How to do the tough hunts into your 80's

SStomcat said:

I'm sure you understand when you loose weight because of the drugs(Mounjaro, Zepbound..) you are not only losing fat but also muscle mass which inlater years is difficult to replace.

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AND bone mass! Lots of consideration needs to go to what a 70-80 yr old can do, not what some trial was with 20 yr old fitness buffs! There is a lot we can do to turn back the clock without the kind of side effects we can get with drugs. And we need to eat even healthier than a young person because we don't absorb things as well and have to do more cellular repair without the benefit of now declining proteolytic enzymes, etc.

steve white said:

Can you explain that rubber ring a bit more, and maybe a brand name?

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Google rubber ring exercises and a vast number will pop up. My daughter is a former pro tennis player and had a bad lower back. She put me on to this from her trainer and without question strengthens the lower back. Unless an injury or arthritis most lower back problems are caused by weak pelvic muscles. This is the only thing that will fix that.

Interesting stuff and good advice . my wife at 72 tore her rotator cuff and it was completely detached she went to a renown specialist and he said lets try something different due to your age put her on an exercise routine and -she started pep tides. not on drs advice , her shoulder is 100% now and no surgery. Pep tides are the thing right now. she also has lost 70 lbs. cuff is still detachd but other muscles have compensated.
I was doing great till covid, started ju jitsu at retirement but covid stopped that now I swim twice a week 3-5 x1oo yds a week and just keep active here at home , plus try to do 3 sets of burpees twice aweek push ups jump jacks ,and the stationary crab crawl with legs.
I also threw my shoulder out in a horse wreck bout 4 years ago, it came out 18 more times after that, pain was total debilatating .dr surgeon was snotty and arrogant I refused surgery and prayed to God for healing, it has been 2 years now and hasnt come out again ,fell hard on it twice once on ice and once with a chain saw ,it used to come out in bed rolling over.
Investigating a patch " life wave x39 " you wear to activate healing by stem cells , photo therapy. havent committed yet.
My thing is to just live healthy till I die , be active and be able to care for my self wehther its 1 more year or 10. IM 73. 1 last thing is an IV clinic we found that gives you all kinds of things you need like NAD , PEP TIDES , METHELYNE BLUE ect/.

My 2 cents (and it's not worth a cup of coffee).

If you are lucky enough to have access to true world class modern medicine and practice proactive medical appts and meds one would have a good chance of extending and living a better quality life.

Naturally best practice daily habits are key.

Anyone that thinks they are getting valuable reliable accurate information on non accredited social media sights is simply a fool.

Longevity is not about who is the smartest or strongest. It's about who is the most adaptive to what is available to them.

M70375! said:

I don't put a hell of a lot of faith in what many doctors say any more. Fauci is just one example. I feel I get a lot more good ideas on longevity from some of the guys on YouTube , MDs , I just don't trust a lot of them anymore.

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Wait, … are you referring to that unindicted felon?

TRT

steve white said:

What are your best tips for diet, physical fitness regimens and mental conditioning to keep you fit enough to hunt into your 80's? This is more complicated than it might seem due to new metabolic problems affecting weight gain and loss, environmental factors, as well as dietary plans for seniors (which WILL include more protein). What is the cutting edge, state of the art practice for maximum results?
I would be especially grateful for suggestions from those who have overcome setbacks, lost weight and kept it off, and what it took to win the battle.

Come to think of it, there may be a book out there with the title of this thread.

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I grew up in a small neighborhood in the suburbs on the coast.
As a kid, I was prolific fisherman, and had surplus fish, which I could not freeze, because at home, we only had 3 freezer drawers in those days, so I was gifting extra fish to my neighbors on daily basis.

So, I was favorite kid, and I knew well, all families.
As the years passed, I have seen old generation pass away.

And there were two types of elderly people.
Those who were active till last day, in a creative way: gardening, fishing, boating, various hobbies, house maintenance and they were on the move all the time.

