Huntfit’s 30 Day Challenge
“The Morning Starter”
If you have 7mins you can do this simple workout each morning to get your day started…
20 calve raises: explode up and 3 count down
20 body weight squats : slow and fluid
20 push ups:
30sec-1min forearm sway plank:
Hurdlers stretch hold 20 sec each leg
Quad /hip flexor/ clave stretch 30 sec per side: can be done on staircase or on chair holding back of chair with foot on seat
I like to incorporate exercises that build proprioception or balance … I’ve been experimenting for years on how to to improve my bow accuracy while building overall physical fitness.. Adding in a few balance exercises or exercises that fire the supporting muscles will often do the trick… One in particular is bosu ball push ups…these work the core muscles, intrinsic muscles as well as your “main movers”.
With feet on the bench in push up position tight grip on the edge of the bosu rock the ball to the left touch you knuckles to the floor then rock to the right touch your Knudsen to the floor then do. Push up in center. Go to functional failure (not physical failure) then repeat stating on right side. I like to do 4 sets to keep it even.. But you can start with 2 and work your way up…
Well its the middle of the whitetail rut and if your like me you have been spending some time in the treestand and probably not eating all that healthy…. Problem with that is my season circles back to mountain hunts and spot and stalk hunts…. So I always need to get back on the wagon and get back into a routine of eating right and working out….
30 mins of low impact Cardio and a quick bout with the weights…
3 sets of Hammer throw on cable machine 12-15 reps
3 sets of wood chop on cable machine 12-15 reps
single leg press 3 sets 20-25 reps
Back Extensions on gym ball 3 sets 20 reps
Bent over cable press 3 sets 15-20 reps
Single cable curls on pad 3 sets 15-20 reps
Spiderman pull ups or horizontal pull ups 3 sets 15 reps
A lot of us fall short when it comes to getting close, and most of it has to do with practice and understanding when and where to step, reading body language of the animal your stalking and being patient etc. etc. etc..
However, a good portion of being sneaky and being able to close the distance is in your physical condition and how you practice. “tip toeing in” on a big buck or bull requires balance and precision movements…. You may be able to run up a mountain faster then everyone else but dosent mean you have the muscle control to “place your feet” and make precise movements… That’s why its important to incorporate movements that increase your sneakiness ….
Anterior Step Downs: standing on the ball of your left leg at the edge of a box or tall step very slowly and controlled lower your right leg down and touch just your heal softly to the floor and then slowly back up switch legs and repeat. Do 20 reps and 3 sets
Bear Crawl: Get down on your hands and feet keep your butt down and move slowly for 30 yards 3-5 sets
Stair Stalkers: try to find a stair well that is at least 3 flights of stairs. sprit up the stairs contacting each step with both feet then when you get to the top very slowly come down trying to make as little noise as possible control the contact of your foot impacting the step. 3-6 sets depending how many flights you are running up
Single Leg work: Standing one leg preferably barefoot and holding opposite leg in front in high knee position (like the Captain) using dumbbells do a set of 10-15 reps alternating push press or military press.. then switch legs and o the same… On the next set try lateral raises or curls…. do 3-4 sets. The idea here is to add different acting forces while you are trying to maintain balance.. If standing on the floor is easy then stand on a mat or a pillow as you get better keep trying platforms that are less and less stable (thicker mats or pillows)..
BALANCE IS KEY TO MANUVERING IN TOUGH TERRAIN
Balancing Exercises
Balancing exercises also help to strengthen the core muscles (back. abs, and buttocks) which are used for balancing. Doing a variety of exercises will ensure you target different muscle groups.
Opposite Arm and Leg Extension: balancing / stabilization exercise: Strengthens muscles running down sides of spine, back of shoulders, and buttocks
Begin on all fours, hands directly under your shoulders and knees directly under your hips. Keep the back flat. Keep buttocks and abdomen tight. (To activate your deepest abdominal muscles, cough once or twice) Lift one arm up and forward that it is parallel to your back. Keeping the arm extended, lift the opposite leg in the same manner. Keep your face down, head aligned with spine. Keep arm, spine, and leg aligned as if they are forming a flat tabletop. Balance yourself for a count of ten, relax, switch sides and repeat. Remember to breathe. Do 10 repetitions.
Single Leg dead lifts
Stand with feet shoulder width apart stand on one leg bend over and touch floor do ten on each side. You can use light weights or stand on a mat for extra balance work. This will develop your stability muscles and allow you to prevent ankle twist in the field.
Exercising Using an Exercise Ball
Exercising with or without equipment is effective, but the exercise ball is often used by physical therapists. Also called the Stability Ball because you have to stabilize or balance yourself on the ball. Stability ball exercises are great for strengthening the back and abs as these core muscles are activated by the act of balancing.
