“It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.”-Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Make a plan and take charge. Start by getting active. Set aside 45 minutes a day out of your busy schedule for exercise six days a week. Give yourself a day off for relaxation and recovery. If exercise were a prescription medicine, we could all buy stock and retire tomorrow, because it treats everything.
Train to Gain
Combine both aerobic conditioning (elevating your heart rate over a sustained period of time) and strength training (building lean muscle) to be most beneficial for your preparation. Focus on strength training (lifting weights, training the whole body) three days a week, with your aerobic conditioning (run, bike, elliptical, etc.), in between your lifting days. Learn to love to sweat.
Bring It
Intensity is everything. Buy a heart rate monitor and train between 70%-85% of your max heart rate for the entire training session.
- 220 minus your age ____= Max. Heart Rate
- Max. HR X 0.70 = Low Zone
- Max. HR X 0.85 = High Zone
Take It Outside
Instead of shooting your bow in the ice cold A/C, take it outside and get used to the weather conditions. Practice on a 3D target from multiple angles to mimic the exact form of hunting method you will be hunting, i.e. ground blind, tree stand, spot & stalk, etc.
Eat Wholesome
Consume one ingredient products. In other words, your food should have a mother or come from the ground or tree. Eat smaller more frequent meals and stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water.
Take these helpful tips to heart and I promise you will increase your chances at success in the heart of the backwoods. Get a head start and take the pressure off yourself by harvesting that Pope and Young buck early on in the season. For this is when they are eating machines, making them easier to pattern typically traveling in bachelor groups. Train Hard and Hunt Strong!
Davie “Crockett” Ferraro
www.IHuntStrong.com