They were vital and lucid till last day.
All of them passed deep in their 80ies, and some around 90

Other type, gave up early. As soon as retired
They were the type who watched TV, read newspapers, do nothing else, and they were the first to get senile.
And then, inactive passed away, first. They deteriorated fast

So, you need to keep moving, keep your brain active, be creative in your hobby, and be proactive in any activity you like. Invest your mind into it, keep solving small technical problems, plan your activity, and make it as you planned.
Do not spend time, watching tv.

It is mental. Use your brain, all the time. Body will follow brain condition.

I agree with everyone who posted walking.
I’m 63years old, had a heart attck at 41 yrs old, former Fat Guy and was pretty heavy on the booze with a horrible diet. I can honestly say i went through a transformation after the heart attack and kept it going. Here’s what i do to hunt like I’m forty years old

• No alcohol, period (me and booze don’t see eye to eye….). No smoking
• Nutrition; everything is natural. Shop on the outside of the isles. Very few things in a wrapper
• No sugar. It’s the devil
• Watch yur weight step on the scale everyday
• Walk, walk, walk. I do 5 miles every day with one long day a week 7-10 miles
• Road bike when time permits
• Strength train; 3 times a week
• Stretch

I’m a bit of a nut who luvs to train. So I’m a bit over the top. Generally speaking if we watch our weight watch and perform some type of exercise and watch what we put in our mouths, we will keep the old mad out

Everyone ages differently and your genes are your genes, you don’t get to choose. Diet and exercise are simply the most important. Healthy relationships and low chaos in your daily life goes a long way to keep a guy going. Choices get complicated at some point, I love food, I love having a couple drinks, high recoiling rifles and occasionally going to hard at the gym….some could argue that most all those things aren’t good for you…..but I’m not in a contest to live forever, as far as I’m concerned if god calls me home tomorrow I’m good with that and I’m 57 years old.

I will be 88 in a couple weeks my main exercise these days is a daily mile and a half walk. I used the gym and a trainer for years when I was an avid sheep hunter and lover of many, many African safaris. My last safari I was 84 years old and took ten head of plains game with ten shots plus a couple Cape buffalo. I stopped drinking about 25 years ago and am not a smoker. Never had a weight problem. Think the real reason is good genes. Or good luck. Do miss hunting elk in really tough country.

I will be 80 in 6 weeks & i worry about how long i will be able to continue hunting i suffer from rheumatoid arthritis & have had a right knee replacement 12 years ago, a fuzed left wrist 5 years ago & right hip replacement 9 weeks ago
the hip is better than my expectations its great , the medication for rheumatoid is a immune system modifying drug that has side effects , i will carry on hunting in the bush as long as i psychically can i would rather die there than in a nursing home . So what can you do to to extend your
hunting time? Reduce your carbohydrate intake, exercise with in your limits, get a dog they are good companions , & are good for your mental heath .I am blessed with great children & a wonderful wife.
As a Vietnam veteran i have some problems . I thank the Australian Department of Veterans affairs for the help i have had from them with my health problems.

@SStomcat yes, I realize that those taking any of the weight loss peptides can also lose muscle mass. But what one does about that matters and is controllable. I’ll suggest that losing body fat is far more important to good health than some muscle loss.

In my own case I’ve not lost, but rather have gained muscle and strength due to nutrition, regular and consistent lifting combined with walking. I’ve got more muscle mass and can lift as heavy as I care to. Due to previous shoulder injuries I don’t care to see how heavy I can go, so keep curls at 80-100 lbs, triceps presses at about 120-130, pull downs at 110-120, pec flys at 100-120, bench press at 100 (left shoulder injury limits many of these) and so on. Leg presses 240-260, leg extensions & curls at 70, calf raises at 240-260, adductor/abductors art 100-110. Perhaps my muscle mass would be greater without Zepbound, but it’s plenty with that peptide.

