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…
Ok, so here I am finding myself training a lot of people with passionate lifestyle pursuits. Backcountry hunters, backpackers, triathletes, skiers, mountain bikers…people who love what they do and are motivated to be able to do it for a lifetime. Folks who have goals, trips, and events targeted this year for which they are preparing. Our discussions will often arrive…
By popular demand, from multiple community requests – as well as my own passion project – I bring you Christmas Elk Chorizo! Yep, it’s that time of year again when I make sausage and jerky, and it varies from year to year what products get produced. All that depends on which animals got harvested, and what I’m feeling like creating.…
Have you ever developed a sore forefoot which felt like it was bruised…but you don’t recall doing anything specific to cause that problem? What about burning pain, numbness, and pins and needles sensations radiating into your toes when you put pressure on your forefoot? Are you a backcountry athlete who has struggled with boot foot and forefoot issues? This is…
To be honest, I don’t love endurance training. My jam in the workout sense is interval training and circuits. To each his/her own of course. But I’m glad I incorporate some endurance training into my conditioning plans. My favorite sport, or pastime – really a passion, is elk hunting. I love almost everything about it. The nature experience. The quest.…
Episode 261 of the Podcast features The Antelope Hunt Recap! If you’d like to hear the story of my recent outing, including the preparation, the journey, and the field to table experience…give it a listen!
The title says a lot. You can and should train for any sport or activity that is important to you. And you should make your training work over your lifespan — to give you as many years of high performance as possible. I train as a Lifetime Athlete and I train to hunt, among a few other things. I’ve been…
Hey there! I hope your summer is going well. It’s already mid-July and the days are literally flying by. I’ve got a list of items (work assignments, house projects, workouts, trips, etc.) that I’m hustling to check off. I imagine it’s the same for you. As part of the Fit for the Field backcountry hunter conditioning system, this summer I…
Spring is upon us and I’m filled with newfound energy and reflections on the process of renewal. In reality, late March really feels like the “first of the year” to me more than does January 1. Sometimes our societal constructs and the natural world don’t always coincide perfectly. PK & I recently had a discussion on the Podcast about kickstarting…
[also available on the Podcast!] Let’s say you are headed into the backcountry. Or maybe it’s an adventure anywhere that gets you on some natural terrain. This could be the mountains, woods, swamps, or even the local recreational trail. Here are some common questions. What kind of shoes should I wear? How can I prepare my feet for the journey?…
This is a science project. I recently acquired a recoil-sensitive shoulder. This is the story of how that happened and what I’ll be doing to continue pursuing one of my lifetime sports in the presence of an orthopedic issue. I decided to share this journey because I believe it has the potential to benefit many other LIfetime Athletes who participate…
In this third part of the Hunter Performance Series, I’m going to discuss a variety of tactics and strategies that can enhance your effectiveness and enjoyment as a backcountry hunter. Many of these concepts will be useful for any mountain athlete or wilderness traveler. In Part 1 we covered conditioning and in Part 2 our focus was gear. Now we…
One of the great things about being a modern backcountry hunter is all the cool gear we have at our disposal. Of course, the outdoor experience itself is king, but quality gear can make you a more safe, comfortable, and effective backcountry hunter. The athletic mountain hunter benefits greatly from the wise use of technology. This article is not going…
Hunters are the original athletes. Hunting the backcountry is my favorite thing. It is a natural, evolutionarily-appropriate sport in many ways. But in reality, backcountry hunting is much more than an athletic endeavor. It’s a way of life and an amazing source of connection, enrichment, and renewal. This is the first time in many, many years that I’m not heading…
Let’s say you like to get outdoors and do your thing, whatever that may be. Perhaps you consider yourself a mountain athlete…who runs, bikes, climbs and skis in the backcountry. Or maybe you are an avid hunter who pursues game in the hinterlands. You’re a backpacker, a fisherman, or someone who likes to hike to the top of the local…