Pick an exercise ball where your legs are parallel to the floor when sitting on it. Exercise balls are over inflated balls. The softer the exercise ball, the easier it is to balance on it. The further the ball is from your body, the harder the exercise. When doing exercises using an exercise ball, keep the abdomen tight.
Doing exercises with an exercise ball activates the muscles than run up and down the spine, and deep core muscles.
Stabilization Exercises Using An Exercise Ball
The following stabilization exercises are performed while sitting on the exercise ball:
Feet flat on floor with hips and knees bent at a 90-degree angle. Keep you abdomen tight. (To activate your deepest abdominal muscles, cough once or twice).Keep your back straight.
Raise and lower one heel at a time. Raise and lower one foot at a time a couple of inches off the floor as if marching. Raise and lower arm, alternating sides. Raise and lower arm while lifting opposite heel off floor.
The following stabilization exercises are performed while laying on the exercise ball:
Lie with stomach over ball. Place hands flat on floor. Tighten your abdomen (To activate your deepest abdominal muscles, cough once or twice) and keep your back straight.
Place hands flat on floor. Walk on hands away from ball until ball is under legs. Walk back to starting position.
Place hands flat on floor. Walk on hands away from ball until ball is under legs. Slowly raise and lower alternating arms.
Place hands flat on floor. Walk on hands away from ball until ball is under legs slowly perform push-ups.
If you are like most guys/gals who train you are probably eating a diet high in protein and low in carbs, which is great for leaning out and growing muscle. However you may be doing yourself a disservice……
Enzymes, especially food enzymes, are greatly affected by the pH balance levels in the human blood and body tissue. Their enzymatic functions, or lack thereof, will determine the state of health or disease that your blood and body tissue will or can possess.
This is why it is critical for you to understand the health principles behind the Acid Alkaline Diet. It is important that we learn to eat Alkaline Foods with PROPER FOOD COMBINING PRINCIPLES according to the Acid Alkaline Food Chart.
Developing a diet that consists of foods that are alkalizing and still provide you with the high protein you need to build can be a challenge. Myself personally I try to eat an alkalizing vegetable when eating meat and I also try to eat one meal a day that is mostly alkaline. I actually developed a shake that seems to be working very well for me… I use it as second breakfast or midday snack… Either way you should get yourself tested by a professional and have them help you develop a diet suitable for your goals….
SHAKE
one apple frozen ( I buy them fresh pre slice them and then freeze)
1/8 cup frozen blueberries
1/8 cup of chia seeds
1/8 cup of walnuts
1/8 cup of raisins
1.5-2 cups of chocolate hazel nut milk
Blend it up in a high speed mixer like a Vitamix or Ninja
list of alkaline foods:
| Healthy Alkaline Foods | Foods you should only | Acidic Foods |
| – Eat lots of them! | consume moderately | |
| Vegetables | Fruits | Meat, Poultry, And Fish |
| Alfalfa Grass | (In season) | Beef |
| Asparagus | Apple | Chicken |
| Barley Grass | Apricot | Eggs |
| Beet | Banana | Liver |
| Black Radish | Black Currant | Ocean Fish |
| Broccoli | Blueberry | Organ Meats |
| Brussels Sprouts | Cantaloupe | Oysters |
| Cabbage | Cherry | Pork |
| Carrot | Coconut, Fresh | Veal |
| Cauliflower | Cranberry | |
| Cayenne Pepper | Currant | |
| Celery | Date | |
| Chives | Gooseberry, Ripe | Milk And Milk Products |
| Comfrey | Grape, Ripe | Buttermilk |
| Cucumber | Grapefruit | Cream |
| Dandelion | Mandarin | Hard Cheese |
| Dog Grass | Mango | Homogenized Milk |
| Endive | Orange | Quark |
| French Cut Green Beans | Papaya | |
| Garlic | Peach | |
| Green Cabbage | Pear | |
| Horseradish | Pineapple | |
| Kamut Grass | Plum | Bread, Biscuits |
| Kohlrabi | Rasperry | Rye Bread |
| Lamb’s Lettuce | Red Currant | White Biscuit |
| Leeks (Bulbs) | Rose Hips | White Bread |
| Lettuce | Strawberry | Whole-Grain Bread |
| Onion | Tangerine | Whole-Meal Bread |
| Peas | Watermelon | |
| Potatoes | Yellow Plum | |
| Red Cabbage | ||
| Red Radish | ||
| Rhubarb Stalks | ||
| Rutabaga | Non-Stored Grains | Nuts |
| Savoy Cabbage | Brown Rice | Cashews |
| Shave Grass | Wheat | Peanuts |
| Sorrel | Pistachios | |
| Soy Sprouts | ||
| Spinach | ||
| Sprouted Chia Seeds | ||
| Sprouted Radish Seeds | Nuts | |
| Straw Grass | ||
