How An Older Guy Gets In Shape For Public Lands.

[trkehunr93]

I'm 45 and I've been an avid runner since my early 20's in college and hit the gym pretty regularly.  I have a job that keeps me at a desk mostly so I've made it a point to stay active.  I want to be able to still do this for along time to come.

[Turkeyman]

Man...you guys make me feel as though I should make an appointment with my local undertaker! At 75 (next month) I work out at the Y almost every day to keep in shape. First the 12 machine weight circuit followed by an hour on the dreadmill then the 12 machine weight circuit again. In decent weather a five mile power walk outdoors. Come turkey season, I love to "walk and call" as opposed to "run and gun"...same thing, but with less pizzazz. I love to hunt large tracts of public land simply because, due to my hunting style, I'd run out of room in a half hour on private. A ten mile trek in a morning is not uncommon. However, as Kenny Rogers says, you gotta know when to hold em and when to fold em. There are times when you want to patiently wait for a reluctant bird rather than abandon him seeking another.

[mtns2hunt]

Man...you guys make me feel as though I should make an appointment with my local undertaker! At 75 (next month) I work out at the Y almost every day to keep in shape. First the 12 machine weight circuit followed by an hour on the dreadmill then the 12 machine weight circuit again. In decent weather a five mile power walk outdoors. Come turkey season, I love to "walk and call" as opposed to "run and gun"...same thing, but with less pizzazz. I love to hunt large tracts of public land simply because, due to my hunting style, I'd run out of room in a half hour on private. A ten mile trek in a morning is not uncommon. However, as Kenny Rogers says, you gotta know when to hold em and when to fold em. There are times when you want to patiently wait for a reluctant bird rather than abandon him seeking another.

Awesome work out! I too hate the dreadmill but what can you do in bad weather. I am into wood cutting now. Good thing about that is I normally see turkeys. Keep up the good work.

[Cut N Run]

I'm 59 and my workout is with a shovel and probe.  I dig, lift, probe, and do a lot of walking 5 days a week 47 & 1/2 weeks a year for my work and have for 28 years.  I'm also 5'9" and 170 pounds, eight pounds heavier than the day I graduated from high school.  I used to run 3-5 miles daily, do 200-300 pushups a day, lifted weights daily, and played hockey 3 days a week.  On April 21, 2007 I got busted up when a drunk driver ran a red light at 70 MPH and T-boned my vehicle.  It put me in a coma, broke my pelvis in 2 places, badly broke my left shoulder, and gave me a traumatic brain injury.  The bones have healed and multiple surgeries have helped.  I still get unpredictable migraines, have permanent split double vision in about 25% of my field of view, and will be on medications for the rest of my life, just because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  I was out of work for 9 months and had light duty for another 3 months.

That wreck ended my hockey career and limits some of what I can do, but it doesn't keep me out of the woods.  Thankfully, I have more patience these days (you get that when having to re-learn how to do normal stuff).   I'm thankful for every day I get because I'm living on bonus time. I'm lucky to be on this side of the dirt.  The guy who ran into me was a twice convicted felon of breaking & entering with no job and the vehicle was insured for the bare minimum in North Carolina (which the attorney kept 1/3 of) & the rest has paid for my medical bills...mostly.  I work because I have to & I can.  I have to stay fit because I'll fall apart if I slack up.

Good Hunting, Be safe, and have fun this Spring!

Jim