Heavy pack acclimation, long sessions under load, a resurgence in strength, and specific hunting movement prep are all in order to have you conditioned for hunting season. That makes July a training transition month. We progress past early preseason conditioning and begin the march to late preseason. Some important hunting fitness qualities must be restored while others get built.

Our fitness gains are only as good as our recovery. That’s right, kids. It’s not training that makes us better. Training only works if we recover from it. Otherwise, it’s just a bunch of activity our body recognizes as stress, and too much at that. We end up depleted, then our body gives us the finger and says, “That’ll be enough of that.” Gains turn to losses, and we get slower and weaker. Frustrated, we wonder what the hell happened. The back half of the summer becomes a slow march toward a hunting season that knocks the wind out of our lungs.

Pack training for hunters is nuanced. There’s no “just do this many days” answer. How many days per week you should train with your pack depends on a handful of factors. Let’s break them down and get you answer to your question.