I've started working with the folks at Spartan Forge to help folks improve their whitetail hunting fitness. Whitetail hunters aren't getting the fitness guidance they need and deserve. I'm changing that. While I love Western big game hunting and international mountain hunting, I am a whitetail hunter. Growing up in Pennsylvania and Virginia, whitetail hunting has always been a huge part of the hunting culture I was baptized into. The whitetail deer is the first big game animal I ever hunted, and killed. I imagine it will also be the last. And I will always vigorously pursue them.

I know there are a lot of hunters like me. We aren't content to sit in a tree stand and wait. We want to walk ridges and still hunt for big bucks, and we want to push back in on public land to saddle hunt during archery season. Each style of hunting requires a solid measure of fitness. Each also requires a lot of scouting and preparation.

Many whitetail hunters spend the late winter and spring traversing the woods to learn about deer movement and find antler sheds. It's a great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone — learning about the animals we love and love to hunt, and building fitness in the process.

That's what I talk about in my first article for Spartan Forge. It details how to use rucking while shed hunting to improve your aerobic base and efficiency under load, and how to use natural movement through the woods to improve your mobility.

You can read the full article on the Spartan Forge website at the ink below.

How to Build Your Fitness While You Shed Hunt