The Idaho draw results are available online today. We struck out, which means we are going to have to kick our work-outs into a higher gear so we can go a little deeper in search of public-land, general-season elk this fall. Donnie and I have been working out on a pretty regular schedule of lifting, biking, and running, but I have to admit…it can get a little too “routine”. In order to break the monotony, we’ve decided to do the Emmett triathlon in 5 weeks, which means we’ve got some work to do! As a little warm-up, we’re also going to do the Y Not Tri in Boise 2 days before the Emmett Tri…

I thought I might try to break-down our weekly routine, as well as encourage anyone who might need a little encouragement to start getting ready for elk season now (which is the reason we work out in the first place)!

Our workout schedule looks like this:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday (evenings) – lift & run

Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday – bike

Monday – Friday (lunch) – swim (only while training for a triathlon)

I can’t stress enough the importance of getting on a good weight-lifting schedule prior to starting the biking and running. We certainly aren’t lifting weights to get huge (which is obvious…) but the muscles, tendons, and ligaments handle the stress of running and biking a lot better when they have been strengthened by a good core workout.

We format our weight-lifting routine similar to a “circuit” workout…high repetition, low sets, fast pace. We do full-body workouts every other day, rather than focusing on specific muscle groups. We’ll start with shoulders and chest, then go to backs, arms, legs, and finish out with stomach.

I usually do 1 set of each lift (a total of 12 different lifts) with 15 reps, then jump up and move right into the next lift. It takes about 25 minutes to finish, and it works great for strengthening your core and building muscle endurance, which is important for triathlons as well as elk hunting! If you aren’t sweating and breathing hard after this workout, you are resting too long in between lifts.

As soon as we’re finished, we head out for a run. Start out with a comfortable distance…I am NOT a runner, so when I first started 1/2 mile was tough. I’ll run 2-3 miles now after we lift, but will increase it by a mile or so to get ready for the triathlons.

On the days we don’t lift, we bike. Biking is such a great, low-impact, cardio workout and does a great job strengthening leg muscles. We bike for an hour, which means we get in 18-20 miles. The course we bike on has a few “average” hills to add some variety, but it isn’t a difficult course by any means.

With 5 weeks to get ready for the triathlon, it’s time to throw in some swimming. If you are looking for a great, no-impact, full-body cardio workout…hit the pool. Last summer was my first real experience at adding swimming into the workout and let me tell you…it was tough! The arches of my feet hurt after my first swim. As did every other muscle group in my body! Swimming is the perfect workout to smell scent There perfect.