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My Favorite *Outdoor Fitness* Things

Most hunters tend to be athletic. Not all of them are... in fact, many still embody that beer drinking, hands-down-their-pants-while-dozing-in-the-recliner, stereotype. However, I have found that most hunters are not only outdoors during their favorite hunting seasons, but also year-round. Hiking, fishing, checking trail-cams, creating food plots, scouting... and all of these things require at least some level of athletic ability.

As the weather starts warming up and we're outside more and more, fitness comes to the forefront of our lives - or at least my life. Following are some of my favorite fitness related things right now:

  

#1 - Water

Get rid of all those special energy and exercise drinks and Gatorade wanna-be's. All your body really wants and needs is plain, ol' water. The only thing that your body needs more is oxygen. As temperatures start to rise and you're outside more, water can help prevent dehydration and exhaustion. It's also known to help rev up the metabolism, keep you feeling full longer, and can prevent muscle cramping. It also helps to give you amazing skin!! 

Tip: If you're going on long hikes, scouts or planning to spend an extended period of time outdoors, freeze bottles of water. They'll steadily melt and you'll have cool water throughout the day. (I HATE warm water.)

#2 - Good Shoes

Good shoes can make or break your time outdoors. For any long excursions make sure you wear shoes that are well broken in. The general rule-of-thumb is to replace shoes every 300-500 miles, or every 3 months. For people that don't run often, shoes will last longer but as soon as you notice that the soles are breaking down or the tread looks smooth, invest in a new pair. Also, more than anything, listen to your body. If you start feeling aches and pains in your feet, knees, or back, it's time to begin searching for new shoes. 

Right now my favorite shoes are the FTHR Shield Running Shoe from Under Armour and the Saucony Triumph. Why 2 pairs? I tend to under-pronate (roll my feet outward) when I walk and run. So, I wear the UA shoes for non-distance activities and the Saucony shoes for any long-distance activity, as they're specifically built for people who under-pronate.  

#3 - Cell Phone

This is a pretty basic one for most people. Just for safety reasons, it never hurts to carry a phone. Most people also live and die by the music in their iTunes account, especially when working out. 

I also have several apps that I use to help keep track of my blood sugars, food & calories, and exercise. My favorite right now is My Fitness Pal. It probably has the most complete database of food and calories ever! Even for those restaurants that don't offer nutrition facts for their meals - this website has them. 

#4 - Scunci Evolution Jelly No-Slip Hair Ties

These are the BEST HAIR TIES EVER. I've had waist-length hair most of my life, so trust me when I tell you that I have tried every single hair tie or hair product imaginable. These are absolutely amazing!!! Most women know how frustrating it is when you can wind a hair tie only twice around your ponytail, but it's still too loose and falls out with any vigorous exercise. These hair ties will stay without pulling your hair or without it being too tight. My 3 year old even prefers them.

#5 - Make Up Forever Aqua Eyeliner and Waterproof Mascara
These items were created specifically for a professional water ballet team. It's proven, and the best of the best. Even if you're going for a long run, eye make-up tends to smear as you sweat. This is completely smear-proof and waterproof, so you can look nice and still sweat like a pig.

#6- Degree Clinical Deodorant
We often have months of 100+ degree weather during the summer. It's disgusting and hot. You're constantly sweaty and sticky, and that's just from walking from an air-conditioned car to the air-conditioned house. Spending any time outdoors requires hard core stink-proofing. Degree clinical is, by far, my favorite. It also doesn't leave ugly white marks on tank tops.

#7 - Vitamin B, Iron & a daily multi-vitamin

About six months ago I was diagnosed with low vitamin B levels and anemia. I was exhausted all the time, taking naps during the lunch hour and all I could think about was the next time I could cuddle my pillow. In addition to my regular routine of a daily multi-vitamin, I also take sublingual B and iron. Since then I've learned that it's not uncommon for many women to suffer from low B and iron levels, especially during certain times of the month. Even without that knowledge, Vitamin B is still a proven metabolism and energy booster.

Huntress of the Month

Michelle Thryselius

When was your first hunting experience?

