Hunting seasons are wrapping up, but it’s not quite time for offseason training. We’re stuck smack dab in the middle, that time during the end of the year that either lays the foundation for a great offseason or leaves you stuck because you didn’t utilize the post-season to rebuild your fitness. If you’re not sure what to do, it’s not your fault. There’s a lot of convoluted information out there, and, honestly, you’re not a human performance coach. So, I’ll help you out with the advice you need to know how to train after hunting season.

“Hell, I missed him.” “Are you sure?” “Yeah, I saw the dirt fly where the bullet hit the ground.” “It might have been a pass through.” “I don’t think so, man. I’m pretty sure I whiffed.” “Well, let’s walk down there and check.” I carried Ruth, my dog down the stairs that led up to the box blind while JM carried our rifles. Then I loaded her up in the truck before we walked the 230 or so yards to where the hog was standing when I shot at him. It could turn into a real rodeo with a wounded hog lying in the mesquite. Managing Ruth, who’s a pet and not trained to hunt, while shooting at a charging boar seemed like a terrible idea.

If you use your sniffer and your imagination, you can smell the turkey roasting in the oven. Sniff a little more and you’ll smell the pies baking, too. It’s the Holidays — one of the best times of the year. And it’s also a time of year when many hunters lose fitness. We’ll discuss the reasons why, what to do about them, and develop a holiday hunting fitness plan you can stick to, so you can make progress this holiday season instead of making excuses why you “couldn’t” train.

Here’s what you might not realize: Cold weather hunting fitness is a real thing. You can use your training and your nutrition to make yourself more cold resistant. That means each frosty day in the tree stand is a little less miserable. It means that your legs will have more drive on frigid marches uphill.

If you’ve been following along in the endurance world, you may have noticed recently that muscular endurance training has been a hot button for the majority of this year. This is largely due to some spectacular race results particularly, at UTMB (the most competitive ultra-marathon in the world) where Ruth Croft and Tom Evans took the top podium spots. Each mentioned how weighted hiking was a huge part of their training and a big factor in their success. Their statements created controversy. It seems that coaches who didn't have athletes podium at the UTMB had a hard time accepting that Crofts’s and Evans’s muscular endurance training methods had such a big impact on their success. It’s been the topic of much discussion since, with coaches questioning if muscular endurance training is effective.

I remember the first time I saw a whitetail walk in front of my tree stand. I was 12-years-old and you could have sworn that I was running a jackhammer. The buck fever shakes took control of me. Hell, it wasn’t even a buck, and I didn’t even shoot. But that’s to be expected from a boy on one of his first solo sits. And if we’re real honest, we still get feverish when the right critter walks in front of us. There’s nothing wrong with that. Excitement is part of the fun. There is, however, a problem with excitement that turns into stress that’s not managed. I’m going to teach you two, simple C02 tolerance tests to help see if that’s an issue for you.