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…
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…
I’m honored to have my friend and client Steven Graves join me today for a discussion about is recent Mountain Goat Hunt of a Lifetime. Steve and I worked together on his training and preparation for this bucket list adventure. He tells his story in great detail. It’s intriguing, emotional, and inspiring. You’ll love listening to Steve share his experience.…
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…
This episode stems from multiple listener requests. With spring bear seasons opening across the country, it’s time to talk about all things bear hunting with Joseph von Benedikt. Joseph is the host of the Backcountry Hunting Podcast and YouTube channel. He’s an engaging conversationalist and expert resource. Enjoy! This podcast was brought to you by The Lifetime Athlete App. Available…
Triple Tres! This great episode features a conversation with a true lifetime athlete…Brian Mathis. In today’s discussion, Brian and I talk about his athletic journey in football, track and field, and Olympic lifting. Brian describes his career in teaching, coaching, strength and conditioning, and academic administration. From there we dive into Brian’s participation in the Fit for the Field program…
In this edition of the Field Report series, I discuss my recent cow elk harvest. Perhaps no finer table fare exists and it was a grand adventure. I also share some nuggets and pearls regarding training for athletic longevity. This podcast was brought to you by The Lifetime Athlete Coaching and Training Services. Our focus is helping you to achieve…
It’s Peak Season! Hopefully your trips and outings are going great! We don’t train all out during this season, but we also avoid doing nothing and letting our hard-won conditioning decline. Here are a few simple workouts that can help you keep your razor’s edge of backcountry fitness honed to perfection. This podcast was brought to you by The Lifetime…
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,…
Another field report! In this episode of The Lifetime Athlete Podcast, I discuss the elk rifle opener. Every year, at the beginning of this season, my friend and I pack into the backcountry with horses and mules and share a great tradition. This year didn’t disappoint. Unique to this story, I get to share how sleep, nutrition, injury management and…
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. Regarding today’s topic, a few thousand words can paint an amazing picture. I recently had a great conversation with Lifetime Athlete Dennis Rackers on The Lifetime Athlete Podcast. Dennis is 69 years young, a backcountry hunter, and he carries excellent muscle mass on his frame at 16% bodyfat. His maximal oxygen uptake…
In this episode of the pod, I share some stories about recent outings along with information regarding training and rehab methodologies. This podcast was brought to you by The Lifetime Athlete Coaching and Training Services. Our focus is helping you to achieve peak athletic performance in any sport or fitness pursuit…fine tune your body composition to get lean, healthy, shredded,…
In this episode, we discuss the richness of relationships in our community, some unique perspectives on endurance training, and a recap of some recent elk hunts. This podcast was brought to you by The Lifetime Athlete Coaching and Training Services. Our focus is helping you to achieve peak athletic performance in any sport or fitness pursuit…fine tune your body composition…
Today’s episode of the podcast is a summary of my adventures and gear list on a recent early season elk hunting trip. Listeners have requested more content like this and it’s a real thrill for me to provide it. Enjoy! This podcast was brought to you by The Lifetime Athlete Coaching and Training Services. Our focus is helping you to…
Today I had the pleasure of visiting with Steve Speck and Mark Huelsing of Exo Mountain Gear. Instead of talking about backpacks and training, we dove into the subjects of mindset, relationships, and life enrichment through shared experiences hunting in the backcountry. This was a great episode. Steve and Mark offered some great perspectives that any Lifetime Athlete will appreciate.…
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…
The ultimate conditioning system for the backcountry hunter and mountain athlete, Fit for the Field…is LIVE! FftF23 is the latest, and greatest version of our online course specifically designed to address the biomechanical and physiological needs of the backcountry hunter. It’s a 16-week program that is literally like no other. Registration for FftF is now open and we launch the…
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…
In this episode we discuss the specific athletic requirements of the backcountry hunter. Using the Capacity Rating System, we determine the levels of strength, speed, power, agility, and endurance needed for ultimate conditioning and success in the backcountry. This podcast was brought to you by The Lifetime Athlete Coaching and Training Services. Our focus is helping you to achieve peak…
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…
I do a regular segment over on the Backcountry Hunting Podcast called “Backcountry Fitness and Nutrition.” This was a recent edition and I’m sharing it here because forefoot pain known as metatarsalgia is such a commonly occurring problem for many Lifetime Athletes. This podcast was brought to you by The Lifetime Athlete Coaching and Training Services. Our focus is helping…
