THE CHALLENGE
By: Dave Tuttle
Let me see if I have this right. August rolls around and we like to get our boats, trailers, and blinds ready. September gets here and we usually take a decoy inventory, purchase the license, clean our guns, do a quick ammo check, patch up any holes in the waders, and maybe start taking our lab on a few more walks to get him ready. October finally arrives and duck hunting is upon us...but are we really ready?
Your mind is telling you yes. Your inventory list is all checked off and it is telling you yes. Your wife or girlfriend is telling you yes as she is helping you pack and pushing you out of the door. You must be ready, right? Your mind, your inventory list, and your significant other all say yes, but your body is giving you a completely different answer. In all reality, you are probably not even close to being ready for the months ahead. Nobody can deny the physical impact duck hunting places on us. It is sometimes strenuous, most times exhausting. Duck hunting can be hard work and your body needs to be prepared for it. Proper conditioning, exercise, and body maintenance is of the utmost importance if we want to continue to do what we love.
Ask the duck hunter who got out of bed a 3 a.m. and had to get his boat to the landing, transfer most of his gear from his truck to his boat, push it through heavy mud or had to break hard ice just to make a path, then row to his desired destination. Yes, some of us still row our boats! In most cases that hunter will tell you he was not physically ready. We carry more gear than most hunters, almost all of it is heavy. A simple decoy bag filled with decoys is heavy. Field hunting presents it's own challenges on the body, constantly manuevering and crouching in and out of our blind. Walking through frozen fields and heavy snow can be treacherous, and we carry alot of heavy gear out there as well. We must never underestimate how physically draining this can be on our bodies.
Physical preperation for the upcoming season will pay major dividends, and in turn help us to be more successful and alert out there. It is just as important to practice your exercising as it is practicing your new duck call. They both breed success. Too often we take our bodies for granted and they deserve better than this. So what can we do to help ourselves be more physically prepared? I am not a doctor nor am I physician, my credentials are zero in this area, but basic common sense can be our guide in this instance. Our sleeping schedules and patterns change quite drastically during hunting season. Our bodies need rest, it is vital. We will be getting less sleep and waking up alot earlier than we normally do. A friend of mine gets up 10-15 minutes earlier for work each day in September to help him adjust for October. Not a bad idea at all, it helps your body adjust. I took his advice and tried it, trust me when I tell you it works.
What needs to be said about proper excercising that we dont already know? It wouldn't hurt any of us to knock out 25-30 push ups and sit ups starting in August, gradually working our way to 50 or 100. Start jogging or running around your block or neighborhood, encourage your hunting buddy or significant other to join you in the journey to better health and better hunting. Strap on your rollerblades, hop on the treadmill, get a membership at a fitness center or make your basement your own personal fitness center, your body will thank you for it. Get your proper rest, even if that means adjusting your sleeping pattern for a few months. Drink alot of water and eat healthier foods, even if that means you have to cut out fast food for a few months. Exercise as much as you possibly can, we all know the hurdles and physical struggles that we will be faced with come October. Good exercise, proper rest, and a well balanced diet is not only important for hunting, it is important for the life we live. Encourage your hunting buddies to join you, we are all in this thing together. It might be a little inconvenient at times, but nothing could be more important. Consider it a challenge. We are duck hunters, and not only do we love a good challenge, we conquer them. That's just what we do.
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