We’re in the meat of hunting season. Western archery seasons are winding down and rifle seasons are about to kick off. Upland seasons have been in full swing for about a month and will go on for months more. Knowing all of this, the question is: What kind of training do we need right now to keep our bodies resilient and conditioned for the long haul of hunting season?

Here’s how we’ll build that bridge in October.

Strength for Hunters in October

Sometimes I feel like that Bernie Sanders meme. I am once again asking you to train for relative strength. 

That’s the focus throughout most of hunting season. It’s a great time to boost and restore pure strength after a summer focused on strength endurance and muscular endurance. There are several reasons why now is a great time for pure strength training that pushes relative strength levels.

First, preseason training is focused on volume, not intensity. That means the body is primed for intensity. Higher strength training volume lays the foundation for adapting to higher strength training intensity. We get more out of each by alternating them in cycles.

Second, moderately-heavy to heavy strength training helps keep us healthy during hunting season. It makes our tissues more resilient and able to take the stress of being in the field. Yes, other forms of strength training do this, too. However, pure strength training helps deal with greater levels of force put on the body. Heavier weights create more tension. More tension in the gym makes us more resilient to tension in the field.

Third, it’s hunting season. Pure strength workouts don’t typically take as long and are easier to recover from. That means we have more time and energy to put into hunting. I believe that’s something we all want.

Through October, we’ll do heavy, bilateral lifts (squats, deadlifts, presses, rows, chin-ups) for sets of 4 reps with a few reps left in the tank after each set. This offers enough intensity to build strength right now while setting the state to progress to heavier weights later in the fall and as we start offseason training.

We’ll do our assistance lifts unilaterally—on one leg or with one arm. This keeps the body balanced. It also allows for a bit more training volume at a lower cost on our body, and a smaller drain on our time. We’ll be doing these exercises for sets of 8 reps with a few reps left in the tank.

Power Training for Hunters in October

Power training this time of year is a mixed bag of repeated efforts.

We do big, repeated jumps to maintain the resilience of our quads for downhills and athleticism for fast changes of direction. It’s not if you trip and need to catch yourself, it’s when. We do them loaded (holding weights) and unloaded, depending on a person’s strength levels. And, like our big strength lifts, we’ll do them for sets of 4 reps. It’s enough to keep our quads nasty and our athleticism in a good place without giving our legs too much stress.

We’re also doing low-level, extensive plyometrics with a tool you might have heard of before…a jump rope. The good ol’ jump rope does not get enough love. 

Earlier in the year, and through the preseason, we do more intense plyometrics. But at this point in the year we just need to maintain our spring while keeping our feet and lower legs fresh for hiking. Jumping rope is great for that because your feet barely leave the ground but must react quickly to get back in the air. If folks really suck at jumping rope, or don’t have the $10 to spring for one on Amazon, they can “fake” jump rope by hippity hopping in place. 

Conditioning for Hunters in October

Conditioning this time of year is also a bit of a “choose your own adventure” mixed bag. It depends on need, proximity to hunts, and the total aerobic volume a person’s been able to accrue.

In general, it’s a good time of year to work on alactic conditioning. That’s the fast, hard, and short stuff using intervals of 10-seconds or less with lots of recovery between intervals. We’ve trained all of the other energy systems hard throughout the year, so it’s a good time to make up some ground here for well-rounded conditioning. Alactic work is also good in the case that you have to make a fast uphill push to get into position for a shot. On top of that, this work helps to build your capacity for handling more heavy strength training.

However, we also have to think about what we need to maintain to stay ready for our hunts. That means pack work and general aerobic conditioning. If you have hunts all fall, and you’re not out in the mountains every week, it’s a good idea to strap the pack on and do some uphill work once per week or once every other week. The remainder of the conditioning schedule is filled in with general aerobic conditioning in October.

Mobility and Core Training for Hunters in October

Our mobility needs don’t necessarily change this time of year. We still need shoulders, hips, ankles, and a spine that moves well. However, our focus and implementation of mobility exercises narrows in.

We use hip mobility drills that directly relieve the tension from being under a pack and mitigates the stress of walking on uneven terrain. Shoulder mobility drills follow suit. They alleviate the tension of carrying a heavy pack. 

Our ankle work stays consistent. We do rotations to deal with being in awkward positions while generally improving range of motion. And we do various drills to improve how well the top of the foot moves towards the shin. This is called dorsiflexion. Not only is it super important for ankle health. It’s also important for all the joints up the chain. If your ankles don’t move well, your knees and hips take a beating that can end up in an injury. 

Core work this time of year looks general, but it’s focused on keeping us strong and stable under our packs. We do moving plank variations (ab wheel rollouts, for example) to keep the front of our core strong and protect our spines. We do Copenhagen and side plank variations to keep our hips stable and to fight the rotation of our pack. You might have guessed, this work also improves core strength in general. 

Hunting Fitness in October

Hunting fitness in October looks pretty general. However, it’s an important bridge in the year-round training progression that keeps us conditioned and resilient during hunting season, while also laying the foundation for improving our bodies for years to come.