A fit hunter is a better hunter

EOWYN LeMAY IVEY-Frontiersman reporter

Some are at the gym, lifting a few extra weights. Others are putting more miles on their running shoes. And the truly committed are strapping on weighted backpacks and heading to the mountain trails.

This time of year a different breed of fitness-seekers shows up at the treadmills and swimming pools. They aren't preparing for a race or competition. They're getting ready for hunting season.

"I've worked out at gyms for many years ... and I do know a lot of time guys will come in and try and get their cardiovascular up to go hunting, especially sheep hunting," said Ann Riggs, owner of Peak Fitness on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway.

Despite negative stereotypes of hunters never getting off their four-wheelers or taking more than a few steps away from the beer cooler in camp, the truth is hunting in Alaska is physically demanding. From pursuing game to carrying the last pack of meat in, being fit gives a person a tremendous advantage in the field, and experienced hunters know this.

"Not only is endurance and muscle tone needed to reach the animal, but the hunter also needs to shoot accurately without shaking from exertion," Christopher Batin writes in his book "Hunting in Alaska."

Sheep hunters in particular seem to be aware of the need to workout before the season. Going after Dall sheep means hiking in steep, difficult terrain while carrying a pack and a rifle. But even hunting caribou or moose off four-wheeler trails is no easy task. If not killed on the first shot, the animal will have to be tracked and pursued. And once it's down, butchering and packing the meat back to camp or the vehicle will take its toll.

The meat off one moose, for example, can weigh as much as 500 pounds, and more often than not every one of those pounds will have to come out on your back. Along the way you'll probably be be walking across spongy tundra, crossing streams or traipsing over alder boughs.

With all this in mind, many people see the advantage of getting in shape rather than suffering and failing in the field. In fact, some say it is not just a good idea but an absolute necessity.

"If is possible to be in such poor shape that you cannot climb the mountains or manage the tundra," one Alaska guide advises on his Web site. "In this case, there is simply nothing we can do for you, and I would recommend that you not book a hunt at all."

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game thinks fitness is important enough to list it on its planning itinerary, right up there with having a rifle and tent.

"Physical fitness is essential," according to Fish and Game's Web page on hunting in Alaska. "We suggest you be physically prepared, at minimum, to carry a 60-pound pack for several miles through rough terrain or hunt with another that can."

So how does a hunter get to this fitness level? Start today, not tomorrow.

"Anybody who does not work out at all and who is not in good shape right now, the thought of going sheep hunting and trying to start working out a month ahead -- they're looking at a heart attack is what they're looking at," Riggs said.

Just as when you are beginning any new exercise program, you should meet with your doctor first, get a physical and discuss your plan. And when the weeks of training are done and moose or sheep season has come and gone, hunters could use their momentum to keep their fitness program going all through the winter. This, Riggs said, will pay off next summer.

"It makes the trip to getting fit much easier ... It needs to be a lifestyle change," Riggs said. "If they don't stay in shape, a day will come when they won't be able to do what they want to do."

A fitness plan for the hunter

Getting the heart, lungs and muscles ready to hike over tundra and mountain with a heavy load in the backpack -- that should be the goal of a hunter's fitness plan.

Ann Riggs of Peak Fitness recommends a person who is already in fairly good shape begin a hunting-season program about four to six weeks before a trip. During the training, the person should increase their weight-lifting or resistance training and do more cardiovascular work.

Riggs recommends 40 to 45 minutes of cardiovascular work three days a week along with a resistance-training routine with a moderate amount of weight and a high number of repetitions.

"You want more endurance, not necessarily to bulk up and get big ... you just want the muscles to not be able to fatigue," Riggs explained.

Fish and Game's Web page on hunting fitness recommends conditioning at least four to six months before the hunt, with 30 minutes a day of jogging, bicycling, swimming or weight lifting.

"The best exercise is simply placing a pack on your back and hiking," Fish and Game advises, adding that hunters should begin by carrying packs weighing about 1/10th of their weight and then working up to about a quarter of their body weight.

Christopher Batin recommends a similar regimen in his book, "Hunting in Alaska." The next best thing to hiking a mountain trail, he says, is running long flights of steps.

"Running steps is terribly boring, but toughens those muscles almost as well as climbing mountains," he writes. He recommends wearing a 30- to 40-pound pack and timing yourself with a stopwatch.

"Practicing at a leisurely pace up the steps won't do you a bit of good," he writes.