goals like, I want to run for 7 hours every week. This makes it easy on you when the day arrives to start, because you don't have to be overly concerned about what workout to do that day, you just run for an hour, with your HR monitor on, and see how far you went. Easy goals, hard compliance. The caveat for this approach is that you simply can't miss sessions. Macro goals require daily performance, end of discussion. So don't get so caught up in what to do each day. Where should you start? Well, start where you are right now. I run 2 hours per week total. Those are rookie numbers, but I should really only increase it by 20% per week. So next week I'll run 2 1/2 hours. The next week, I'll run 3, so on and so forth.

3. Fuel for Training, Not for Entertainment

Understand that in the endurance conversation we are talking about moving that body from A to Z. So intuitively the more that body weighs, the less efficiently you will be moving it. That goes for muscle as well as fat, but all things being equal we want a leaner body overall. As we ramp up the hours spent doing activity, you will be more hungry. One mistake many people make is to increase their daily calorie intake relative to their basic level of activity. Simply eating more can lead to weight gain, which isn't going to help the endurance goal. This (again) requires a basic metric for measurement and some discipline. Start with your protein requirement to maintain your current level of muscle mass (2.0xBWKG). Split that up into manageable chunks. Then backfill those meals with whole foods and don't eat processed foods. Don't drink alcohol, like ever. Period.

Carbs should be prioritized before, within, and after training. Humans need very little by way of carbohydrates at rest to maintain performance. Other than these basic guidelines, fueling can be very simple. Simple foods, simple menu, simple results.

Transfer of Training

Running endless miles doesn't predict hunting success (looking at you, Cam). We all know the old timers who can put down giants every year on fully leaded beers and Marlboro reds. It's my opinion that being alive and healthy is the main goal behind all my pursuits, so that's where I separate from the old-boy crowd. I don't want to die young, of cancer.

Moving from off-season health pursuits and performance training goals I like to have a couple of mountain routes that serve as time trials to test my fitness. I will do these routes with a full hunting load-out, including the rifle/weapon I use on those hunts. I wear an HR monitor and track the walk in, stacking it up against my best times from the previous year. This works as a measuring stick for fitness because many of my hunts require a 5 mile or so approach before I set up to do the actual hunt. I can train all of the off-season, hit the route a couple times, and be able to reliably predict how long my approach will take.

I'm going to bring this around in the next few weeks with specific details on how to do the measurement portion of this process. Check back for details on each piece of tech, and some details how I bring this to bear on my backcountry test routes.