Almost Manduka yoga strap can grab a gun, go out to a wood lot and sit down under a tree for a few hours, and then go back and tell their friends they are dedicated hunters. While this may work for some, being successful while hunting this way is more the exception than the norm. There is much preparation involved to be successful in the hunting woods year in and year out. One of the most important of these preparations is making sure your body does not let you down during the hunt.
I am sure we all know someone that just seems to be in the best hunting shape ever and never spends any time in the gym. They go out and climb up and down hills without breaking so much as a sweat for hours at a time. Just for the record, I am not one of these people. For me to go out in the hunting field requires me to work on my stamina year round just to halfway keep up with these guys. One thing I have found over the years is that while being physically active by jogging or walking does help, it is not the end of getting in good hunting condition.
Depending on the type of hunting you will be doing, there are many other exercises that can be invaluable to a successful hunt. The thing that many hunters fail to realize is that it sometimes takes just as much energy to stay completely still as it does to move. With hunting optics being so sensitive to movement, if you cannot control your breathing or shaking hands at that moment, all of the walking you did to get you there will be for not.
The downfall of this kind of exercise is that most manly men will refuse to do yoga. Unfortunately, many of the exercises involved in a yoga routine is to control your core muscles as well as your breathing, which in turn will help your balance and ability to stand or sit completely still. I did not go out in search of these exercises, but by hurting my back and needing physical therapy they found me.
Probably the best thing about these exercises is I have modified them to not only help my back but to improve my hunting stamina. The routine I have developed at home involves holding my rifle scope on a target in one minute intervals while breathing and not moving. Sounds easy, but try it, it is anything but easy. Once you have mastered this, you can move on to your binoculars or rangefinder and try to do the same thing. If you are the type of person that really likes a challenge, do the same exercise with your bow. To get ready for these types of exercises I have found that doing normal exercises, such as squats or toe touches help, but if you do them slowly or completely stop in the middle of the exercise and try to hold them as long as possible really burns.
When you are out in the field hunting many of your movements come naturally, but it is the total lack of movement that you will need to be prepared for. By strengthening our core stomach muscles and practicing our breathing we enhance our chances of not being spotted and being steady for that shot when it comes time.