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.…
Today’s episode is Hunting Adventures with Phil Cox! The term “hunting adventures” of course has multiple meanings. You may be a hunter like Phil who ventures afield and has a grand adventure. Or you may be seeking an adventurous experience in any life pursuit. This show is packed with both. Phil is a fantastic human who shares his true zest…
The Late Season Pack Dump and Clothing System video features the equipment and clothing I used during the late elk season in Montana in 2022. At The Lifetime Athlete we celebrate athletes of all ages, types, and ability levels. We recognize the hunter as the original athlete, and we help hunters to train athletically so that they can hunt for…
Happy Thanksgiving. In this episode I share some gratitude and reflections on the season! This podcast was brought to you by The Lifetime Athlete Coaching and Training Services. Our focus is helping you to achieve peak athletic performance in any sport or fitness pursuit…fine tune your body composition to get lean, healthy, shredded, and jacked…and solve the root cause of…
It’s Thanksgiving time. This is a fabulous time of year when we officially celebrate the end of Autumn, the bountiful harvest, and our good fortune. Beyond the gatherings and turkey dinners, we have many traditions to appreciate the season and opportunities to officially reflect on our gratitude. Today’s missive is entitled “Thanksgiving Thoughts” and it’s a combination of things I’m…
Key Performance Indicators, or KPI’s, are extremely valuable elements to periodically test in your athletic journey. We want to train consistently, but we don’t want to do the same thing all the time. Identifying those capacities, or outputs, which best represent out goals or that are most indicative of sports success…and then testing them, is key. This gives us reliable…
In today’s episode I report on some recent elk hunting trips and discuss the finer aspects of training for the sport. If you are a backcountry hunter or a mountain athlete, you’ll find this show interesting. Thanks for joining me today! This podcast was brought to you by The Lifetime Athlete Coaching and Training Services. Our focus is helping you…
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!
In this episode I tell the story of my recent hunt for antelope. The American Pronghorn is a majestic animal and I describe everything from preparation to the adventure afield, and more. This podcast was brought to you by The Lifetime Athlete Coaching and Training Services. Our focus is helping you to achieve peak athletic performance in any sport or…
A salute to the original Lifetime Athlete…the Hunter! In this hunting season preview, I offer some tips and suggestions to help you get the most out of your season. Physical preparation, gear, recovery, logistics and more are covered in the discussion. Mountain athletes of any type, be that backcountry skiers, mountain bikers, thru-hikers, and others will benefit from this sage…
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…
As part of the Fit for the Field backcountry hunter conditioning system, this summer I offered the first webinar of what appears (based on its popularity) to be a regular event…the Lifetime Hunter Summit. The FftF program is an online course available now and while it is a great training program for practically any person, at any time of year,…
Fit for the Field is Live! The ultimate conditioning system for the backcountry hunter and mountain athlete is live on the website. Fit for the Field has been upgraded and this online course can be previewed under the Education menu item. Simple, safe, effective, and affordable! FftF is awesome. Registration for this 12-week course is now open. Summer 2022 participants…
In today’s episode I visit with Joseph von Benedikt and we discuss many aspects of backcountry hunting. Joseph is a prolific writer, the host of The Backcountry Hunting Podcast, and one of the foremost authorities on shooting, hunting, and backcountry performance. Joseph and I covered many topics including: Stories of adventures in the backcountry. The adventurer’s mindset. Physical preparation for…
This is an interesting story that describes a personal journey…shooting with a recoil-sensitive shoulder. This is Part 1 of perhaps several, and in this episode I discuss how I acquired a shoulder which is now extremely sensitive to recoil and how I’ll progress in my shooting endeavors. If you are a hunter or shooter, you’ll really appreciate this, especially if…
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…
In this episode I combine tips and techniques relating to the conditioning and gear we discussed in Parts 1 and 2, while telling a few stories of great adventures in the field. I hope you find this show to be equal parts informative and entertaining! Remember, backcountry hunters are the original athletes, you can and should train for your sport,…
The backcountry hunter is the original athlete in human history. A modern mountain (or plains, prairie, woods, canyon, tundra, etc.) athlete can and should train for peak performance in the field. In this episode I discuss some of the conditioning considerations of ultimate hunter performance. These are elements that I use when coaching backcountry hunters for seasons and expeditions, and…