@thoma018 The stem cell procedure I underwent is different than many clinics offer. Most clinics simply have you come in and inject you with stem cells they’ve purchased from medical supply companies and these are generally sourced from umbilical cord or fetal (aborted fetus) sources. You don’t know how many of the cells being injected are still alive and active, how many days old the stem cells are and some have ethical concerns about using stem cells from aborted fetuses. In contrast, I underwent a procedure known as Regenexx, which involves 3 procedures in 5 days and uses your own stem cells that are processed from bone marrow they harvest from your pelvis. On Monday, you go in and they inject a saline solution into the area to be treated, which inflames that area. Stem cells gravitate to areas of greater inflammation. On Wednesday, they harvest bone marrow in the morning, process it to extract stem cells and inject your own stem cells back into you in the afternoon. On Friday, they draw blood and process that for PRP, (platelet rich plasma) which they inject into the same area to nourish the stem cells. After that you have to stay off bearing weight on the joint as much as possible for six weeks. Improvement is slow and gradual, but from 6-12 months you’ll see big improvement. www.regenexx.com Before the procedure I used to eat Advil like it was candy and it was hard to walk more than a mile at a time or couple miles in a day. Now, I rarely take any Advil and think nothing of walking five miles at a time and can walk 10+ miles in a day with no effort.

A couple final thoughts…. Everyone should consider taking Creatine daily. The science on Creatine is fascinating and thinking has changed greatly about it. Creatine does benefit muscle health, but far more important is the benefits to brain health. Creatine has been found to have great benefits to cognitive health, as well as combat dementia and other neurodegenerative problems. There’s also a study now that suggests contact sport athletes like football players have significant protection from concussions and brain trauma at daily intake of 20 or more grams. It is believed that cognitive benefits begin at daily consumption of 10+ grams per day, while lower levels primarily benefit muscles but not brain health. I take 10-20 grams of Creatine every day. Morning coffee, midday with water and at night before going to bed.

Someone mentioned good oral health’s connection to overall health. This is very important, yet many aren’t aware of the connection between poor oral health, systemic inflammation and heart disease. There has been data that shows people with oral inflammation are at risk of bacteria from your mouth entering your bloodstream and causing systemic inflammation which increases coronary risk. So, brush and floss regularly!

I will be 70 in a few months. I retired when I was 59. At that time I weighed 288, mostly due to being mostly sedentary due to spending two years recovering from Guillian-Barre’ Syndrome. My retirement “job” was going to the gym three or four times a week, mostly doing weight training. I did manage to lose about 18 pounds. But was stuck there. In 2023, I cut down to two meals a day and although I have a sweet tooth, cut back on my sugar intake. I limited myself to two sodas a week. If I snack, it is nuts or pickles. I rarely consume alcohol. I never smoked. I dropped from 270 to 210. I had a knee replacement in 2024 and gained back about 25 pounds. This spring I began walking about two or more miles a day as well as weight training at the gym a couple of days a week and have dropped about ten pounds.

ftrovato said:

My 2 cents (and it's not worth a cup of coffee).

If you are lucky enough to have access to true world class modern medicine and practice proactive medical appts and meds one would have a good chance of extending and living a better quality life.

Naturally best practice daily habits are key.

Anyone that thinks they are getting valuable reliable accurate information on non accredited social media sights is simply a fool.

Longevity is not about who is the smartest or strongest. It's about who is the most adaptive to what is available to them.

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Since my 30’s I also have been on high blood pressure and colesteral medication which has produced near perfect test results each year. My recommendation is to fight genes use the medication out there

Good question. I’m not there yet (80) but creeping up on it. I could still do a tough hunt if I wanted to. Some of it would be mental. Also a lot of that strong health into later years equation will include things we have no control over like genetics. Most scientists in the field agree that some Neanderthal in our ancestry can enhance health and strength into later years.

I’d say stay active, eat a variety of more or less healthy foods, ditch bad habits and look forward to living for something ahead- like family and kids… I just spent a month with a bunch of our extended family of kids from 1 1/2 to 18 yo that varies depending on the day. Guaranteed - kids will either keep you young or kill you off Here’re some of the rugrats

steve white said:

We are all at different stages of getting older. We want to postpone hanging up the guns for as long as humanly possible.

