Fitness and Hunting: Does It Matter?
This subject is a personal one this week. Since I’ve started my fitness journey and hunting journey they have both gone hand in hand. Now the real question is, does it matter? For me, the short answer is yes, but let’s chew the fat on it for a bit… see what I did there?
In my opinion, in terms of hunting, your fitness should reflect the kind of hunting you like to do. Now, I think a healthy lifestyle should be encouraged for everyone. That being said if your kind of hunting is taking an ATV to a box blind, and then driving your ATV to your recently dispatched deer, then you won’t necessarily need a high level of fitness. I will say that being in better shape will also make this kind of hunting more enjoyable and may even help prolong your life to be able to hunt a few more years. I hate seeing those old timers that can’t get out to the woods anymore. Take care of your body and it will take care of you.
Now on the other hand if you’re pounding public land with a bow in hand, climbing trees, crossing creeks, or even dragging a deer further than a quarter mile back to your vehicle, well, you’d be smart to stay in shape. That also goes double if you’re in the mountains chasing elk or mule deer. Doing these things are hard. They are hard to train for, hard on your body, and hard to endure. But something else is even more hard, and that’s watching other people do it because you’re too out of shape. You can be out on those hunts, but if you can’t keep up then you’re just slowing everyone down and making yourself a liability. I can tell you from experience, that hunting hard is a lot more fun and rewarding when you are in shape.
To some people none of this will matter and they will continue doing whatever they want, but I’d bet money that when they get older and their unhealthy lifestyle catches up with them, they’d wish they would have taken better care of their bodies. Now I’m not saying all this to encourage someone to be the next Cam Hanes or start running marathons. All I’m saying is your health is important and your level of fitness could be the deciding factor in a notched tag. We only get so many seasons in our lives and we only get one body, so make sure you make the most of it. Stay safe and hunt smart y’all.
-Clyde Pratt
