Who prioritize fitness for your upcoming and future safaris?

[WAB]

Not quite as far along as Joe, but at 63 I’m retired on a farm that keeps me very active. I am also addicted to Peloton bike, tread and strength workouts. When preparing for a hunt I hump a five mile loop over the hill behind the house with rifle and pack.

 

[abnhog]

I try and get into the gym by 0615 everyday. I found I don’t generally get work calls that early. Plus, I enjoy having my day started with the hardest thing (physically) I’ll most likely do. I have noticed that my shooting has improved greatly with the cardio and weight training. Holding A rifle free hand and having my breathing under control has helped me take quite a few animals that otherwise I might not have made. Also, after spending thousands of dollars on a hunt I want to enjoy the hunt. I don’t think there is a downside to exercise.

 

[Rare Breed]

hou

Ya, a 15 lb cardio bar would simulate rifles (plural!!).
That is a good regular baseline of exercise.
I always think that I’m training today so the me tomorrow can keep up.
I don’t drink alcohol (anymore) so exercise is a necessity for keeping mentally balanced too.

are a better man than me my friend…can’t give up the grape!!!! lol!!!

 

[Rare Breed]

72 and three decades of that in the Army, so I never run anymore if at all possible - that will eventually destroy knees faster than anything. I am fortunate because we retired to our pecan farm ranchette here in Texas. I am constantly on the tractor, using a chain saw, stacking down timber, or mowing. I eat what I like - though most would call it largely Mediterranean. I religiously have two glasses of wine at dinner and often one for lunch. I can also highly recommend an occasional Irish, single malt, or cognac before bed. I take no meds and though steep terrain is more challenging these days, I can still walk down a buffalo or eland with anyone.

I do still manage mountains. This capercaillie was taken in the Austrian Alps last year at this time, and we are off to the Gredos in a week.

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You are living what I hope to be at 72!!!

 

[Hunt anything]

You are living what I hope to be at 72!!!

Hell I’ll take 62! Just turned 60

 

[Firebird]

Pack test is next week-50 pound pack for three miles in under 45 minutes, no running. I have grown to hate that test! Bought new wildland fire boots this year, should last the rest of my career. . .
I found South Africa to be easy, no huge mountains, no heavy pack, pleasant weather and skinners, trackers, packers and trucks.

Easy compared to what I do in the states.

But my weekly workouts made it so I could keep up every step with my ph and we could hunt longer, go farther. I would think tracking long in the heat and sand or heavy jungle for dg or rare trophies would be much harder and require more purposeful fitness.

 

[BJH65]

I’m 58 turning 59 in a month. Like many here, due to an active lifestyle with sports, 6 years USMC and 25 years in law enforcement, I’m nursing a variety of old injuries: Bulged disc L5/S1, partially torn rotator cuff, previous knee surgery so I work around this with daily walking 3-5 miles, workouts with light weights, bands and body weight workout routines. As others have stated, I don’t train for a specific hunt, I just stay fit year round. If I were going to climb a mountain again after mountain goats I would add wearing a backpack with weights and hike uphill, incline treadmill and stairmaster training to my routine.

Red Leg is right, running will eventually catch up to you with knee and hip issues. I previously jogged about 25-30 miles a week. It was very effective in keeping my weight down. I stopped about 10 years ago when after an MRI, the doctor said I’d require a hip replacement in 10-15 years if I kept running. Your body is a machine that will wear out!

Then I took up cross fit which was extremely effective in keeping me fit but then I found myself getting injured and unable to stay with it long term. Brazilian Ju Jitsu is also a very effective way to stay fit but also prone to injury for me. So now I just work around old injuries to stay fit. I really don’t want any surgeries unless absolutely necessary.

In addition to walking 3-5 miles daily and the workouts with light weights, bands and body weight workouts, I maintain a largely plant based diet mixed with wild game and practice intermittent fasting.

 

[375Ruger416]

I’m actually at an all time low in fitness. Working on improving my fitness and fitness as a habit again. I appreciate the inspiration everyone!

