If you are like me you will flat wear out your hunting gear and I am not ashamed to admit I still have camo pullovers that still get the job done that I have been wearing since I was 16 years of age. I’m still killing turkeys and ducks with the Remington 870 Wingmaster I received as a birthday present when I was 12 years old and my Muck boots have more rubber cement patches than I can count.

Yes, I will use gear until it literally falls off but doesn’t it feel good to upgrade once in a while? If you say no I will accuse you of lying.

Just this year I watched Fit To Hunt head trainer Nick Lape get all jazzed up opening the box to a new Matthews compound bow and I myself was strutting like I was 5 foot 9 when I was able to upgrade my duck hunting camo.
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Upgrades make us feel good.

Which brings me back to my original topic and that is you. How do you feel right now? Are you in good health, do you possess the fitness or performance level that allows you to excel in the field, at work or on the farm? Has the doctor hinted at your need to lose weight? Are you already dealing with disease states like diabetes, cancer, heart disease or other ailments that could rob you of time away from the passions you love?

New Year’s is the time most people get the fire to make a change. Problem is those changes don’t last very long. As a personal trainer and fitness coach for 21 years, I know full well the problems, challenges and barriers that exist preventing you from improving your health. I see the periods of motivation or lack thereof that derail your fitness routines. I can empathize with feelings of being overwhelmed when it comes to learning how to eat healthier.

This is where we step in. Aside from helping build a community of healthy outdoor-loving men, women and children, we also offer services such as:

 6- and 12-week hunt-specific workouts
 Online coaching and personal training
 One-on- one and semi-private personal training (St. Louis only…for now)

We continue to build partnerships with amazing companies such as Wilderness Athlete.
Our method of operation is not to change everything about you like every other diet, weight loss book or system purchased on late night television.

Our method consists of helping you make targeted, strategic upgrades to how and when you move, how and what you eat, how to balance work/life/stress/family, etc. and ultimately will teach you how to get and stay Fit To Hunt.

-Michael Wardlaw          

You see, like us, you don’t have to upgrade everything there is about who you are and what you do. Just like you probably aren’t going to upgrade your entire arsenal of camouflage, compound bows, shotguns, and rifles all at one time. Why? Because unless you are independently wealthy, you couldn’t afford purchasing all new equipment every year. You can, however, buy some new broad heads here and a new turkey vest there and not break the bank.

Friends, changing health and fitness are a lot like the aforementioned process. When you try to change it all at once, it rarely takes root. This is why taking an upgrade mentality will increase the likelihood your changes will stick.

You might also consider working with one of our Fit To Hunt professionals. Throughout January you can purchase online personal training and fitness coaching for only $99.99 (Normally $149.99)! Through online training you will receive:
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 Goal setting and nutritional analysis
 Four-week personalized exercise plan
 Unlimited text/email support
 Weekly accountability call
 Daily motivation

Up until a few years ago I had zero desire to duck hunt. I did not get it, did not understand it and did not want to do it. Then a client fed me grilled duck breast at deer camp and my interest was piqued. A few weeks later I shot my first mallard and the rest as they say, was history.

I routinely harvest whitetail deer and turkeys but duck hunting is not easy for me. I think that is why I like it so much. I cannot call to save my life, need A LOT of practice shooting moving targets and the fact I am not good at it only drives me to want to hunt more. That being said, my first handful of duck hunting experiences was at a very, very, very….very nice duck club. Not the place most of us cut our teeth learning to blow a call. It took but one hunt to get a taste of the public land experience and realize it is not for the faint of heart.

Duck Club Experience: Arrive 30 minutes before shooting light, drive ATV to blind, sit in blind surrounded by decoys lovingly placed by someone paid to set decoy spreads and shoot ducks. Someone will come by later to pick up your shell casings.

Public Land Experience: Get up at 1:15am and drive to the local conservation area to stand in line with 80 other sleepy men and women to draw a wooden cube with a number on it for the chance to hunt. If you don’t draw, go directly to breakfast and lament getting up at 1:15am.

If you are lucky enough to draw you drive to your pool, drag a heavy sled filled with decoys, marsh seats, mojo’s, dog stand and whatever other bits of gear we have been suckered into buying at the local sporting goods store to a location that, in the dark, looks good (keep in mind you will probably change location and decoy spread at least three times if not on the X…it took me three hunts to know what that meant). The drag could be as short as a quarter mile but I have been blessed with distances of a half to three quarters of a mile….through muddy fields. I swear you sink six inches with each step but I am sure that is an exaggeration. I think. It really feels like you sink six inches.

As a personal trainer and fitness coach, it was my first experience on public land that really got me thinking about how we would design a Fit To Hunt workout program for duck hunters because once you have dragged your gear one half to three quarters of a mile, you put out your decoy spread. Then you hunt. At the end of the day, you don’t just hop on the ATV and drive home ala the duck club experience. You collect all of your decoys, package them up and drag the whole collection back to the vehicle.

It is through the burning muscles, gasps for air and overall fatigue that the reward comes. You either love this experience or you will never do it again. If you are reading this I am betting you hunt public land and will do it over and over and over. Why? Because you crave the satisfaction that comes from a day in the field with friends and family. The comradery fills your soul.

You long for the joy of watching a dog make a long retrieve and then sit on his or her perch ready to do it again. You need the sting of the wind and rain on your face and the wonder that comes when a group of birds lock in and commit to the call.