Fit for the Hunt

Fit for the Hunt By Clay Allen Jr. What motivates you to be fit? For some it may be a stress reliever. For others it may be to simply look and feel better. For me there are many reasons. I am a 23 year old Trona Miner in Green River, Wyoming. I am also a volunteer firefighter for the Green River Department. Being a firefighter is a very physically demanding job. One needs to be able to perform well at any given time whether it is 95 degrees in the heat of the summer or below 0 at 2 a.m. in the morning on a work night. So this is probably my number one priority for all of my workouts. I also enjoy hunting at high altitudes which can get pretty brutal at times due to steep rugged terrain and the lack of oxygen at 10,000 feet. One last reason I enjoy physical fitness is it is a great way to spend time with your family. By involving them it instills the desire and habits forming a healthy lifestyle for the whole family. With that being said, how do I stay so motivated to continue pushing forth? For starters, I need to have a goal in mind that I am chasing until I reach it. It might be a simple goal such as increasing my bench press by five pounds for my working set. Simple yes, but I am still five pounds stronger than I once was.  After I have reached my goal I always have another goal in its place that I am working towards. By doing this it never allows me the time to plateau or become bored. Another important point to bring up is make your goals relevant to the things and hobbies that you have in life. For me as a firefighter, mechanic and a hunter, both strength and cardiovascular training are very helpful in assisting me to be the best that I can be all of the time. My goals throughout the year change as well. When summer is coming up I want to look good with my shirt off. When hunting seasons around the corner I start focusing on the condition of my legs and lungs more than I usually do. Even though I may be training for different things throughout the year my overall goal is always the same, Be better tomorrow than I was today. The next and most important part of living a fit and healthy life style is my least favorite and probably the toughest part. NUTRITION. Have you ever heard the quote “You are what you eat.” Well it’s true. A proper diet can increase energy levels throughout the day making daily tasks easier and a person more fit. But the opposite can be said with a poor diet causing a person to be lethargic, tired, and even unmotivated. With working out comes micro tears in your muscles, Depletion of glycogens in your muscles, as well as dehydration and many other things. So in order for you to maximize gains and continue to better yourself, a good diet is on the top of the list. When proper training and nutrition come together and the results start to show bringing with it a desire to become better than before. Hunting becomes easier, work becomes easier, and making it to the gym even becomes easier. This is just a quick touch on some of the stuff that I am going to cover. As a miner, a firefighter and a high country hunter I need to remain in the best physical and mental shape that I possibly can so I would like to pass on some of the tips and pointers that I have. If you are already in great shape I hope that some of my ideas and workouts will help you to become a better athlete and get into better shape. I am also very open to other’s advice and comments. I definitely do not always do everything right and have lots of room for improvement, so always feel free to give back some tips and advice. As for those who may not have much experience with working out and eating healthy hopefully you can learn from some of the things that I do, even if it is that you shouldn’t do what I just did. I hope that everyone reading our articles and watching our videos enjoys the content that we bring you. Also if you have any ideas on videos you would like to see or certain content you would like to read about feel free to comment them and we will do our best to accommodate that. With all of that being said thanks for reading and I hope everyone is as excited as I am for what we have in store.