The Sauce:

Preparation for the great outdoors. One could look at this statement and interpret it in several ways: We could be prepared by packing the right clothes, equipment, food, beverage and making sure that the vehicle, boat and trailer are ready to go.

Most of us likely do not associate preparation for the outdoors with physical and mental preparation that enables us to pursue our favorite outdoor activity such as hunting, and fishing. Most certainly we feel we are all in good enough physical shape to do these activities without any reparations to our well being.

Recently while at the hunting camp hunting grouse, I decided to walk a trail system which I had traveled many times over the years. The plan was to park the vehicle near a DNR trail system and venture off on a series of trails which would bring me back to our camp and I would later retrieve the vehicle with the assistance of my brother-in-law.

It was a beautiful fall morning with the warm sun already over the tree tops and creating a slight fog along the trail. As I had done many times before I felt no need to carry a compass and would end up where I had all the other times I had made this walk. After forty-five minutes of walking I began to realize that the woods had changed and there was now a massive series of trails that had been created by ATV’s. Not panicking I was able to keep the sun on my right shoulder and eventually exited the wood five hours later at a small cemetery 4 miles from my camp and six miles from my truck. A good neighbor and friend of my dads picked me up and brought me to my vehicle.

The following morning the old body would not respond as it did the day before.” Nothing a sauna and pain killers could not take care of I thought to myself”, until I awoke on the second morning to a body screaming in aches and pains. It took awhile but I realized that I am not sixteen years old any more.

Twenty years ago I was an expert at preparation, competing in cross country and track preparation helped me become one of the best distance runners in my area and in the state. Now the pursuits are different, fishing is my full-time job. But I learned quickly that preparation was needed in order to chase this dream. That first season took such a physical and mental toll on the body that I was not too sure I could compete the following season unless some things changed. Mainly my body.

For years we have watched top athletes explain their fitness regimes on television and sat back in our loungers in admiration and a dozen or so excuses of why we are not like these athletes. For me I knew that I would not be able to take 10-14 hour days on the water without changing something so I began working out. Of course a visit to the family doctor and several Chiropractic visits had something to do with my decision but non the less I Starting out slowly, working out 3 to 4 times a week for 20 –25 minutes on a NordicTrack that had collected dust in the closet for years. But along with this I was paying attention to my food intake, especially when I was on the road and out fishing. I was able to increase my time on the Nordic Track up to 30 minutes than 40 minutes in a short time with noticeable improvement to my over all health.

With this commitment came the rewards. Backaches were not as frequent, I felt strong and the butt seat in the bow of my boat is used for the occasional rest. Standing eight hours straight on tournament day has become easier and I feel refreshed at the end of a long day rather then beat up.

Just as we take care of our Tackle, Rods Reels, boats, motors and trailers we need to take care of our body and soles. So give it some thought visit your doctor and start your own work our regiment your body and mind will thank you for it for a life time.

 

Jeff Vitali
The Spaghetti Man