Thread: Hunting fitness

Here’s a tale about fitness - a bit of a novel.

Maybe this isn’t the right place for this? Let me know and I’ll move it or just delete it. But going for a walk in the bush over the weekend really got me thinking.


I’m only 30, so still go plenty of miles in me yet. I always had a up and down struggle with my weight as a teen - but it never bothered me. I didn’t care about it, then as a 19 year old I started a building apprenticeship and lost a lot of weight and gained a lot of fitness - without really trying. But looking back I I couldn’t call myself healthy, I was a big drinker and a heavy smoker. I didn’t look after myself at all. But I was in shape enough that when I started hunting 5 years ago I didn’t have to pay any mind to fitness, I could just do it. Load up a pack and go for a walk and not worry. Then somehow I managed to start having hay fever, really bad and it kept getting worse from all the dust on building sites so I had to change careers. So I got off the building site and into the office.

And that’s where I sat down a lot and kept my crap diet of eating everything and anything and smoking and drinking - and I ballooned in weight. I went from a solid 107kg to 135kg in a couple of years, but I wasn’t hunting that often so I didn’t really notice it till I went to my mates farm, one that I hunted often enough and never struggled. I could park at the house, go shoot a deer in the back paddock and carry it back and not worry - One day I went for a hunt with him, I walked up a hill and I was absolutely exhausted. Huffing and puffing and struggling to breathe, my mate just looked at me and said - quit smoking bud, what really got me is that the house was in plain sight. I hadn’t even walked a full 1km up a slight hill and I felt ready to die.

That really woke me up. I immediately quit smoking and cut back on the drink and looked at my diet. I started making my own meals instead of buying them, I went for a walk to the park and back every day. First one loop and then 6 months later I could do 10km in one go easy as - around the local streets and I suddenly weighed 99kg (I’ve lost a lot of muscle as been off the tools for 4 years) - But my life only really revolved around exercising and my diet and that’s all I did as it’s all I had time for, I was hardly hunting - the whole reason I started to look after myself.

So I started hunting again and loved it, I also felt I needed a social life again!

Then I fell back into my old habits of eating crap (I joined my mates at the local 3 times a week for dinner and drinks - those damn quiz nights we kept winning bar vouchers) and I shot back up to 119kg but I was hunting every month and that was my only exercise and I noticed it getting hard again. Then my buddy booked us a fly in hunt for February and I realised I couldn’t let bad habits ruin a dream hunt.

So here I am again, back on the grind of exercise and diet - I’ve put in a good effort and in only 4 weeks my cardio has increased dramatically again, I went for a walk up in the kaimais and I felt really good. With work keeping me busy - a house hold to run and maintaining healthy relationships with my partner and family / friends I find it really hard to keep a good balance of health and fitness and finding the time to do it. (Im currently sitting at 115kg)

A long way to say: health and fitness has always been something I’ve struggled with - I wasn’t taught healthy eating habits, as a child I was forced to play sports I hated so fitness was never something I enjoyed doing so none of this has come naturally and there’s only one reason I even started to make good choices. To go hunting. Without it I think I’d still be drinking, smoking and well past 140kg. But now i place a heavy value on fitness - and want to figure this out.

Good on ya, weight is a bitch! Mine has been up and down for years too, also a builder. Steadily dropping now, down to 84kg at the moment after getting all the way up to 98 while off the tools and just managing other people.
Getting back to being work fit and still have a long way to go being hunt fit!

Originally Posted by SpeightsDrinker

I sat down a lot and kept my crap diet of eating everything and anything .

sounds like you got a bit of lab in ya........
seriously tho good on ya for getting on to it while your still young
cut right back on the carbs , no sugary drinks and quit the smoking
is a good place to start
one takeaway from your tale ............hunting good not hunting bad

It's always how much you stuff down the throat. Woody woodpecker call here.

Originally Posted by SmokeyJason

It's always how
much you stuff down the throat. Woody woodpecker call here.

Yeah weight control is something like 60% diet and 40% exercise... cardiovascular fitness is something else again, mostly the right kind of exercise.

