BR015 – Off season fitness tips to keep you thin and ready for next year – with Davie “Crockett” Ferraro

04/13/15 • 56 min

Now is not the time to get lazy and become a couch potato just because it’s off season. This is the best time to prep for your the next season. You might be thinking, “Can’t we just wait until we’re 30 days out and pack in some quick strength training to get prepared?” Well no.. and we have just the guy to explain why. We brought on Davie “Crockett” Ferraro who runs Hunt Strong for this episode just for that reason. We talk with Davie about what to do now, during the off season so that you are always ready for the next hunt and boy he shreds some great advice... We hope you’ll really enjoy this episode. We sure did. : )

We go over many different areas within this episode. In fact it might be a good time to state that this is a two part series. This episode is all about off season.. well you read the title. Our follow up episode is going to be just as good when we bring back Anthony Dixon to discuss what to do while on the hunt.

Let’s get to it. Below are things Davie shares while on our show. It’s all good stuff so enjoy.

Any good habit takes upwards to 21 to 30 days become a good habit.

The key is to try to lean down as much as possible and staying as strong as possible.

If you are going to do a high elevation hunt, there are some great tools out there to help train such as a high elevation training mask, weighted vest or loaded backpack, put your hands behind your back so you are not temped to use your hands and walk up and down the stars in the tallest building that you can find or have assess to.

Cool quote. “Why is it that the people who say they don’t have time to exercise always makes time to go out to eat.”

Staying fit during the off season really is the preparation or survival for the fittest during hunting season. Try visualizing the animal that you’re doing to hunt. The animal is already acclimated to the environment, you however need to train to be ready for it.

A lot of the training Davie does are functional workouts. He also suggests mixing up the workouts – don’t do the same workout over and over again otherwise your body will adapt to it.

The two biggest failures Davie sees when preparing yourself during the off season:

The first thing is the inability to shot or perform under pressure and exhaustion.
- A way to help is to factor in your shooting of the bow during your workouts.
- Do your lunges, do your squats, grab your bow and shot.
- Shoot from different angles.
- Shoot from sitting down.
- Shoot from your knees.
- Shoot on one foot.
- Shoot on an uneven fitness balance ball.
- Practice like you have only one arrow to shoot and you have to make this shot. Visualize what you are hunting.
The second is the lack of nutrition and lack of understand of what to eat.
- This is very important during the off season as well as important while on the hunt.
- The proper nutrition will help aid the muscles that will get you there to the end and afterwards.

We go over how important water is and the amount of water intake is needed for the best energy output. Without water you’ll be dehydrated, you won’t be thinking clearly, you’ll have a higher possibility to strain a muscle. Water is very important. A good round number is at least a gallon of water a day. Water is key.

Davie is adamant about one ingredient foods. Think of it as in a chicken breast is a chicken breast, sweet potato is a sweet potato and so on and so on which are all natural one ingredient foods. Another important nutrition is protein that you can carry at room temperature such as venison (not store bought but home made), nuts like raw almonds, raw pumpkin seed. Things that are light that has some bite to it.

Davie talks about what are complex carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes, jasmine rise, brown rise, pastas, things like oatmeal and how important it is as a fuel base. Recap on things to carry are complex carbs, protein and good fats.

Davie says that the Hunt in Hunt Strong stands for The BowRush Podcast #015 – Off season fitness tips to keep you thin and ready for next year – with Davie “Crockett” Ferraro.

Find out your max heart rate so you can know what level you can train at: Take the number 220 minus your age to get your max heart rate. Take that number and times it by 0.7 to 0.85. That’ll give you what heart rate you should be training at for 45 minutes to an hour.

This was a really great talk with Davie. Take toned for our next episode with Anthony Dixon.
QUICK URLS:
Follow Davie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ihuntstrong
Davis’s business HuntStrong:

Let’s get to it. Below are things Davie shares while on our show. It’s all good stuff so enjoy.

Any good habit takes upwards to 21 to 30 days become a good habit.

