LAST UPDATED: May 1st, 2015
If you visit bowhunting.com on a regular basis, you will notice that Steve Flores and others often write about the benefits of getting in shape and how being in good physical condition can increase your chances of success in the field. You may be at home sitting in your Lazy Boy as you are reading this thinking being in shape is one thing you might never be. A salad from McDonald’s is the closest thing some of you will ever get to eating healthy food. The truth is…..anyone can get into better shape.
I regularly fight to stay in shape. I often gain weight after hunting season only to take it off again just in time to head west for an elk hunt. Being in shape and hunting go hand in hand. It doesn’t matter if you are a diehard deer hunter or a Western hunter; being in shape can help fill the freezer. I have cerebral palsy and getting in shape and staying in shape is always a struggle, but it is a fight worth fighting.
Change isn’t going to happen overnight so don’t expect it to. In fact, a lot of folks fail to follow through with exercise plans simply because they don’t have the patience to wait on the results.
If you need a little motivation, just look at these images of Duran Martinez. Duran is an avid outdoorsman and the host of a radio show in Michigan called Wild Michigan. I have known Duran for years and he was always a very large guy. At one point, Duran tipped the scales at over 300 pounds. He regularly ate fast food and didn’t exercise. That has all changed.
With the right program, supplements and support of family and friends the results will come. Remember, anyone can be successful.
A couple years ago, I bumped into him at the ATA Show and told him he should talk to Mark Paulsen, the strength coach for the University of New Mexico. Paulsen is also the Founder of Wilderness Athlete (http://wildernessathlete.com/). I told Duran maybe Paulsen could help him figure out an exercise plan that would work for him. “The first time I talked to Mark, I knew I had to do something and I knew he was the guy that could help me. He believed in me from the start,” Duran said.
Duran didn’t get off the phone and start pumping iron. He started walking and doing basic exercise. He also started eating healthier. “Mark helped me figure out what I should be eating,” Duran noted. “He put me on Wilderness Athlete Meal Replacement shakes. Between the exercise and the eating right, I started to lose weight.” It wasn’t long before Duran was losing significant weight. “Today I have lost almost 100 pounds. To top it off, I am a lot stronger now. I even work out at a gym now.”
Even guys in the mid-west can benefit from being in shape. After all, spending day after day in cold, harsh conditions, moving treestands from one location to another, and everything else involved in a week-long hunt isn’t easy when you are overweight or out of shape.
It has taken Duran several years to get to where he is now but it has been a successful journey. Now Duran is a healthier person, can get in and out of treestands easier than ever, and walk further than he ever thought possible. If you are sitting at home a few pounds overweight or one hundred pounds overweight, realize you can get into shape. Getting in shape can make you a more successful hunter.
To learn more about Duran Martinez, visit www.amoutdoors.com, or to learn more about the author, visit www.tracybreen.com.