My first hunting experience happened in 2001. I decided I wanted to go to the woods with Scott during bow season. I didn’t have a bow. It was just me wearing some of his extra camo, which of course was bulky, and I wore a pair of his spare boots, again bulky. Me, in all my bulkiness, made like an elephant through the woods with him! I could locate every stick that was cleverly hidden beneath the leaves. Scott would look back at me with that loving glare. :)  I sat in a tree stand that was in talking distance of his stand. I had a porcupine walk up to the base of my stand and I feared he was going to climb up to welcome me to his home! I did see a doe that day, and if I had been a bow hunter at that moment, I would have had a shot opportunity. I knew after that outing that I wanted to be a hunter.

Who introduced you to the world of hunting and the outdoors?

I have always been an outdoors girl. When I was a kid I would be outside tossing the ball with Dad or going to my Grandparents to go fishing. Bull head fishing on a Friday night! I would spend time during the summers at my cousins’ house up on the farm and sometimes we could convince my aunt to take us to the cottage for a day or two of swimming and fishing.

My Dad was a WI Gun Hunter so I grew up around the scene and concept of hunting. I would ride along to spend the week hanging with my cousins while Dad and the crew hunted. From the young age of two I had been around the “concept” of hunting. I didn’t actually experience the “hunting” outdoors until I met Scott. He never pressured me to go with him hunting and never tried to sell me on becoming a hunter. There was an open invitation and when I was ready – he showed me the way. I am thankful that he was willing to make sacrifices of his hunts to teach me what I know today.

What is your most memorable hunting experience to date?

There have been so many memories – but I have to say that the most memorable is the weekend I harvested my first deer in 2003 with my bow. It was my first season hunting “out of sight” from Scott. I had Gabby, who was 7, with me for this public land hunt. We were hunting from a ground blind, which in 2003, those double wide pop-up blinds were a bit smaller than they are today. We were sitting on small little chairs patiently waiting for a deer and both of us were trying to be the first to spot one. 

I never expected to hear Gabby whisper “Mom, there’s a bear.” Lo and behold, a nice WI black bear came strolling in our area, and he proceeded to walk right up to our ground blind to say hello. We held hands and did not move as we watched him getting close. We literally were able to look right up his nostrils as his nose touched the screen on the ground blind. We were eye to eye with this gorgeous bear, with only a wimpy ground blind screen between us. We squeezed each other’s hands tight and didn’t breathe. With a little move of my boot, he decided to turn and walk away. It was a bit less stressful watching him 20 yards out for the rest of the evening hunt. He stuck around until dark. We didn’t see any deer but it was a moment that we will never forget. 

The next day I had Quinton, who was 9, sitting with me. We were in the same blind, same spot and both on high alert for a deer, or now for a bear. A doe ended up coming out that afternoon and Q whispered to me, just as if he were the camera man on a hunting show, step by step “get ready, breathe, wait, wait, shoot!” It was the first arrow I had ever flung at a deer and I connected, and it was only three weeks into the season. An amazing hunting weekend, one I’ll remember forever.  

I know you and your husband, Scott, have involved the whole family in the hunting world.. can you expand on that?

As soon as the kids were able to toddle around on their own, we would bring them to the woods with us. First we started with family weekends of berry picking. Other times we would take them out to the woods just to walk around. And there were the millions of car rides that we would take looking for deer. I cannot tell you how much gas we must have used. Each of us would take a munchkin to the blind to sit with us. I think Q was maybe 4, and Gabby 2, when they made their first trips out to hunt. We were packing sleeping bags, back packs with snacks, Nintendo Game Boys, and coloring books. It was great to hear them telling each other what they did or saw. It became our normal way of life; hunting was part of our family. 

In WI you need to pass a WI Hunter Safety course, at that time, you could start hunting at the age of 12. We enrolled both kids, so they could take the class together. Q was 12 and Gabby was 10. In the class of 30 students – ages’ ranging from 12 to 40 – Gabby was the youngest person in the class to pass and she was a girl! Each have harvested deer and each have their own stories to tell. Both have a buck mount in their bedroom. Q is passionate about hunting like his dad. He eats, sleeps and breathes deer like Scott. He is graduating this year and is looking at a future of being a DNR Warden. Gabby also enjoys going out the woods,  however she has taken an interest in the video aspect. The first video she took this year was a close encounter of the squirrel kind and she also managed to film a piebald buck that we didn’t even know was on the property. She still takes her bow or rifle with her, but she loves to pick up the camera. 