Turn 47 in June and have Namibia in September. Have inflammatory arthritis, work shift work with regular night shifts, and was separated from my wife for three years. We reconciled in December, praise God, and I gained 20 lbs! Fortunately, we’re working together to make regular activity part of our life again annd improve our diet so I am very fortunate. My wife just retired as a police officer after 25 years so we have time to fit it in. After years of stress, we are finally building the kind of marriage we always wanted. Very happy and comfortable, but working on activity and exercise discipline.

 

[BJH65]

I applaud and am envious of you all…where do you find the time to do all this exercise. Are there some hidden 25th and 26th hours in a day that I do not know about?

Some of us are retired so I now look at it as my “job” to stay fit and active!

 

[Velo Dog]

Good points, one and all.

At 71 I do the best I can to stay in some kind of shape year around.
Last summer I quit drinking alcohol completely for several months and began eating “right” again.
Now, I will have a beer or a cocktail once in awhile but I keep it to low volume.

Although I do not box any more, last year I began getting back into a boxer’s workout.
It includes getting beat up by my lightening bag, aka: bungee bag, doing dumbbell repetitions and treadmill or weather permitting, road work.

For the road work and treadmill,
I no longer run, as my knees can’t seem to take the pounding any more.
So, I just walk briskly for that portion of my workout.
With any hunt approaching, I like to “turn up the flame a bit” by walking even more.

Recently I broke a blood vessel in my left leg, jut above my knee.
It has kept me from getting enough walking in.
However it is healing properly.
And although my leg is still black and blue, because I was in reasonable shape when I spazzed-out and bashed my leg against a piece of metal, I expect to be good enough for my soon to begin next hunt.

Stay fit boys and girls, it has its rewards.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.

 

[DLSJR]

I’m 65 and feel better now than I did when I was 50. Up until my mid 40’s I was very active, mostly with karate 4 days a week for about five years; so fitness was just part of the routine. I suffered a few significant injuries to my back and knee, so had to give up an activity I loved. That started a long downward trend where I gained 80 pounds, had significant knee problems and let my fitness go to hell. I started turning things around a bit in 2020 when I drew a Desert Bighorn tag. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hunt unless I did something for my knees, so I had stem cell therapy performed on both knees and it helped. I shot a great ram and wouldn’t have been able to do that hunt had I not gotten my knees fixed. But that wasn’t enough to get me to where I am today. I had to finally get disgusted with my weight and overall health to take the concept of wellness seriously. That happened in late 2022.

Now, I try to walk at least 10,000 steps a day. For me this is about 4 1/2 miles. I walk my yellow lab off leash about 3 1/2 miles each morning and take care of business calls while walking. He’s almost 10, so the walk does both of us a lot of good. Some days, I’m able to get 18,000-20,000 steps in. I also work out at a local gym 3 days a week, lifting moderate weights (depending on lift, nothing over 150 lbs), rowing machine and a big one is walking in the pool. Pool walking is great as its low impact, moderate resistance cardio. My knees don’t like flutter kicking so I don’t swim much, also why I don’t run. But an hour walking in the pool while doing arm exercises will tire you out nicely. Finally, when getting ready for any mountain hunt, I add in stairs at a local 6 story parking garage. If I can get in 50-60 flights of stairs in a session, up & down, I can handle most mountain hunts.

I see my doctor at least annually, no prescription meds, normal blood sugar, cholesterol and BP of 123/65. Healthy eating, a nice mix of moderate exercises, prioritizing sleep have all combined to put me in better shape than I was 15 years ago. I’m down about 55 pounds from my high weight despite adding quite a bit of muscle. Goal is to increase walking to about 13,000 steps a day and lose another 30-35 pounds this year. If I’m able to keep it up long term, I’ll be hunting into my 80’s. And…. I feel better every day than I did for the last 15 years. Older can be better!

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Walking around the factory and up and down the stairs is about a 4km event, and at the end of the day I feel pleasantly worked out. I am lucky in that I seem to fitten up rapidly, so at the beginning of a hike it is quite strenuous, but a few km in and the stride comes. The problem is I hate gyms, any donkey work exercise in fact, it has to be purposeful.

