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.
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