LAST UPDATED: May 1st, 2015
Written by Bowhunting.com contributor Dan Staton, MS.
The importance of staying healthy for bowhunting success cannot be overlooked. For some of us, this means getting started on a new and healthier lifestyle. Wellness boils down to decisions. You get to decide what kind of lifestyle you lead. You can embrace discipline or avoid it. You can educate yourself on how to eat for performance and decide to commit. You also get to decide whether you hit snooze or if you get up and train at o’dark thirty.
Bowhunting is a challenging sport. One of the best ways to maximize your chances of success is to maximize your physical fitness.
In order to improve your health, you must adjust your lifestyle to promote change. Let’s be honest…..change can be scary for most of us, yet change is the only thing we can count on. The body you have today is probably not the body you will have tomorrow. Change is inevitable. Maybe this is the year you make considerable reformations in your lifestyle that will make you healthier and of course, a better predator. Here’s 5 items I want you to look at and decide for yourself if you need to make a change.
Make Yourself A Priority
Having an arsenal of excuses will not promote a healthier lifestyle, so in order to make yourself important enough to make healthier, try scheduling exercise as an appointment. Scheduling time for exercise means writing it down in your daily planner, once it is writing, you’ll be more likely to get it done.
Drink More Water
The body is comprised of 60%-70% water. In order for the every system in your body to function properly, it must be well hydrated. Once you feel thirsty you are already moderately dehydrated. A lack of hydration leads to fatigue. The more you exercise the more water you will need to consume. Your level of intake will also rise as you embark on your spring and summer outdoor activities. Therefore, it is imperative you replace the fluids you lose during these periods of hot temperatures.
Preparing your own food is critical to eating “clean”. One way to make the event more special is by eating quality protein from one of your own bow kills.
Step Your Fiber Game Up
A diet rich in fiber may reduce blood cholesterol levels. Look for soluble fiber which is found in beans, oats, flaxseed and oat bran may help lower total blood cholesterol levels by lowering low-density lipoprotein, or “bad,” cholesterol. Soluble fiber can slow the absorption of sugar, which for people with diabetes can help improve blood sugar levels. A high-fiber diet may also reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and aid in weight loss.
Protein at Every Meal
Eating as much as 35% of your calories as protein might prevent type 2 diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, bone and muscle loss, and physical degeneration accompanying aging. Emphasize high-quality protein from fish, venison, chicken, and turkey. These foods contain the ideal balance of essential amino acids necessary for optimal metabolism. Simply by filling your freezer your body will enjoy the boost in vitamins A, D, B12, riboflavin and niacin!
Passing along the skills and benefits that come with the bowhunting lifestyle to the next generation is more important today than ever. When you add health and fitness to the equation the impact on young lives becomes immeasurable.
Future Generations
You don’t have anything if you don’t have your health. Making a few adjustments will improve your wellbeing and give you the ability to prolong your outdoor recreational activities. For many of us, bowhunting is our passion and we want to share our love of outdoor adventure with the next generation. If we don’t pass along the world of bowhunting, who will? Whether you are taking your grandchildren fishing, your son hunting, or the family camping, you will want to do it as long as you are alive. Living well means incorporating change into your lifestyle.
