Going back to Az in Dec to chase muleys and thought I'd use this hunt as an excuse to get into shape. Started 6/1.

Going to use this thread as an extra layer of accountability, if you don't care for the updates scroll on by.

With the help of Chat GPT I've come up with a workout plan that I feel will help me prep, as well as some mobility work. Also using chat GPT to help me with meal plans.

My goals

TRAINING:
Weights 3x a week (StrongLifts 5x5)
Bleachers 1-2x/week
Ruck/run 1-2x/week
Archery: daily

Will do mobility work daily and shoulder rehab 5x/wk, along with a 3x/ wk ab workout.

Diet:

Trying to eat 1.25g protein/lb
2500-2700 cal total
Whole Foods
No refined sugar
1 cheat meal/wk

Here is my current weekly schedule

Day Training Focus
Monday:
StrongLifts + Ab Workout A + Archery
Tuesday:
Bleacher Intervals + Ab C (opt.) + Archery
Wednesday:
StrongLifts + Ab Workout B + Archery
Thursday:
Ruck Walk + Mobility + Archery
Friday
StrongLifts + Savage Core Circuit (opt.) + Archery
Saturday
Active Recovery + Ab Workout C + Archery
Sunday
Full Recovery + Archery only


Wish me luck!

Ambitious but definitely doable - I'd make a plan to reassess on a monthly basis and be honest with yourself about your fatigue and what not. I think with what your end goal is, once the weights on Stronglifts get to a decent level you can probably drop it to 2x a week.

You'll definitely need to make sure you're getting adequate sleep.

There a particular reason for all the abs? Your core should get a pretty solid workout with all the heavy compound lifts in 5x5.

Not really, other than just seeing if I can get a 6 pack

As they say, abs are made in the kitchen - going to be hard to get shredded while taking in the amount of calories you are and simultaneously trying to put on muscle mass.

You can generally pull it off for 3-6 months if you're truly in a beginner phase.

Like I said, don't get discouraged if you find you can't do everything that you've programmed - I bet if you manage to pull 1/2 to 2/3 of what you have programmed you'll get excellent results.

CC09LawAg said:

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As they say, abs are made in the kitchen - going to be hard to get shredded while taking in the amount of calories you are and simultaneously trying to put on muscle mass.

You can generally pull it off for 3-6 months if you're truly in a beginner phase.

Like I said, don't get discouraged if you find you can't do everything that you've programmed - I bet if you manage to pull 1/2 to 2/3 of what you have programmed you'll get excellent results.

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Fair point. Abs are kinda an extra, not the goal. If they can't happen while gaining size, so be it.

What does strike me as a little odd (i dont know much about all of this stuff, it's all pretty new) is that despite eating more than I burn for the last 2 weeks, I've somehow lost a couple pounds.

How is this even possible? Is it water weight? Or does it have something to do with me eating clean? (No ice cream, chips, Dr Pepper)

To echo this, it is extremely difficult to put on muscle / strength while also losing body fat, unless you are young and/or relatively new to lifting (or you have help). It can be done, but it is a very fine line to walk and most people are not going to be successful. Most people that try that end up hovering around maintenance, and they are not in enough of a consistent deficit to lost body fat and not eating enough to gain strength / muscle. They don't really get anywhere and get frustrated I would pick one, and focus on that.

So you're saying the end up not in enough of a deficit to burn fat necessary to show abs, and also not eating enough to build mass, so they don't really go anywhere?

I def don't want that. I'm going to keep eating and whatever happens with my abs happens.

If I had to guess I'd say that I'm starting at around 15% body fat… so likely a little ahead of where a lot of people
start due to nothing more than luck

Not an expert by any means and know way more about lifting than the nutrition aspects, but my experience is you're probably eating cleaner which leads to losing fat, then also lifting/exercising and converting fat into muscle.

I weigh about the same as I did in 2022 when I started working out, but you would never guess it. It's pretty eye opening. I don't really care about the number on the scale at all, it's more just a barometer to know if I'm eating enough or not.

I'd give yourself about 3 months to accurately gauge your progress on that front - if you're hungry, low on energy, etc., eat more. You will be surprised how much you can eat when you're pushing yourself this hard. In fact, you'll probably get tired of eating, especially with the protein goal you've set for yourself. Some days I have to force myself to eat.

Unless you find yourself putting on 5-10 pounds and feeling sluggish, just keep eating.

If you lift on Stronglifts, and I mean REALLY lift and take the program serious - you can make decent progress in both while going through your "newbie gains" phase (about 6 months, generally, which fits great with your present timeline).

But there will come a time when you have to generally serve one master at a time - you either eat to get stronger, or diet to show your abs.

When I'm trying to push my lifts, if I'm eating at or below maintenance, they suffer. I notice an immediate difference in my energy level and ability to gain strength when I add even 500 calories a day.

Thank you, that makes sense. Is this first period the "recomp" stage I keep reading about?

The most eye opening thing thus far re: eating is how much energy I have and how stable it is during the day… also I realized I've prob been under eating my entire life

It's probably water weight, especially if you've cut out a lot of sodium.

Yessir.

I was super fat and useless so I tried to go "no carb" to lose weight when I started Stronglifts, b/c that is what I had done in the past to lose a lot of weight quickly.

