The last thing you want to think about when you are chasing animals through the woods, is if you can physically do it.  There are a lot of things that I can not control on each hunt but the one thing I can control was how healthy I am.  So, when I saw my name had been called for my moose permit in 2021, I called my friend Jeremy and started training.

Jeremy owns and runs Fit to Hunt, an online training organization that works with people to meet their fitness goals. He has created a few training programs for me depending on what I was hunting.  My moose hunt focused on increasing my upper body strength so that I could hold my 7.5lb rifle steady without needing to rest it on a truck or steady stick.

On the Wednesday of my hunt, things didn’t quite work out the way we wanted it to, but I stood in the middle of the road with my rifle ready.  I overheard Wayne, my guide, reassuring my dad that I was solid as I stood there and he had no doubt in my ability to make a good shot.  I knew then that the work had paid off.

I just completed a spring bear hunt in Vancouver with Jim Shockey’s Pacific Rim Outfitters. Jeremy created a program specific to the terrain and where we thought I would be hiking.  I might not have needed a lot of hunt time but I was physically able to help haul the bear out of the woods with no problems.

It may not seem necessary but I can assure you, having trained and hunted during the week of my moose hunt and hiking the mountains of Vancouver Island in search of bears, it was well worth it!