I’m writing this sentence on August 1, 2023.

Ladies and gents, that means there’s one solid month until, in most respects, it’s officially hunting season. Of course, we have Backcountry Ready members with some big August hunts lined up. But most of us have 30 days left to countdown until party time.

That’s not a lot of time. 

In the training sphere, it’s enough time to give our body the final adaptations necessary to perform at peak in the backcountry. 

Let’s break down those adaptations and the other goals of our final pre-season training phase. Then let’s talk about how we’ve designed our strength training, aerobic capacity, aerobic intensity, and movement capacity training to meet those ends.

Goals of the Final Pre-season Training Phase

The main goal is oxygen efficiency at the local level. 

That means ensuring our muscles uptake and utilize oxygen as quickly and efficiently as possible. The result is improved muscular endurance, so you have the moxie for those uphill climbs, downhill trots, and the stamina to last all day. Achieving this goal also rounds out aerobic energy system development. We’ve spent the better part of the year developing and maintaining all aspects of our aerobic systems. Doubling down on local muscular endurance is the last drop in a full cup.

We’ll also use this phase to prepare for carrying heavy loads, spend more time on our feet, and prepare our joints for all aspects of backcountry life (read: uphills and downhills).

Let’s start talking specifics with strength training.

Strength Training

We’re attacking muscular endurance from both ends of the spectrum with one day designed to train our slow-twitch muscle fibers and another designed to train our fast-twitch muscle fibers. Then we have a third training day that rounds it all out.

On Mondays, we’ll do tempo strength training. This method keeps muscles under tension for an extended time while also depriving them of oxygen. That double whammy causes the slow-twitch muscle fibers to grow. The bigger the slow-twitch fibers, the better the opportunity for oxygen utilization and for clearing and recycling lactate for energy, which otherwise causes fatigue.

Wednesdays bring on high-intensity continuous training (HICT). We’ll do HICT step-ups and bent over rows. Now, these two movements were chosen for a dang good reason: they’re “hunting specific.”

HICT step-ups offer an opportunity to load up the pack with heavier loads than are safer to use on the trail. That gives us a chance to acclimate to heavy weights in a safe environment so we’re prepped for heavy packouts.

Bent over rows prep us to hold a bent over position for a long time, like we will when skinning out a critter on the ground.

Now, the HICT component is important because it improves the aerobic capacity of our fast-twitch muscle fibers. That helps to improve the overall efficiency of our aerobic system while also giving us access to strength and power when we otherwise would have fatigued. Access to strength when tired makes us more injury resistant and improves our performance during heavy climbs and packouts.

Our third muscular endurance day is our volume accumulation day. We do pushups and reverse lunges throughout the day in snappy, low-volume sets. This helps us maintain movement quality throughout the day, which transfers over to maintaining movement quality in the backcountry. It also improves muscular endurance simply by asking our muscles to do more work.

Aerobic Capacity

We’ve spent a lot of time on aerobic capacity this year. It all started back in January during our off-season program. Then we accrued more and more time at low to moderate heart rates throughout the rest of our training blocks. All that work has built our endurance while also building, and maintaining our recovery system.

Through the first part of the year, we generally trained aerobic capacity. That means we didn’t care what modality folks used. They could hop on the bike or hit the rower. If they desired to ski erg, so be it! Now, we’re doing our aerobic capacity work on our feet. It’s important to accrue time on your feet leading up to hunting season. It improves the strength and tissue tolerance of your feet and lower legs. And it also trains your cardiovascular system to work when more of your body is exposed to gravity. It has to fight a little harder to move that blood around.

So, we are rucking, running, hiking, stairclimbing, and incline treadmilling. We should spend as much time as possible outside and on terrain. The stairclimber and incline treadmill are our Alamo for when that’s not possible.

Aerobic Intensity

We’re in the time of year when we must have the spice in our conditioning. We did V02max intervals in Phase 1 of the pre-season block; we did breathing emphasis intervals (more along the lines of lactate threshold type heart rates) in Phase 2. This time we’re doing desaturation intervals. The goal is two-fold: get work in at higher heart rates and train our body to uptake and utilize oxygen quickly and efficiently.

Each desaturation interval progresses in intensity. By the end of the interval, heart rates end up in high Zone 4 to Zone 5. This gives us just enough smoke to maintain the adaptations we built during the V02max intervals. The progression in intensity throughout the interval increases the demand for oxygen in the working muscles, training them to be more efficient at uptaking and utilizing oxygen for aerobic metabolism.

You’ll need that efficiency should you have to hustle uphill to get in position. Not only will you get up the hill faster and at a lower cost to your body. But, you’ll also be able to regroup and get your heart rate down faster. Well, with the help of all the aerobic capacity work you’ve done throughout the year. :) 

Movement Capacity Training

Movement capacity training is always necessary. Access to full, pain-free joint range of motion is the foundation of backcountry performance and longevity. So, it’s always included in our training phases. This phase, however, includes some specific hunting movement prep that other phases don’t.

Stalking prep is a big hole in most hunting fitness programs. Everyone is so focused on turning people into a stormtrooper, that they forget the most important thing: We must be able to move quietly, calmly, and in control to seal the deal. Throughout the year, we improve our fitness to help us do that. We also work on stability and joint control which helps us do that. But it’s important to also practice moving into and out of awkward positions–and to do that slowly, with control. So, we’ve included stalking-type movements in our movement capacity training in Phase 2 and Phase 3 of our pre-season training.

We’re also including some specific exercises for uphills and downhills. For the uphills, we’re doing some stability work to improve balance and control on one foot. How many times have you felt yourself pulled backward as you climbed? Well, we’re combating that with some specific, standing core work.

For the downhills, we’re eccentrically loading the piss out of our quads. This’ll combat the new issues that often pop up in season.

On top of that, we’re maintaining our general mobility work to keep our joints healthy and moving. It’s necessary for all aspects of life, the backcountry just intensifies the need. Especially when you’re sleeping on the ground for a week at a time.

We’ll Be Ready for Hunting Season

Remember when Big Tom Callahan said in Tommy Boy, “You can get a good a look at T-bone by sticking your head up a bull’s ass, but wouldn’t you rather take the butcher’s word for it?” Well, we just gave you a good look up the bull’s ass so you don’t have to take the butcher’s word for it. Sometimes the “butcher” doesn’t know what he’s talking about, so you need to learn and look for yourself. I’ll always help you do that.

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