Outdoor Solutions’ Founder Greg Ray looks at his journey from the couch to tackling some of the toughest terrains and conditions routinely encountered during a big-game hunt.  

By Greg Ray, Outdoor Solutions & Kevin Guillen, Wilderness Athlete

To get into hunting shape, you’ll need to plan ahead.

We’ve established that, if you are going to be successful out west, you have to prepare mentally, maintain the proper fuel for the body and have a good level of fitness. Big-game hunts are usually in rugged and remote areas where you will need to hike miles with large elevation changes. Then once the animal is down, the real work begins with field dressing and packing out the meat. All of this requires a great deal of energy and effort, so hunter fitness is one of the most critical aspects to ensuring a successful hunt. Getting to that point takes much work and determination. I can personally attest to the need to be in the best shape possible before venturing into the field.  

Knowing what I know now, it is much easier to stay in shape rather than get in shape. And when I say, “stay” in shape, I don’t mean working out twice per day and eating salads every day for the rest of your life. In fact, I wouldn’t recommend eating salads every day regardless, that’s just gross. 

Hunting takes stamina, and what you’re hunting has more than you on your best day. Get ready long before your moment of truth.

Everyone has a starting point. If you are one of those that need to GET in shape, you can’t go from the couch to hunting the Tetons overnight. You didn’t get out of shape overnight; so, don’t expect to be ready to go in two weeks. My best advice is to make this a lifestyle change, not a quick fix. Quick fixes in health and fitness are like “get-rich-quick schemes,” with no retainable gains.  

Like my friend Kevin Guillen from Wilderness Athlete says, “Fully Commit.” We mentioned in Part II that the best diet is one that you will stick with and the same goes for fitness. Start with a routine you like and that you will stick with. The biggest mistake, other than doing nothing, is people being overzealous their first week or two and make themselves so sore they can’t or don’t want to continue because they’ve made it too hard on themselves and they quit. 

Cardio fitness is just one part of getting into hunting shape. You’ll need muscle strength and endurance as well.

Here are some of my best quick tip pieces of advice I can offer. 

• Don’t rely on just the scale to measure your progress. Use it as a tool in your arsenal but don’t let it determine your success. There are too many factors other than what the number on the scale says. 
• Take a picture day 1 (before picture). This picture is just for you and no one else. It has to be a picture that shows you where you are. For guys, that means no shirt; for girls, sports bra and shorts. Here is why. You see yourself every day, and we are our own worst critic when it comes to progress. You will be amazed at what you see on day 45 as compared to day 1, and that will be your motivation! 
• Take measurements. The tape doesn’t lie. For me, at 54 years old, I am not concerned about adding a ton of more muscle. I want to maintain what I have, but my gut is my indicator. It seems to go up and down with my weight. I can determine my progress just from that one measurement.  
• Set a goal. There are numerous goals you can set; lose a certain number of pounds, inches off your waist, time it takes to run a mile, hitting level 10 on the Stairmaster. Once you reach that goal, set a new one. This is how you get better and better.  
• HAVE A PLAN! You will go nowhere fast without one and you will NOT hit your goals without one. Every morning before I go to the gym, I know exactly what workout I am doing and why. In fact, I pretty much know my entire week and, in some cases, my entire month ahead of time. 

Video: CrossFit-style workouts help give you a dynamic range of motion and strength you’ll need in the field.

I get bored easily, so I really mix my workouts up. I have learned a ton from different trainers I have used, and for the past five years have been a CrossFit junkie. Below is my current routine, but I am getting ready to change it up about mid-July to be more specific to a hunt I have coming up and to specific areas that I am lacking physically. I will be enlisting the help from Dan Staton of www.elkshape.com  

Please keep in mind, my routine below is pretty aggressive, and I have been doing this for years. So don’t feel like you have to work out twice a day every day to get to where you want to be. In fact, we will have a discussion about over training with Kevin soon. 

Here is my current routine. The workout below is early mornings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Tuesday and Thursday, I walk 20 minutes on an inclined treadmill, 20 minutes on the Stairmaster and then I do an Every Minute On the Minute (EMOM) of pushing a sled about 20 yards and then add in either 10 pushups or 10 Goblet Squats for 10 rounds. My evening workouts are either at my CrossFit (not an affiliate) gym or walk three miles with my weighted vest.  

Three-Day Hypertrophy Workout 

Day 1 – Pull 

A) Deadlift 4x8 
B1) Wide grip pull up 3x12 
B2) DB Shoulders shrugs 3x12-15 
C) Single arm bent over row 3x12 
D) Dumbbell lateral raises 3x12 
E1) Bent over DB Rear deltoid flyes 3x15 
E2) Biceps curls 3x10-15 

Day 2 – Legs/Hips 

A) Back squat 4x10 
B) Front squat 3x8 
C) Walking lunge 3x10-12 
D1) DB single leg DL ?3x10-12 
D2) Split Squat 3x10 
E1) Single leg glute bridge 3x15 
E2) DB Calf raise 3x15 

Day 3 – Push 

A) DB or BB bench press ?4x8 
B) DB incline press 3x12 
C) DB overhead press 4x10-12 
D) Close-grip push up 3x12-15 
E1) Leaning lateral raises 3x12 
E2) DB Triceps extensions 3x12 

It doesn’t matter if you work out in your garage, the park, or nice gym. The important thing is to get out and move. 

There are a ton of resources for workouts online, but here are a few that I have used and really liked.  

• Any type of Crossfit 
• Mike Millner: I’ve used Mike’s workouts for years https://www.peakoptimizationperformance.com/ 
• Dan Staton: I will be using his program in the final weeks before my mule deer hunt. www.elkshape.com