Helping employees to hunt ‘healthy’
Helping employees to hunt healthy’
The following are excerpts from the LifeSteps conditioning program for deer hunters:
Are You Fit to Hunt?
Step 1: Is your body fit to hunt?
• Do you ever have chest pains when you exert yourself?
• Do you become short of breath with mild exertion?
• Do you have pain in your legs when you walk, which disappears when you rest?
• Do you regularly have swelling of the ankles?
• Has a doctor ever told you that you have heart disease?
If you answered YES to any of these questions: Are currently not exercising regularly and are over age 35? If so, you should consult your doctor before taking on a major physical activity such as deer hunting.
Step 2: Dress for success
• Cotton is light but stays wet; wool is warm, doesn’t absorb water, retains heat in the body, can be heavy; down is warm, light, breathes, but is bad if it gets wet; and raincoats stop the wind, keep the wet out.
• Instead of cotton next to your skin, try Thermax or Polypropylene.
•Preventing hypothermia also prevents fatigue.
• Footwear made with Thinsulate or Gore-Tex linings are best.
• Make sure that your pockets are large enough for gloves.
• Carry a plastic sheet or garbage bag to sit in.
• Wear cotton socks first, then a layer of wool socks.
• When using lure, think about hygiene (you don’t know the health of the animal and its urine could be contaminated).
• Wear a safety harness while climbing and hunting in a stand.
Step 3: Food for fuel and first-aid basics
• Eat a good, healthy (low-fat) breakfast.
• Bring fruits for day-long snacking.
• Drink lots of fluids.
• Bring an emergency kit, including diarrhea medication, poison ivy lotion, snake bite and bee sting kit, matches, medical insurance card, lip protection, emergency blanket and flashlight.
Step 4: Stretching and cooling down for improved performance
• Neck stretch, shoulder circles and arm crosses (employees provided diagram).
• Lower-back stretch (employees provided diagram).
• Thigh and calf stretch (diagram provided).
• Gradually warm your body doing stretching exercises.
• Walk slowly into the woods.
Step 5: Walking your way to fitness
• Get out of the house and walk your dog weeks before the season starts (even if you don’t have one).
• Walk during times when you will be hunting (or after dinner).
• Listen to your body; don’t strain.
• Gradually work your walk into a slight "wog" (half walk and half jog, or trot).
Step 6: Developing strength and endurance
• Always warm up and cool down when strength training.
• Choose a resistance (weight, soup can, etc.) that you can move for 8-15 repetitions.
• If you cannot do eight reps, reduce the resistance; if you can do more than 15 reps easily, gradually add more resistance.
• Perform movements slowly.
• Exhale (as in blowing out birthday candles) as you perform the lift.
Subscribe Now for Access
You have reached your article limit for the month. We hope you found our articles both enjoyable and insightful. For information on new subscriptions, product trials, alternative billing arrangements or group and site discounts please call 800-688-2421. We look forward to having you as a long-term member of the Relias Media community.