Solid mate, yea I’ve found throwing 30-35kgs in a pack and going for a walk around the neighbourhood use to help alot with the pack fitness. Be surprised how much fitter you can get over 6 months of just staying consistent


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You know what works for you to lose weight and what diet is best to maintain a healthier weight. Getting there will also help your hunting fitness. Mostly it's mind over matter. If you're motivated enough you will stick with it until it's routine. But, I know, the temptation to relent sometimes is just unbelieveable.
Best of luck to you. Do more hunting. That will also help your motivation.

Cheers lads, Can happily say I haven’t had a smoke since that day - none of that vape crap either.

Yup I keep the fizzy drinks out and are a very rare treat!
The carbs are also a treat, haven’t cut them completely but will often go days without a single piece of bread, potato or pasta.

Still learning what works best for me to help keep a balance.

But trying to hunt or even just shoot paper every 2nd weekend - much to the dismay of the Mrs!

I'm an ex chippy myself, hung the tools up maybe 3-4yrs ago for a factory job which still kept me active - just!.

Now I'm in the office pushing a pen and the weight is back up to 95kg from 90kg, I did drop to 88kg when wifey & I were on the Keto train. I'm at the gym 3-4 sessions a week now doing cardio/strength classes to try and improve fitness and drop some kg, not quite working yet.

I've never been a smoker but like my beers so may have to knock them on the head for a month or two and see if that makes a difference.

It's very hard to exercise away a poor diet, get the food right and the rest will follow.

What would help would be some more social sports for adults. Something where you can get some proper exercise in a couple times a week without having to compete. Every now and then I have a health kick and go for decent walks but it's so boring. I've competed in powerlifting on and off for years but end up waddling around like a 135kg bloated mess rather than being fit. Something like social basketball could be good.

Man, that's huge you are confronting this. Well done. We each have different builds, metabolisms, life pressures. Some of us find this much easier to do/maintain than others. A couple of my mates are bigger guys (taller, big frames) and it's a struggle for them to keep the weight gains off. If you can build good, consistent little habits, combined with a good (does not have to be perfect) diet, and regular training, your on the way. Much easier to do the work and stay fit. If you can find the type of training you enjoy (gym, biking, walking, garage...) then it makes it more enjoyable, and if you need it, accountability.

Here's a couple of things I've learnt being over 50. The training programmes in our magazines may look great on the surface (if you are under 35), but are often too demanding in terms of time/recovery. The heavy pack training thing is okay in moderation, it works, but you do risk overdoing it/injury/end up with prolonged recoveries. I injured myself slipping heavy pack training prior to a big trip a couple of years ago. So perhaps train a few months out prior to a big walk in, and keep the weight realistic, not at the top end. Walk more. The VO2 max building happens here at a good pace. Take the car less, use the bike. Obey the dog and take him for a walk every day, up hills, without fail. Some resistance training is good also to firm up your body, and definitely a leg work session (body weight squats, step ups, lunges...) in the garage pays off. I had an epic roar hunt this last year - every day was big climbs, steep hunting, and big walk in/outs. The thing that set me up was hunting fitness, and to be honest, a lot of bush hunting prior

Oh, and quite drinking. Sugar is the enemy.

Yeah, great thread. This topic has been on my mind lately as I'm off the tools. I've started walking the dog with my pack on. I keep adding weight, and hopefully, it'll pay off. I have noticed im favoring one leg, so I will need to focus on evening that out.

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I’m fortunate enough that where I live now that going for a walk is quite enjoyable as I live near an estuary so walking at sunset is very relaxing! I do a few laps around a park and then up a few hills in the street and home, it’s nice to watch the local sports practice too, have been tempted to join a sports team but the commitment with regular trainings and game days often in the weekend means I didn’t want to let a team down by going hunting.

There’s a huge push for getting hunt fit on social media which is great in theory- but when your job isn’t one that’s active you have to find that time which can be difficult. Hell I don’t even have kids yet!

I had noticed that fitness is something that pops up here on occasion but very surface level so I thought I’d try throw up a decent yarn and see what happens!

I hear you. I was in pretty good shape, then my wife and I had our two kids and I woke up to realise I was 115kg.

I'm now at 100, aiming for 95. Cycling has been a pretty big boon for that, low impact so I can go out regularly, coupled with cutting the crap out of my diet and trying to hit my 10k steps a day.

Before kids I'd hike about 8hrs a weekend up hills, then bike around 200km a week to and from work. I can't justify the time to do that at the moment but every little but helps.