doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Staying in shape this Winter?

As February winds down and March makes her entry, I'm stuck (as usual) dealing with the by-products of a bad flu-season. Inevitably, something viral finds me after Christmas and lays me low for a while. It's likely a combination of things (holiday airline travel, a school-aged child at home, work with the public, age{!}, etc.) but every year it seems to get worse. I start the year in pretty good physical shape after a long season afield toting a scattergun and/or a rifle and then I get slammed. Muscle tone-lost and weight-gained are the least of it. The crappy weather and the lack of stimulating activities take their toll on your mental health as well. Has anyone here discovered a better way to do this?

I find being a hermit is a good way to avoid the germs. Eating plenty of fruit is easy in the summer but I find cake, pies , sausages , eggs and bacon more appetising when it's cold. I've made a conscious effort to keep eating fruit this year and except for one heavy cold (caught from a guy I was working with for a week ) I seem to have avoided the regular couple of bouts of cold or flu I've usually had since I was a kid.
Ha, there's tempting fate eh.

Lloyd,
I try to get out when the weather is decent and get in a round of sporting clays with my shooting/hunting friends. Sometimes when the weather permits, I'll scout new clear cuts just to move about. It beats sitting in my gun room and reading for endless hours. I turn 70 next month and I'm trying to hold off the inevitable.
Karl

Staying active in the winter is paramount for me. I mix it up with all sorts of strenuous winter activities. Snow shoeing, winter hikes, hitting the gym, chukar hunting, are my favorites, next year I'll give x-country skiing a try. All of the above is good for the body and mind. Staying consistent is the tough part, you gotta do it even when everything in you says no. Just lace em' up and go, your head will eventually get over it. When I was up in Alaska, I felt sorry for the people I knew who refused to give winter hobbies a try, to me, it's the best time of the year to be outside, seems like such a waste to not enjoy it. Here in Utah, I think the majority of people here are fairly active in the winter, I don't hear about cabin fever blues near as much as I did when I lived in the Midwest and Alaska.

Gym 3X a week for weights and cardio. There are cute girls there for motivation.

Buy an elliptical trainer off Craig's list.
Use it while you watch the news at night for 1 hour.
Crazy beneficial, and the news distracts you while you do it.

I started at a low level of resistance, and about 60 rpm's. Target heart rate 110.

If you don't belong to a gym, there are lot's of exercises out there, involving dumbbells, resistance bands, and your own body weight like push-ups etc. It's surprising what 30 minutes three times a week can do.

You're never too old. My 78 year old mother started weight training a while ago, she's now making excellent gains in strength and overall health. She looks about 60.

Regards
Ken

I take the dogs out to the local County Fair grounds at least twice a week and walk around with them for at least an hour. Today we went to a local farm I have permission to hunt and they ran and I walked for 2 hours. I should do even more, but have a clicking knee that lets me know when I've done too much. I'm however convinced that 30 to 45 minutes of fresh air and sunshine do wonders for the human brain. Hell, I can sit in my backyard and watch the dogs harass the squirrels for hours.

Lloyd, best thing for that I ever found was when I got my first setter I resolved I was going to walk her for an hour a day, off leash somewhere. Made it a priority, not an occasional thing. And by that I mean my ex or I (or often together) walked the dogs every single day for about 14 years, until they both had died. Found a park near where we lived in Toronto, 130 acres in a ravine. Good trails and lots of up and down. A brisk hour long walk, up and down hillsides, is a pretty good workout.

Did the same with my next two dogs (and then I had a young boy to bring along). Now I just have one dog left. She is nine and our living circumstances have changed....living on 4 fenced acres. I still take her out several times a week. Gym is good if you can stick to it but I like something outdoors better. In time you become addicted to it. My dog walks became, for a very long time, the highlight of my day.

Here's a good program to follow. You'll see results in a month. Combine this with a walking routine and you are good to go. Gil
https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-scientific-7-minute-workout/?_r=0