| Turnip | Macadamia Nuts | |
| Watercress | Walnuts | Fats |
| Wheat Grass | Butter | |
| White Cabbage | Corn Oil | |
| White Radish | Margarine | |
| Zucchini | ||
| Fish | ||
| Fruits | Fresh Water Fish | |
| Avocado | ||
| Fresh Lemon | ||
| Limes | ||
| Tomato | Sweets | |
| raisins | Artificial Sweetners | |
| Barley Malt Syrup | ||
| Non-Stored Organic Grains | Fats | Beet Sugar |
| & Legumes | Coconut Milk | Brown Rice Syrup |
| Buckwheat Groats | Sunflower Oil | Chocolate |
| Granulated Soy | Dried Sugar Cane Juice | |
| Lentils | Fructose | |
| Lima Beans | Honey | |
| Quinoa | Malt Sweetener | |
| Soy Flour | Milk Sugar | |
| Soy Lecithin | Molasses | |
| Soy Nuts | White Sugar | |
| Soybeans | ||
| Spelt | ||
| Tofu | ||
| White Beans | ||
| Nuts | ||
| Almonds | Condiments | |
| Brazil Nuts | Ketchup | |
| Hazelnuts | Mayonaise | |
| Mustard | ||
| Seeds | Soy Sauce | |
| Caraway Seeds | Thousand Island | |
| Cumin Seeds | Vinegar | |
| Fennel Seeds | ||
| Flax Seeds | ||
| Pumpkin Seeds | ||
| Sesame Seeds | ||
| Sunflower Seeds | ||
| Wheat Kernel | ||
| chia seeds | ||
| Fats (Cold-Pressed Oils) | Beverages | |
| Borage Oil | Beer | |
| Evening Primrose Oil | Carbonated Beverages | |
| Flax Seed Oil | Coffee | |
| Marine Lipids | Liquor | |
| Olive Oil | Milk | |
| Packaged Fruit Juice | ||
| Sweetened Fruit Juice | ||
| Tea (Black) | ||
| Wine |
Many people start off wanting to get in shape or at least improve their current condition with great intentions…. Many don’t know where to begin or what to do….. Well if you can navigate the internet its not too hard to find workouts and meal plans to suit your needs but what most people don’t know the key to success is not really in the what, when and how…. but in the why…
What do I mean by this…. Well research shows the most important thing to living healthy and staying/getting in “shape” is to achieve the mindset to get there first…. Sounds a bit confusing…but its not… The 4 most important factors to developing a healthy lifestyle: Motivation, Acclamation, building the habit, and achieving goals…
So how to we do this….. Hunt Fit is gonna issue you a 30 day challenge that will hit all 4 of these…..
For the next 2 weeks:
Cut out soft drinks, bread, pasta, and high fats
Wake up each morning drink 12oz of water
5 days a week Do 20 crunches, 20 push ups, 20 body weight squats………. simple right!!!!!!!
3rd week: Start eating more “clean” stick to lean meats and veggies……Add 15reps per side Single leg deadlift without weight to the workout and increase the reps 5-10 on the other exercises
Week 4: try to do 2 sets of each of the exercises…… still drinking a full glass of water each morning…
Do this all while checking with us on this facebook post
All of this sounds pretty simple and relatively easy to do…. so what did we achieve here… Well most importantly we developed a habit and we began to set your metabolic clock, drinking the glass of water before anything else kick starts your metabolism and working out first thing every morning sets the pace for your metabolism for the day.. We also started to acclimate your body to exercising without killing you right off the bat. By not killing your self right off the back allows you to reach each mile mark and keeps you moving in the right direction…. The motivation comes from checking in with us and showing that you excepted the challenge
If it was good enough for Mohamed Ali its good enough for me….
One of the things I like to do get in a good workout, to build stability, and chill with my kids.. is to do a pool work out. This very simple workout will help you build stabilizer muscles needed to be an accurate shooter and is a descent cardio workout as well.
Pool Flys: stand in shoulder height water… with ridged arms and open hands open and close your arms at a steady pace. Essentially clapping your hands out in front to of you and bringing your hands back passed your torso on the back swing getting the full range of motion. working both the anterior and posterior muscle groups 100 reps
Oblique Knee ups: holding yourself in a Plank-like position or push up position bring your right knee up to you right elbow and back to start position, now do the same for left. alternate back and fourth for 100 reps
Pool Knee Ups: In same plank position bring both knees up to your elbows at moderate pace and back out quickly. 100 reps
High knee sprints: in chest high water at a running pace for 5 mins run in place with knees coming to waist height
So my good friend Mark Gannon: physical therapist and die hard bowhunter shared with me one of his kickass workouts….
