In Episode 409 of The Lifetime Athlete Podcast, I welcomed my old friend Doug Fletcher to discuss his 2025 completion of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. This is the story of a Lifetime Athlete checking off a lifetime bucket list item. Over 60 days of riding, camping, and experiencing a Rocky Mountain Summer, Doug joined a rare group to…
Goals. Objectives. Meaningful accomplishments. Diving into an experience you’ve been seeking. Checking off a bucket list item. These are things that we do throughout our journey and across all areas of life. Sports. Health. Finance. Travel. Celebrations. And so on. In this community, when we use terms like “take the athletic avenue into wellness” or “train for life,” they have…
Let’s say you are an avid hunter and now, in mid-April, you’re getting ready to hunt turkey and bear. You’ve been training consistently and you’re in great shape for your pursuits. Good on you! But maybe you’re not hunting the spring seasons. Perhaps you haven’t been quite as dedicated to your conditioning as you would have liked. And you’ve got…
Let’s say you are a backpacker, hunter, fisherperson, skier, climber, mountain biker, kayaker…or anyone who ventures into the outdoors with a quest for experience and a concern for preparedness. You need to carry a knife. And that should be the ideal knife for your specific situation. Whether you are opening food packages, cutting paracord, processing game and fish — or…
This is a sequel to Part 1 on this topic, which I posted almost 3 years ago. While this followup may seem long overdue, it has actually taken a full 33 months to complete my investigation and reach my final conclusions. Since it’s been quite a while, you may have interest in reading Shooting with a Recoil-Sensitive Shoulder, Part 1.…
Success stories are fun to hear. Steven Graves, a member of our Lifetime Athlete community, and now a true mountain badass, just got back from an amazing adventure. He checked off a bucket list item at 53 years young, scaling mountains and battling extreme weather in Southeast Alaska. This resulted in him taking a trophy mountain goat at 44 yards…
Giving advice on footwear selection is a tricky topic. This is particularly true when it comes to backcountry hunters and mountain athletes. Across the footwear industry, from manufacturers to retailers, there are inconsistencies in the recommendations provided to consumers. Unfortunately, much of this is driven by aggressive marketing and the goal of convincing, more than educating, the customer. It gets…
Swimming, water exercise, water immersion, water exposure. It’s all a part of summer life, and training, for The Lifetime Athlete (YOU). The benefits are numerous, as are the ways you can get them. I’ve included a few podcasts and videos to give you some ideas for your summer programming. You may also be interested in becoming a member in The…
At this time last year, I did a feature on “Building the Backpacking Athlete,” which included an article, podcast, and video. That information was utilized in a presentation I had the opportunity to give in the Backpacking Light Trail Days Online seminar. This year I’ll be providing another presentation at TDO24. Building on last year’s content, the current edition will…
You are a backcountry hunter or mountain athlete. You spent the whole summer building and honing your fitness. Maybe you participated in our Fit for the Field (FftF) online conditioning course. Regardless, you’re into your peak season and you need to switch your workout system into a maintenance routine. Easy peasy I say. If you were a participant in FftF,…
It’s a busy time of year. I just got back from an antelope hunting trip and soon I’ll be heading out for elk. The antelope expedition was one filled with challenge, humility, success, and gratitude. Experiencing amazing people, beautiful places, and personal growth. It’s all in this podcast discussion.
Last summer I did a recap, but this year it’s a preview! The 2nd Annual Lifetime Hunter Online Summit will be taking place on Friday, July 7 from 6:00-8:00pm. It’s one of the features of the Fit for the Field hunter conditioning course and it’s always great fun for me to connect with members of our team. Similar to last…
As Lifetime Athletes, we play a variety of sports and we train in different locations on multiple surfaces. The shoes we select can make a difference in our comfort, safety, and performance. And there’s even a place for being barefoot! Gyms, beaches, fields, artificial turf,courts, tracks, roads, and trails are the terrain of The Lifetime Athlete. This week I’m providing…
A lot of the athletes I coach are outdoor lifestyle enthusiasts. Many are backcountry hunters. There are some questions that come up regularly with this population. Those questions are answered in this week’s content, which is being offered exclusively in video format. I hope you find some valuable information and let me know if you have any questions. Cheers!
Whatever your sport or passion pursuit, doing “the thing” is the most-specific activity you can do. But in many situations we don’t get to do said “thing” quite as much as we’d like. That’s when doing exercises that have a high degree of transfer becomes exceptionally useful. Mountain athletes such as hunters, hikers, backpackers, skiers (when boot-packing), and others need…
I love coaching, training, and rehabbing athletes of all ages, types, and abilities. It’s been my jam for 40 years. One of the athletic populations with which I work a lot is the Backcountry Hunter. I coach a lot of these athletes on an individual basis, but I also have the privilege of offering the Fit for the Field online…
Howdy Howdy! I hope you are having a fantastic day! Mine is indeed that because today I get the opportunity to discuss a topic about which I’m really passionate (honestly, there are a lot of those topics). As a self-acknowledged gearhead, I’m always interested in the functionality and ergonomics of equipment, and how that interfaces with human biomechanics. Let’s say…
The human shoulder is a marvel of design. It is perhaps more than a joint and is best described as the shoulder complex. This is because it is somewhat complex. Comprised of a shoulder “girdle” made up of your clavicle (collarbone), scapula (shoulder blade), and humerus (upper arm), the shoulder complex blends mobility and stability in truly unique fashion. That…
Howdy! I’m putting these thoughts together during Spring Break so if you’re on a trip, I hope it’s an amazing one. I’m doing a bit of a “stay-cation” mostly because I’m busy with work and planning to save some time off for later in the spring. Not long ago I did a little piece that was very well received within…
Everyone is an athlete. Everyone can be an athlete. Everyone should be an athlete. The minute you start seeing yourself as an athlete, good things happen. Your athletic identity guides you to not just exercise, eat well, and be healthy – but to train for peak performance in your chosen sport or passion pursuit. Almost magically, your behaviors become purpose-driven…