The key is to try to lean down as much as possible and staying as strong as possible.

Cool quote. “Why is it that the people who say they don’t have time to exercise always makes time to go out to eat.”

A lot of the training Davie does are functional workouts. He also suggests mixing up the workouts – don’t do the same workout over and over again otherwise your body will adapt to it.

The two biggest failures Davie sees when preparing yourself during the off season:

The first thing is the inability to shot or perform under pressure and exhaustion.
- A way to help is to factor in your shooting of the bow during your workouts.
- Do your lunges, do your squats, grab your bow and shot.
- Shoot from different angles.
- Shoot from sitting down.
- Shoot from your knees.
- Shoot on one foot.
- Shoot on an uneven fitness balance ball.
- Practice like you have only one arrow to shoot and you have to make this shot. Visualize what you are hunting.
The second is the lack of nutrition and lack of understand of what to eat.
- This is very important during the off season as well as important while on the hunt.
- The proper nutrition will help aid the muscles that will get you there to the end and afterwards.

Davie says that the Hunt in Hunt Strong stands for The BowRush Podcast #015 – Off season fitness tips to keep you thin and ready for next year – with Davie “Crockett” Ferraro.

Previous Episode

BR014 – Top 3 things to ask for when looking for a new compound bow!

Hey guys, we are excited to be releasing our first addition to the Bowhunters Educational Training series that we’ll be publishing throughout the year. We hope that these specific episode will be useful for any bow hunter no matter what experience level.

So today we brought back Anthony Dixon to share with us what we should be thinking about and what we should be asking a bow shop sales guy when buying a new bow. Plus, we get into some of the basic bow shop terms that usually gets said and yet sometimes we forget what they mean. This episode should allow you to be more engaged in the conversation at the archery shop which should give you a better experience overall.

The 3 things to ask for when looking for a compound bow at a local archery shop.

I want a bow that has a smooth draw cycle with the highest let off.
I want a nice back wall.
I want the largest brace height – 7 to 7 1/2.

** write those three things down and bring with you to a bow show and let the sale rep know thats what you are looking for. This is hands down the best tip Anthony gave us for any new archer when choosing a bow.

General Terms that we talked about on the show.

Surprise Brake – is the best way to shoot a bow and what you are trying to achieve as you become a better archer.

Arrow – The arrow is the projectile that is shot from the bow.

Arrow Shelf – is located just above the grip and below the sight window.

Axle to Axle Measurement (ATA) – The axle to axle measurement of a bow is the distance (in inches) from center axle to center axle of the two cam. Try to keep this measurement within the manufacturers spec range which is most often within 3/16 of an inch of specified ATA.

Cable(s) – The cables are tied into the bowstring and work with the cams during the draw process and execution of the shot.

Let Off – Let off is the % of the bow’s draw weight that is subtracted after reaching full draw. A good example would be a bow having a let-off of 80%. This will require the shooter to only hold back 20% of the actual draw weight: 70 pound draw weight – 80% let off = 14 lb full draw holding weight.

Paper Tuning – is done by shooting an arrow into a piece of paper at a very close distance. This will reveal to the shooter how the arrow is behaving.

Riser – The riser is the long section of the bow which the limbs attach to and what you hold on to.

String Stop – These are attached along the riser or at the ends of the limbs, and extend back toward the bowstring. Any excess vibration is quickly transferred from the string and soaked up by the stopper.

Nock – The nock is a plastic piece inserted into the rear of the arrow, that allows the arrow to be “nocked” onto the bow string.

Nocking Point – The nocking point is the location on the bowstring where the arrow attaches.

IBO Speed – is the initial velocity in feet per second.

Draw Weight – A bow’s draw weight is measured by the amount of force (in pounds) that is required to bring the bow to what we call “full draw”.

Cams – Cams are located at the end of each bow limb. The cams store energy and essentially transfer power from the limbs to the bowstring and to the arrow during the shot. Bow’s can have either one or two Cams.

Bow String – is where the arrow is attached and the strings ends at the cams.

