An Outdoor-Leaning Life

Elk-Waiting High Country Siesta

Not Me

So if I get the right outfit at lululemon and pay the gym membership, I’m pretty much good to go right? No? Sports bottle and bluetooth headphones rounds it out then? Actually, you aren’t necessarily off-base, but there is something to be said for aching calf muscles, sweat, and the fresh smell of an evergreen forest. Nearly every community has a gym these days, and frankly I think this is an exceptionally good thing. This takes away the excuses when it is snowing sideways or 20-below outside. All praise the gym, say hallelujah!

Gym Time Focused

Why do you work out? Is it to have the body you remember from your teens? Good goal, for sure. Is it so you can bench press your mother-in-law? Sketchy idea, but I get the point. As I’ve gotten a little older, I’ve come to realize that for me, time in the gym means more and higher-quality time in the outdoors. I can pack a heavier pack, climb more vertical, and stay out longer. This is why I work out. Sure, I don’t mind not looking pregnant (I’m male) and filling out my shirts and pants in better ways than before; but really, the gravy is in being able to go longer and harder in the field and everywhere else.

My gasping and wheezing during that hunt, along with the not-so-appealing “success” pictures were a turning point for me

One thing I’ve also found is that the gym is an effective way to build more powerful muscles, but the mountain is how you harden your body and connect all of those tendons, ligaments, and muscles in a meaningful way. You can also do this on the track, on your bike, in the pool, and on the river, but you need that applied athleticism to really bring it all together. The treadmill, stair climber, and recumbent bike just are sad little substitutes that don’t quite get it done.

Hey, Take it Outside!

From my own experience, there is little more satisfying than taking my workout into the great outdoors. A day of climbing, hiking, backpacking, hunting, or fishing beats a few hours in the gym every time. Why? Clear air, sounds, smells, colors, and the accomplishments that come with these various forms of outdoor exercise and adventure are sort of a balm for the mind and soul as well.

How about this…let’s say you are comfortable carrying a 30-pound pack on eight to twelve-mile hikes with a few thousand feet of vertical tossed in for good measure. Would you feel better at the end of the day if you, personally, weighed 10 pounds less when you started the day? This is the type of math that can become a very formidable motivator. The desire to go farther and longer and feel better at the end of the day starts to take hold of you and make you very excited to get to the gym and to step on the scale.

Make it Fun

I would suggest that you definitely find the time to go on small day-hikes in the most beautiful setting you can. Do this a couple of times a week for a few weeks and you might find that you are more serious about your gym commitment. Even if not, you will find that your spirit and attitude feel better. It is so rewarding to finish a five or six mile walk in a beautiful setting like a local green belt or public lands.

The more you love to hunt, fish, cycle, walk, hike, climb, run, paddle or whatever form your outdoor recreation takes, the more likely you will be to see the benefits of exercise. At some point, at least for me, I also learned to question my diet. I was on a bird hunt about 10 years ago when I realized I was so dramatically and depressingly out of shape. Especially after I viewed the post-hunt pictures with my gut stretching my t-shirt in a way I hadn’t pictured in my mind’s-eye. I don’t know what I exactly weighed on that day. It was somewhere well north of 230 pounds and I hadn’t touched a free weight in 20 years.

Inspiration or Fear?

My gasping and wheezing during that hunt, along with the not-so-appealing “success” pictures were a turning point for me in my attitude about my body. It was a few years later before we got a local gym, but between the hunt and the date of my gym membership I did some reading on diet and came to the conclusion I had to slack off the over-indulgence in carbohydrates. I had been a doughnut-pounding, pie-shoveling, pizza-gorging fool and I was paying for it in the field.

49 Years, 4,950 Vertical Feet.

It so happens that at about that time I read a book by the author Christopher McDougal, “Born to Run” (which you can buy here). I can’t recommend this book highly enough. It is a factual, fascinating, and suspenseful non-fiction work that reads as well as the best-written fiction. One tiny factoid noted in the book is that a human can run at age 59 at a level they could at age 19, even though the peak athleticism comes in the late 20s. So, for all of us, at any age, there is more we each can do to unlock our inner athlete.

Tying Your Physical to Well-Being

Today I am a regular at the gym, focusing on heavier resistance training that helps me build greater strength and athletic muscles. I limit my carbohydrate intake and focus on eating piles of vegetables, game meats, and plenty of healthy fats. I use the treadmill most weeks. My wife and I walk with our dog whenever weather allows. We also take hikes in the nearby mountains more often, but not yet often enough.

At 6′-0″ I still weigh in at a less-than-svelte 195 to 200 pounds. I’ve added some useful and more dense muscle and my belly doesn’t always steal the show when I find myself in the odd photograph. Why? I do all of this because I want to live longer, be more healthy, and honestly…I desperately want to keep hunting, fishing, and hiking as long as I possibly can. It is my love of the outdoors that helps drive my passion to seek better and better health.

I have more energy and I’ve long since forgotten my contemplation of signing up for those damned little blue pills. Everything in my life is better now than it was 10 years ago. Honestly, I believe it all came down to the realization that one fateful bird hunting day. That is when I realized that I was heading down a bad path. This route wouldn’t allow me to do the things I love at the levels I desired for much longer. It was truly my love of the outdoors that helped me to get a handle on my deteriorating health, and has helped me to immerse myself even deeper today in the outdoors.

Everybody Now!

Take that walk in the woods. Climb that mountain. Do that two-day through hike, or try that overnight backpacking hunt. Try hiking away from the boat launch to find your own private fishing hole or sneak away from the beaten path to find those secretive bucks. Try the view from 12,000 feet some day, or just climb the highest local hill or mountain to treat yourself to the view. It is my sincere hope that, like me, you find this exertion, beauty, and serenity something special that motivates you to become the athlete you can be, whatever your age.