 

[Nyati]

Walk, minimum 1 1/2 hours, no jogging or running, bad for knees.

Some workout with weights, to keep upper body in shape.

Diet is very important, I keep what is basically a mediterranean diet.

No junk food whatsoever, no sugar.

 

[Elkeater]

Pack test is next week-50 pound pack for three miles in under 45 minutes, no running. I have grown to hate that test! Bought new wildland fire boots this year, should last the rest of my career. . .
I found South Africa to be easy, no huge mountains, no heavy pack, pleasant weather and skinners, trackers, packers and trucks.

Easy compared to what I do in the states.

But my weekly workouts made it so I could keep up every step with my ph and we could hunt longer, go farther. I would think tracking long in the heat and sand or heavy jungle for dg or rare trophies would be much harder and require more purposeful fitness.

Glad I’m not the only one here having to do that stupid pack test. I only have 24 more to go til retirement. And I figure another 24 pairs of boots. Not counting down though or anything got too much career ahead of me still.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

I try to keep in good shape. I do probably about three or four hundred push ups a week, a hundred sit ups a week, and a hundred jumping jacks daily.
I also try to walk three to five miles a day after work.
That is all provided I have the time. If I’m working 16 hour days the exercise can wait.
The diet is the most important part and I’m good at that. You can’t outwork a bad diet.

 

[DLSJR]

Walk, minimum 1 1/2 hours, no jogging or running, bad for knees.

Some workout with weights, to keep upper body in shape.

Diet is very important, I keep what is basically a mediterranean diet.

No junk food whatsoever, no sugar.

Nyati makes an excellent point about junk food and sugar. If you eliminate these, cut back on alcohol and do the other stuff, it’s inspiring what you can achieve. One other thing that helps with diet is to cut way back on fast digesting carbs, especially potatoes. For beverages, stick to water and coffee, especially water, for the majority of your liquid consumption and it’ll help as well. There might not be any single dietary aspect that helps you more than eliminating sugar as much as possible from your diet.

 

[Firebird]

I think six years for me-will re-evaluate at that point, mostly structure firefighting and the ambulance from time to time, wildland interface or occasionally single resource medic.

Here’s a question to piggyback with the op-what do you listen to/watch while you do work outs?

Outside the gym I listen to podcasts mostly.
This morning listened to the Kelsey brothers “New Heights” podcast from April 3 with Arnold Schwarzenegger-solid gold and long enough to walk 5 miles. . .

Any other recommendations?

 

[Hunt anything]

Since I walk on old and sometimes overgrown roads I don’t listen to anything. I have to be mindful of the buzz of an eastern diamondback or the hiss of a cottonmouth. Stepped on a 3’ long cottonmouth on Monday, luckily stepped about 6” behind his head so the only thing he could hit was my boot.
I also like to listen and see if I can identify any new bird songs that I’m not familiar with.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

I do serious workouts for some hunts, like Montana elk hunts, Yukon Dall sheep and NZ tahr (the hardest hunt I've done). I get on the Stairmaster and wear a 50 lbs. weight vest. Serious workout! Having said this, all of my African hunts have been fairly easy. The Eastern Cape has some rolling hills, but nothing difficult. Everywhere else (Nam, Zim, Zam) has been fairly flat and easy walking.

 

[Tanks]

I prioritize fitness and health period, and have for decades. I track my food intake and macros every day and can tell you what I had for lunch on a given day going back to 2014 (need to dig up spreadsheets for prior to that).

At 67, I row 5K+ when I wake up and do strength training 5 days a week, Monday and Fridays are off days. I do a DEXA scan monthly, blood panel every 6 months and a VO2 max test annually. Through my Medicare supplemental I have a lifetime membership to 24 Hour Fitness which I utilize when travelling. I have been using an app called Juggernaut AI for my training. ( https://www.juggernautai.app/ )

I did build a gym at home to save travel time and provide flexibility.