Do you ever make the same mistake over and over again while hunting?

Like not being patient or aggressive enough while on a stalk? Or falling into poor technique habits when shooting your rifle or bow?

I don’t know about you, but for me, the list is long for mistakes made on hunts.

Well, what if there were things, we could do to improve our ability to remember our past mistakes so that we could prevent them from happening again?

Sounds good right?

The good news…there are certain lifestyle choices we can make that can help us remember those mistakes more effectively.

Let’s focus on one of them specifically.

Aerobic Exercise Training.

Recent literature has suggested that aerobic exercise training for 12 months led to a 47% improvement in memory and increased blood flow (at rest) to the hippocampus (part of the brain for learning and memory) in individuals 60 years and older with memory problems.

Dang, that is awesome!

Let’s break this down.

First, aerobic exercise training.

Another way to think of it is conditioning.

Examples could be:

• 5k run
• 30 rounds, 30 seconds of swimming, 30 seconds rest
• 10 mile bike ride
• 10 sets, 500 meter row, 1:1 rest

Think of aerobic exercise training as a low-high intensity workout that elevates your heart rate using machines or simple movements where oxygen and heavy breathing take place-aka your lungs are tested!

One of the reasons aerobic exercise training positively impacts our memory is simply because of the new blood flow to the brain that helps bring in new nutrients that support and heal broken-down tissues. It’s like a nice oil change for our brain.

And since aerobic exercise training increases blood flow to the brain that serves our learning and memory abilities well, it seems to me like a good idea to become involved if you want to lessen the same mistakes made while on a hunt.

And even though the literature stated only individuals who are 60 years and older with memory problems, we must recognize that no matter the age and current health status one has, any lifestyle choices made in favor of better health means we are in a better position to experience more years of hunting.

Your health is just like a savings account, the greater the savings (aka better health), the more opening days you are likely to experience.

So, incorporate aerobic exercise training (low-high intensity) workouts into your weekly schedule so there is a good chance you won’t forget those sweet elk hunting spots you worked so hard to find.

Better memory and brain health means more years of hunting elk with fewer health limitations.

That’s a good deal if you ask me.

Reference
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200520084123.htm