It worked for a bit, but when the weights got heavier I noticed I just felt like crap and was struggling on my lifts. Once I just started eating, I still lost weight, then eventually maintained it, but my lifts kept going up.

Focus on your form and technique while the weight is low, then once you start getting to about your bodyweight on squat/deadlift, reassess your nutrition and plan and make sure you're happy with it. Squatting 3x a week is no joke and it's going to be even harder with the rucking/bleachers you've programmed in.

Again, not impossible, but it's hard to do everything great simultaneously. The hard lesson I've learned is that sometimes less is more when it comes to this stuff - going balls to the wall isn't always the best long term solution.

Starting point

Oh yeah - you need to eat.

But, I'm on an infinite bulk so my opinion may be bias.

ETA: Bro what do you mean you want a 6 pack, you have one

CC09LawAg said:

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Oh yeah - you need to eat.

But, I'm on an infinite bulk so my opinion may be bias.

ETA: Bro what do you mean you want a 6 pack, you have one

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I've always had this, whether I worked out or not… prob from under eating. I'm at 127# now, I'd like to get to about 135-140 eventually

Sounds dumb, but when I'm trying to gain weight, I basically add a peanut butter sandwich and 16 to 32 oz of 2% milk a day to my maintenance routine. It isn't enough to make me feel like I'm force feeding myself but it's a steady, consistent amount of added calories. So it makes it easier to identify my baseline and when I'm ready to drop the weight or go back down I just stop eating/drinking that.

I've been throwing in an extra smoothie every day… pretty easy to drink and has about 600 cal… whole milk, banana, oats, PB, blueberries, scoop of protein powder

tandy miller said:

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I've been throwing in an extra smoothie every day… pretty easy to drink and has about 600 cal… whole milk, banana, oats, PB, blueberries, scoop of protein powder

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This is pretty close to a Nick Bare recommendation I came across a few years ago (not that his is anything special). Didn't stick with it though. I'm close to your weight, I know for sure I under-eat.

6/16

• Stronglifts B
• 20 arrows (50-70 yds)
• Abs
• Mobility

~2675 Cal in

Enjoying following your journey.

You're on the hybrid athlete path, and there's nothing wrong with that (IMO). Sure, there will be some unrealized strength/mass gains following the hybrid path. But the trade off is being fast and strong.

Something to consider (as a hybrid athlete): you can always zig and zag. Meaning, spend 8 weeks in a surplus with a strength focus. Then spend 8 weeks maintaining strength, but going more speed/mobility focused.

That back and forth has allowed me to make continued progress, keeping my sport as a priority, and keeps me hungry. Meaning, the 8 weeks I'm on a strength focused schedule, I'm hungry for that speed work. When I get to switch, I'm ready to put the running shoes on. And then back the other way when it's time to shed the runners for a flat foot gym shoe.

All to say, enjoy the journey. And maybe a great deer comes from it too. But if not, you'll have a lifetime of chasing fitness.

6.17

Bleachers- 30 min

Archery- 8 arrows, 60 yds (Was getting raped by mosquitoes)

Mobility

~2775 Cal in

What is your bleacher workout? You walking them up and down continuously for 30 minutes?

Just my 2 cents Tandy... Train for what you will be doing. I like the bleachers for sure but...

I'm going to assume you will be hiking in changing elevation. Use the backpack you will be hunting with and fill it with bags of sand or weight approximately close to what you will be packing. A little heavier would be better. Find some hills and walk up and down them. No training is better than trying to simulate what you will be doing.

If you aren't in an area with hills, use the backpack and climb the bleachers. That will definitely help.

Walking up/down 4-5x on the home bleachers, then jogging around to the other side of the field and doing same on the other side

Backpack excercise is thursdays.

No hills here, so I'll have to use the bleachers.

Waiting a bit to add weight to the bleachers, it's still hard enough with no weight and I want to ease into this enough that my legs aren't destroyed the next day since I am doing squats the day after bleachers and ruck


Once we get closer to the hunt (maybe sept/oct) I will likely flip from 3x/wk weights and 2x/wk cardio to 3x cardio and 2x weights.

I think you've got a good plan going. Just stay flexible and be willing to adapt to what your body is telling you and you should be good.

Nothing to add other than consider 5g of creatine every day. A lot of us do it for maintenance but it should help with your strength ambitions. You can get a huge tub for like $20-25 on amazon.

I've been looking into this to help with sleep deprivation when I pig hunt also… what are some good brands to look for?

I just buy Optimum Nutrition off Amazon - it seems to work just fine for me.

Thank you. That's the brand protein powder I use as well

One thing I like about the brand is they also have capsules, which make it way easier to take with me when I'm traveling, instead of having to measure out individual portions from the powder.

I just ordered the big 2.6 pound powder one - I just scoop it into a cup, put a little water in and take it every morning.

Excellent, thank you!

Couple of observations ~2 wks in:

-It's hard to eat enough…. Like really hard. Feels like all I do is eat. Assuming that will get easier at some point

-I'm sleeping better. Like much better.

-More energy (have not found it necessary to drink my daily white monster in almost a week)

-Energy level is more consistent… haven't felt that 2pm "dead" feeling in probably 10 days