There is a moment from last season where the four of us are riding out to the property together that I will never forget. We were in the truck heading out for an afternoon hunt, Q was 18, and Gabby 16, and I was overcome with emotion. I thought to myself where on earth did time go and how did I get lucky enough to be blessed with such an awesome little family? For the past ten years, we had shared the WI Deer Hunting (bow & gun) season together as a family. I know that it is something that we will continue to share with each other as they move on in life. It’s our roots, our foundation, our way of life, that I hope they share with their little families one day.

What do you do when you aren’t hunting? 

I’ve always have to be doing something! You may have heard me say that I live full throttle. That truly is how I live. I don’t allow myself to “tap the brakes” very often. I work full time as an IT Project Consultant. After work, I’m a wife, mom and friend and I try to juggle those hats as best I can. Running here or there, squeezing in gym time, making girl time, trying to find time to read a chapter in a good book or sitting down to crochet, tweeting or facebooking – these are just some of the things that I squeeze into my daily life.

Part of the reason I continue to push myself “full throttle” is because of the health card I was dealt. In 2004, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I thank the Lord that my battles and challenges have been “tolerable.” MS has decided to invite other “wonderful” medical conditions into my life like Trigeminal Neuralgia and Crohn’s, to name a few. MS wears down your immune system and I refuse to let it take full control. I push myself to keep moving and keep going, and I always attempt to remain positive and optimistic. I will NOT let MS stop me. There are many of my MS brothers and sisters that struggle more. For that reason, I want to help find a cure for MS. 

The past few years I have been a participant in the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Annual Walk that they hold. The smart science people need the money to continue their research and the society uses the funds to help people that need assistance. I do my part in raising awareness and funds to help my MS brothers and sisters of today, and of tomorrow. We may not have a cure to fix me, but maybe there will be one in the future. That is my hope and it drives me to look for ways to constantly raise MS Awareness. You know how pink is the breast cancer awareness color, well orange is the MS Awareness color. I want orange to be the new pink. I want people to see orange and I want them to automatically think "MS" like they do when they see pink and think of breast cancer. My hat is off to the Breast Cancer Foundation for their work and for being able to create such a solid awareness campaign. I will do whatever I can to help the MS Society rise to that same level.

As a female hunter are there any unique obstacles or challenges that you have encountered?

The only obstacle that I have encountered is finding gloves, clothes and boots that fit me comfortably! I am happy to report that situation is MUCH better today vs. what it was like back in 2003, when I started hunting. That has really been the only challenge. Well, wait there is one other challenge... and that is finding a way to go to the bathroom while in a stand. Men have it so easy! I've learned to cut back on liquid intake, cross my legs and pinch them shut (wisdom from my Grandma). And don’t think about it! In all seriousness, I really have been blessed to not run into any major obstacles or challenges that have impacted my outlook on hunting.

Who inspires you to stay involved in the outdoors and hunting?

Fellow hunters, outdoorsmen, and outdoorswomen inspire me to stay involved. When you hear others sharing their stories, I get excited listening and get that desire to want to have a story to share too. Doesn't everybody want to have a story? That’s what it’s all about: the moments and the memories that are created and shared. Those inspire me. I want to be able to share a story too!

How can readers connect with you and learn more about you?

You can always find me in “Twitterville” as @teamt_mlt or on Facebook under Michelle Thryselius. C’mon and find me! Lord knows, I like to tweet and message. I’m also part of Huntography. Scott and I were on the Season 1 DVD of Huntography: Filming American’s Hunters One at a Time. It features your normal, everyday, hunter going out and living their dream and passion in the woods. There is no fancy gear or make up and some are just weekend warriors, hunting on public and/or private land. No big lights and big names, just a bunch of us that met through Twitter and other social media platforms. Rudy (@Huntography on Twitter) is the creator. He brought hunting, videography, and social media together as one. You can learn more about this at huntography.com. Scott and I are two of the managing editors for the Wisconsin Huntography web site. Check us out. And if that wasn’t enough, we decided that we wanted to create a place for our outdoors moments and moments of others in the outdoors world. We’ve slowly been working on setting up SMT Outdoors. Yes, we are on Twittter @SMT_Outdoors and also on Facebook, and we have a web site SMTOutdoors.com.

Speaking of social media – I have one more story to share. We met Rob Freyer (@BigBuckPW ) and Will Jenkins (@TheWilltoHunt) through Twitter. I’m not kidding when I say we have probably exchanged over a thousand tweets and texts, and add in phone calls, over the past two years. We have come to be close friends... No, let me correct that, we have become family. Last November we had the opportunity to hunt with Rob in his state of Maryland. Will came to hunt with us too, for one day, when he heard we were in town. I’ll try to keep the story short, but let me say that it was my first out-of-state hunting trip. I’ve never hunted outside of WI.