Back Tension – Back tension is a technique that involves using your back muscles to trigger the shot rather than simply pulling the trigger finger.

NOTE** you can find these terms anywhere by just searching google.

QUICK URLS:
Follow Anthony on Facebook: http://goo.gl/9nkf2W
Anthony’s New YouTube page: http://goo.gl/hWWu0t

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Next Episode

BR016 – How to handle mental and physical fatigue during that shot opportunity – Anthony Dixon

Welcome back to another awesome addition of The BowRush Podcast. Both Travis and Scott are proactive towards staying physically healthy. That requires a lifestyle that most of us bow hunters are already actively living.

Let’s start off by asking if you’ve had the chance to listen to our previous episode #014 regarding off season fitness tips to keep you thin and ready for next year. If you have, then you’ll love this follow up episode with Anthony Dixon as he shares his side on how to handle mental and physical fatigue during the hunt right up to the moment of the shot. You don’t have to live out west to enjoy what he has to say.

— Elements we go over in the show are listed below.

How to handle mental fatigue during that shot opportunity: The mental fatigue usually happens after the shot, but it’s how you choose to handle that. The best way Anthony has found to handle it is keeping the moment light. You don’t want to crack too many jokes, but it’s all in how you choose to control that stress. One way to keep your mind focused is to keep thinking about all the variables that are happening around you during the hunt. Anthony always has a pad and pencil to bounce information off of it with his hunting partner. The paper helps clarify your thought process with the individual.

Mentally Prepared: Is your wife happy, are your kids happy, is your j.o.b. going well? It’s not just about your shot practicing. You have to make a priority to be mentally prepared. Something has to give during this time. You might have to give up going to the bars at night. Maybe you went to Crossfit the night you felt like not going. It’s all about what you do, or choose to do that gets you mentally prepared. One of Anthony’s number 1 thing he really watches for is that he doesn’t like taking untested gear into the field. If you know the gear works, it’s ones less thing to think of while on the hunt.

Before the shot breathing tip that Anthony does: There is no real good answer for this. You just want to breathe. If you hold your breath, all you are doing is creating a more anxiety moment to put your body thought. What Anthony personally does is try to breathe and then exhale half a breath right at the moment you take the shot. But timing is difficult. It’s great to practice it, though it doesn’t always play out the way you are hoping.

Tips on preventing body fatigue: Anthony’s first thing he does is a lot of running in the off season. That or any type of sports that are anaerobic is best. There is a balance on trying to build muscle while training for a hunt because you are trying to build shot muscle memory during the off season and if you are lifting weights and shooting, the days you do both, your shot will not be as effective. The best thing is to start leaning down rather than build heavy muscles. That being said, it depends on your current body strength, because some people might need to bulk up to be able to pull back a bow with very solid form.

**Anthony test to see if you need bulk up: If you can sit on your butt with your legs out in front of you; the target is at 12 o’clock and your abdominal area is facing 2 o’clock; and if you can draw the blow cleaning then you might not need to lift weights. But if you can’t, you should start working out your back muscles and shoulders where they can handle that draw.

Another tip is to drink lots and lots of water.

In field body fatigue recovery methods to keep you at peek shape for the following days on your hunt: Anthony eats full macronutrient meal in a form of tacos at night depending on if they base camp. While on the stalk, Anthony packs protein in a form of nuts and some string cheese but he’s carful with that because cheese is a binder when dealing with bathroom situations.

Anthony shares his tips on how to keep from muscle lockups while glassing for hours. Let’s say while one personal is in the group glassing, the rest should be behind him out of sight, either drinking water, doing jumping jacks, stretching, etc. Basically doing some sort of motor movement activity to keep you loose. But know that it’s going to suck to just man up.

Here is a really cool video Anthony did a while back showing some of this tips dealing with the last 30 seconds before the shot.

Did you like this episode? If so, please give us a positive rating on iTunes. You can use this link http://mybowrush.com/itunes * you must have an iTunes account to...