What are your best tips for diet, physical fitness regimens and mental conditioning to keep you fit enough to hunt into your 80's? This is more complicated than it might seem due to new metabolic problems affecting weight gain and loss, environmental factors, as well as dietary plans for seniors (which WILL include more protein). What is the cutting edge, state of the art practice for maximum results?
I would be especially grateful for suggestions from those who have overcome setbacks, lost weight and kept it off, and what it took to win the battle.

Come to think of it, there may be a book out there with the title of this thread.

Click to expand...

I think having two Labradors helps. Almost every day I take them out and hike about two miles up and down some fairly steep trails. It would be easy to talk myself out of going if the dogs weren't hanging around telling me we need to go. I wouldn't have any problem making another safari at 72.

Bonus tip: It's easier if you don't wait until you have a heart attack before you start.

fourfive8 said:

Good question. I’m not there yet (80) but creeping up on it. I could still do a tough hunt if I wanted to. Some of it would be mental. Also a lot of that strong health into later years equation will include things we have no control over like genetics. Most scientists in the field agree that some Neanderthal in our ancestry can enhance health and strength into later years.

I’d say stay active, eat a variety of more or less healthy foods, ditch bad habits and look forward to living for something ahead- like family and kids… I just spent a month with a bunch of our extended family of kids from 1 1/2 to 18 yo that varies depending on the day. Guaranteed - kids will either keep you young or kill you off Here’re some of the rugrats

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That is a very good point. Have younger friends and embrace younger family. A couple a little older than us retired some years before we did, moved to Florida to one of those gated communities where no children are allowed, and turned into old people within five years. She is already gone and he is an assisted living facility.

SStomcat said:

Who is your PH?

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My PH is Philip Dixie. He is with Blaauwkrantz Safaris. They are absolutely fantastic. If you would like any additional information about them please let me know.

I’m 64. I’ve dreamed of Africa since a young boy. Career, family, church. God blessed me overwhelmingly. My wife of 42 years is a saint.

I’ve been a runner since late teens, weight lifter, breathhold diver . At 63 my left hip went south, I developed AFIB. Spent the last nearly a year getting healthier. New hip, Ablation, 1st safari (Buff and 7 plains trophies). Back to running and lifting. Working diet. Planning my next safari. Through this all, God has blessed me. I hope to fly till 75, dive till the same, hunt till 80. If I do or if I don’t, God has blessed me.

I think in 3 dimensions these days. Am I serving God, Am I serving my family, am I doing everything this life God gave me has to offer.

I get to serve a little at church. Huge blessing. 3 kids, 3 young in-laws, 6 grandkids. I live to help them. I absolutely adore my wife. Anything I can do for her.

Hope to do an elephant within the next year, some open area buff, perhaps a cat or 2, some other plains animals. If I make it or if I don’t, Gods blessed me beyond all reason.

I sure hope to hunt through 80. My parents were chain smokers, alcoholics with terrible eating habits. Died 5 days apart at 83. Hope to beat that by a bit

Red Leg said:

Turn 74 next month and my approach is to simply keep going. I am fortunate to not yet have any prescribed meds for chronic issues or have required any parts to be replaced. After two essentially 24/7 careers, we are blessed to have our 40 acre place here on the Sam Gabriel. I hire myself to look after it, and it is a rare day when I am not on the tractor or a mower, or using a chain saw to deal with down timber (pecans!). In other words, I stay productively active. I try to eat what I like and religiously have two generous glasses of wine each evening. Should I be working in the gun room or watching a game that will likely be bolstered with a single malt, Irish, or Cognac.

I am not worth a damn on mountains - but never was - absolutely loathed that phase of Ranger School. But, I can still walk down a buffalo or an eland, or play a day of hide and seek with nilgai.

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Question on the phrase “I hire myself to look after it.”

Is that a simply your word choice indicating you take care of your own land or are you using some legal structure/accounting positioning? I’m in a very similar situation in VA and wondering if I’m missing a way to keep more of my own money rather than having it stolen by the swamp beast.