I'm also afraid of heights. Sure I can climb into a 12’ ladder stand, but Rob had me climbing 20’ up ladder sticks to a hang on stand. Talk about scary!! On this particular night, the four of us were scattered apart. Rob walked me out to the stand. It was my first climb up 20’. I made it, although I was thinking the whole way up that I was going to die. When Rob left me in the stand for the evening, I was in tears. I was proud of myself for making it, bottled up fear from the climb, and already fearful of how I was going to get down. Here is where it gets good: when I climbed down that night, under the direction of Rob, I was climbing down as a woman who had just harvested TWO deer in one evening sit, all with my bow! Even better, I had shot my first buck ever. FIRST BUCK EVER!! 

In the late afternoon, I had an opportunity to harvest a nice Maryland doe, and just before last light, I harvested my five point trophy buck. Will was my blood tracking brother, and forever we will be united. We really didn’t need to track as hardcore as we thought we did. The buck didn’t go far, but it was an experience that I will never forget, and I will always share that night with him. As for Rob, he not only taught me new things about hunting and provided me the opportunity to harvest the deer, he taught me to believe in myself and to overcome my fears. He had me climbing 20 feet in the sky on those dinky ladder sticks! He taught me to just “shoot ‘em when you see ‘em.”

Of course, there is Scott. There is no better feeling than to see my husband happy and excited for me. He may have been more excited than I was! Wait... That’s not possible! It felt good, though, to know that I made him proud; considering he introduced me and taught me all I knew about hunting. That trip is one that really did change me as a person. I came back to WI with a new outlook on life and more belief in myself and what I can do if I put my mind to it. When I run into “the impossible” I just smile because “the impossible” has no idea who they are messing with!

Hunting and the outdoors really is an amazing blessing that we all have been gifted. I hope that everyone has the opportunity to experience the beauty and gift of the outdoors and to share that gift with others. 

Thanks, Mom!! Mother's Day 2013



Grandmother & Granddaughter

Thanks, Mom for teaching me that learning is more than schools, for not being one of those nagging wives that don't support their husbands during hunting season, and for reminding me that even though we're all different we can find inspiration in all the same places and support each other no matter what the circumstances....

For the rest of the post, click HERE.

DEERLAND Book Review

Several weeks ago, Al Cambronne contacted me about doing a review on his latest book, Deerland. Of course, I was intrigued. Everything about Deer Passion started from my love of hunting whitetail deer. Hunters do their best to learn everything they can about hunting whitetails... their mating season, their patterns and movements, the best products available to stalk and spot them. Rarely, though, do hunters take the time to learn every little thing about the animal they hunt. They tend to focus only on what is relevant to them. 

To read the rest of the review and for the link to Al Cambronne's website, click HERE. 

Perfect Day!!

If you're using a mobile device, click here for a direct link: http://youtu.be/e4eYAl-J5Tc

Most people are out turkey hunting this time of year, but what do you do when you can't (and don't want to) pawn your kids off on someone else? You go explore the great, big world around you. It doesn't matter how much children read or how often they look at photos, kids learn from doing and from experiencing!! Teaching your child how to be an amazing hunter or an advocate for the outdoors starts at home, not in the schools.

Being a child is magical... but having a child and having the opportunity to show them the world brings that magic back and puts life into perspective. The little things really are the best things...

Bacon Wrapped Venison

Mmmm...

A ridiculously easy, yet mouth-watering recipe for some of your favorite venison cuts. Give it a try and let us know what you think!!! 

2-3 lbs. Venison
3 cups Dr. Pepper
1 shot Jack Daniels or favorite whiskey 
1 Tbs. Spicy mustard 
2 lbs. Bacon

Mix together Dr. Pepper, whiskey and mustard. Place your choice cut of venison in the mixture and soak for at least 8 hours in the refrigerator. The longer the better, in my opinion. Once the venison has marinated, remove venison and wrap completely in bacon. Hold in place with toothpicks. Heat grill to 400° and place venison directly on grill. Sear each side for about 15 seconds. Then turn heat down to 350° and cook to your desired likeness. It should cook for 15-25 minutes depending on the size of the cut. Remove and serve with your favorite sides and enjoy!