Challenging Hunting Activities

Hunting requires you to be physically and mentally fit. There are several exercises you can perform to train your body for hunting. In this way, you can be physically ready for challenging hunting activities on your next trip.

In this article, we shall be identifying some of the activities that may be challenging, especially for beginners. It may be difficult at first but with proper preparation and hunting techniques, you may eventually gain strength and endurance for it.

Also provided in the next sections are workouts and exercises to keep you physically fit. These exercises target certain parts of your body that you use whenever you participate in hunting activities.

These aim to strengthen your arms, butt, legs, shoulders and back.

You will encounter different types of hunting activities that can test your strength and endurance. These activities can lead you in being ripped. With this, it is important to stay fit and physically prepared as you explore the wilderness.

Handling Weapons

Most hunters utilize large weapons in order to shoot their prey. Rifles usually weight around 12.5 pounds which is quite heavy if you will hold it for more than six hours.

You should also consider the weight of mag and the ammunition you need during the trip. Do not forget to bring along additional ammunition in case you missed a few shots. This will weigh your load more for around 15 pounds.

In general, bringing a weapon is a challenging task as you need to carry its weight for hours on the trip. It needs forearm and biceps work out, especially if you are bringing the best tomahawks for hunting. Moreover, you need endurance as the trip may last for a long time.

Carrying Animals

You might have completed several exercises such as sled push and pull or tire dragging. These are great to strengthen your arm muscles. Nevertheless, these exercises are just a tip of an iceberg compared when hauling an animal.

For example on deer hunting, you need to carry the whole body with a wide neck and body. You also need to take into account the antlers which will add an extra weight.

As you participate in hunting activities, you will learn that it is not easy to transport a body. You might have a truck but you need to carry it from the target site to your ATV or van. This task needs metabolic condition and endurance.

Preparation During Post-Hunt

As you go back to your home, you need to prepare several items. These include rope tying, animal maneuvering, letting the animal bleed, skinning, butchering and storing it. You can just easily send it to a butcher but without experiencing these, you cannot feel the essence of being a hunter.

The labor involved in the preparation process is longer than the actual hunt. It can be taxing as you haul heavy loads and moving it for a long distance. This activity may be compared to farming or gardening.

These are just some of the challenging activities that you may encounter when hunting. You need strength and endurance to complete these tasks. We recommend you check out the exercises below to get physically fit for your next hunting trip.

We recommend the following exercises to strengthen and tone most parts of your body. Aside from this, you can also notice other benefits like lean muscle gain, fat loss and better athletic performance.

Boulder Carries

This exercise involves carrying heavy objects to train your grip strength, forearms, hands, back, shoulders and core. It is better to utilize this exercise than pick up an object with symmetrical dimensions such as dumbbell or barbell.

You can start by looking for a big and heavy rock. If you are already outdoors, you can source big rocks in the river. Then, you must carry it well up and down a hill. After completing the up and downhill exercises, you can now proceed with carrying it across a wide field. To train your shoulders, place a good amount of rocks in your backpack.

The exercise comes in handy when you are carrying a heavy object during hunting. For example, once you have successfully shot a game, you need to carry it on back to your base.

Bear Crawls

In this exercise, you must get down on your fours. We recommend getting your butt in a lower position. Your knees should be just a little above the ground. While being in this position, you must crawl on a fast pace but still maintaining the form.

You can then start crawling up and downhill. Remember to keep the form and walk backward as you go downhill. The next steps are crawling side to side and in different directions.

This exercise prepares you on activities that require crawling such as sneaking through brambles and thickets. This shall help strengthen your arm and leg muscles. Moreover, it can also tone your core.

Tire Drags

You only need an old but heavy tire. You can easily get this in your garage or tire store. We recommend getting a tire that weight at least 200 pounds.

To start the exercise, you need to place both of your hands on the tire, securing a grip. Have you butt placed on a lower position. Then, you must slowly drag your tire backward. You can accomplish several sets every session.

This exercise trains you in dragging your hunted animal for every successful game kill. You can strengthen your lower back and hamstrings with tire drags.

Log Clean

When you are hunting, you also need to prepare your camp. This will serve as your shelter and space for the duration of the hunting schedule. With this, you might need the strength to move objects such as logs and fallen trees.

This exercise requires you to get a log, preferably with ample weight proportional to your body dimensions. We recommend doing five sets of picking up the log from the ground and putting on top of the shoulders. You may repeat the exercise for five more times.

You can increase the tension by splitting your legs apart and going to a lunge stance. You can then hoist the log on your overhead slowly.

Tire Pulls and Flips

You need a tire again in this exercise. Proceed with attaching a rope on the tire similar to how you attach one on an animal. Then, drag your tire on different directions and ways while placing the rope on your shoulder.

To make the exercise more complex, you can tie the rope on your waist. This is a great exercise to strengthen your arm muscles and core.

Another great tire exercise is the tire flips. This develops your hamstrings, calf, butt and core which is essential for improving your hunting fitness.

To start the tire flip exercise, you need to get low on your butt and grip your tire using an underhand. Make sure to stand explosively while you are getting underneath the tire. Flip it over and continuously do it for five sets.

Trail Running

A good way to work most of your body muscles is through trail running. This shall help you improve your strength on legs, shoulders, arms and core. Moreover, it can aid in quickening your time for reaction.

As you run on a trail, you can mix it up with different workouts such as tempo running, sprints and jogging. To improve your endurance, you can participate on major runs but rest for a couple of minutes.