” It is my favorite Metabolic Conditioning workout. I usually perform it at the end of strength days due to the lack of eccentric movements on the limbs that decrease the additional DOMS.”
Mark Gannon PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS
I call it Ox:
5-10 rounds
Sled pull walking backwards 200-400lbs approximately 75 feet.
Sled push back to starting position. No rest between pull and push
Farmers walk 75 feet turn around (alternate the direction of the turn to work the trunk muscled to each side during each round) Can use farmer walk handles, heavy kettlebells, heavy dumbbells, 5 gallon buckets or plastic polleys, and even light barbells. I usually use 110-135 per side on the farmer’s walk handles.
Barbell rollouts with 25-45 lb plates on the bar x 5 reps. (I rotate in parallete pushups, dead hang pull-ups, hanging leg raises and Turkish get-ups depending on what accessory movement I feel that I need for that day or that week.)
I think this is a great partner or group workout because each station can be set up and then the participants cycle through each exercise with one keeping track of the number of rounds. The more partners allows for a 10-15 second rest between the next round which allows for a higher heart rate during the movement to calm down to a more aerobic level of 60% max HR.
I vary the weight and the number of round depending on where I’m at in my periodization and how much time I have for that day’s workout. If I’m in a strength cycle I go heavy weight and lower rounds. If I haven’t performed it in several months then I keep things moderate in terms of weight and rounds. If it’s closer to hunting season then I try to keep it a little lighter and perform 10 rounds with less rest between to keep my heart rate up.
You and the THC Crew Enjoy…………
So there is so much research out there of what foods to eat, when to eat, how much to eat and frequency of eating, that its very hard to decipher what is the best course of action or plan you should follow. I am gonna give you some basics concepts and principles to help you with some common sense find something to fit your needs and goals..
1) Simplest concept of losing weight is expending more than what you put in. You eat 2500 a day you need to be burning 2700 calories… pretty simple right? Well the concept is simple but the practice take s a little set up time and dedication and organization on your part. One you need to figure out what your current BMR is now there are calculators but these are only guestimates you need to go to a facility such as endurance rehab and have it tested and get an accurate reading. My BMR according to the calculators says I burn 2008 calories a day just being live but its probably closer to 2500 so you can see how this is important to be more accurate. Once you have figured this out you need to keep track of what you eat and how many calories you are taking in so you can adjust your intake accordingly to meet your goals
2) Which brings us to the next concept of metabolism; how can we get our metabolism or at least trick it to burn more calories while at rest.. get that BMR up… Active rest days between workout days keep the furnace going. Drinking a full glass of water as soon as you wake up in the morning gets the engine running, eating smaller more frequent meals keeps a steady more even RMR thus leading to more prolonged energy consumption. Making your workout the first thing you do in the morning can also set the tone for your metabolism throughout the day. Also eating protein before bedtime is a good way to keep your metabolism up while you are sleeping protein take more energy to break down by the body so it will be working harder through the night and often you will wake up supper hungry the next morning
3) Food pairing has a huge impact on what the body does with the energy you are consuming: For instance carbs are not bad if they are eaten alone and before a bout of energy expenditure. Protein is king….but only if its eaten by itself away from high glycemic foods and lower fats. Fats…. “good fats” and especially “bad fats” should never be eaten with carbs. Have I confused you more? Basically eat your carbs early in the day and before workouts, eat protein with small amounts of good fats…
So now that you have some concepts behind building a meal plan how do we Eat to Gain lean Muscle? I personally.. when I looked my best and felt the best I woke up in morning slammed 120z of water, ate a high fiber small carb meal for first breakfast, then I would hit the gym and eat a high protein 2n breakfast. at lunch I would eat high protein and good fats, have a afternoon snack usually an apple or similar then I would eat protein and leafy greens for dinner and of course I consumed less calories then I was expending.
Here is a sample of 1 day meal:
1st breakfast:hot buckwheat cereal with raisins apples and walnuts
2nd breakfast: egg white omelets with spinach mushrooms and tomatoes
lunch: 2 chicken breast with chipotle rub and side of arugula and avocados (lemon and safflower oil dressing)
snack: apple
Diner: tilapia with lemon and capers side of broccoli
Night snack: 1/2 a chicken or turkey breast with a dry rub no crabs at all not even veggies
here are some other meal plans to follow and a list of food s to help you reduce your gut…..
Hunt Fit: Fitness for Hunters 