Backcountry Hunter Training Phase 1 | How to Build a Base for Mule Deer and Elk Hunting

Backcountry Hunter Training Phase 1 | How to Build a Base for Mule Deer and Elk Hunting

Phase 1: The Foundation for Backcountry Strength

How to Build Your Base for Elk & Mule Deer Season

For most hunters, preparation starts too late. June rolls around, the mountains start calling, and panic sets in. By then, training isn’t preparation—it’s damage control.

If you want to be strong enough to thrive deep in the backcountry—not just survive it—your training starts long before summer. It starts right now.

Phase 1 is the foundation. Over the next two months, you’re rebuilding your body after hunting season, reinforcing your joints and movement patterns, and preparing for the heavier strength and conditioning to come. The guys who are still strong on day eight of a backcountry hunt are always the ones who took this phase seriously.

Let’s break it down.

What “Building the Base” Really Means

This isn’t bodybuilding. It’s not a marathon plan. It’s developing balanced, functional capacity—strength, stability, endurance, and mobility—all working together so you can move through steep, uneven terrain under fatigue without breaking down.

The base is the structural foundation of a cabin.
If it’s weak, it doesn’t matter how nice everything above it looks—it won’t survive weather or weight.

Same with your body. Skip the base, and your season is built on borrowed time.

Rebuild After Hunting Season

After a full fall:

  • Knees are tight

  • Hips cranky

  • Shoulders beat up

  • Movement patterns sloppy

You’ve been active, but you haven’t been training.

Phase 1 resets the system:

  • Rebuilding full-range movement

  • Correcting imbalances

  • Improving joint integrity

  • Reinforcing healthy mechanics

Every controlled rep is prehab—the work that keeps you from getting injured when training ramps up.

It isn’t sexy. But this phase separates the guys who thrive deep in September from the ones sitting on the side of the trail wondering what went wrong.

The 4 Core Goals of Phase 1

Everything you do in this phase—strength, conditioning, recovery—comes back to four priorities.

1) Movement Quality

Before building strength, you must move well.
That means:

  • Strong hip hinge

  • Deep, clean squat

  • Smooth overhead press

  • Stable core

  • Full-range patterns

Slow, controlled reps are your friend. When lifts feel easier at the same weight, that’s improvement—not because you’re stronger yet, but because your body is moving as one coordinated unit.

Movement quality is injury prevention.

2) General Strength

Not 1-rep max strength—durable, repeatable strength.

Think:

  • Squats / hinges

  • Deadlift variations

  • Rows / presses

  • Lunges / step-ups

  • Loaded carries

Moderate weight, perfect form, controlled tempo.
You’re training joints, connective tissue, and movement patterns—not chasing numbers.

This is the strength that keeps you upright under 80 pounds of meat.

3) Aerobic Base

If strength keeps you stable, aerobic capacity keeps you going.

Phase 1 builds your low-end engine:

  • Incline treadmill

  • Rucks

  • Bike

  • Row

  • Easy trail runs

Moderate heart rate, conversational pace.
Do 2–3 sessions/week, 30–60 minutes each.

This base determines how fast you recover between efforts once you’re hunting above 10,000 feet.

4) Mobility & Recovery Habits

This is where most hunters fall apart.

Mobility isn’t optional—it’s a performance multiplier.
Hips, ankles, and shoulders must move freely for you to climb, sidehill, and draw a bow under stress.

Recovery = progress.
Quality sleep, fuel, hydration, stretching, light movement—they’re all part of the plan.

The guy who recovers best is the guy who trains hardest later.

Phase 1 Weekly Structure

A simple weekly rhythm keeps your training consistent:

3–5 strength sessions
Full body, compound movements.

2–3 conditioning sessions
Aerobic base, not high-intensity work.

1 mobility/recovery session
This supports everything else.

Most hunters will land between 4–6 training days/week, depending on experience and recovery.

Gym Sessions

Core structure:

  1. Warm-up & mobility — 10 min

  2. Main lifts — 30–50 min

  3. Accessory work — 15 min

  4. Core / carry — 10 min

Each session covers:

  • Squat

  • Hinge

  • Push

  • Pull

  • Carry

  • Rotation

These movements translate directly to the mountains.

Strength Format

• 6 exercises
• 60 seconds per movement
• 20 seconds transition
• 2 minutes rest
• Repeat 3–5 rounds

Light to moderate weight.
Perfect form.
Walk out strong—not destroyed.

Conditioning

Think “steady engine,” not “gas pedal to the floor.”

  • Ruck (20–30 lbs)

  • Bike

  • Hike

  • Row

Heart rate around 120–140 BPM.
Relaxed breathing.
Conversation pace.

You’re building capacity, not testing it.

Strength vs. Conditioning: Which Comes First?

Short answer: both—but strength leads.

If your structure isn’t strong, it doesn’t matter how good your cardio is. Your joints will take the beating.

Strength is slower to build than conditioning.
So we focus heavily on strength in Phase 1.
Conditioning delivers the ability to do that strength work repeatedly without falling apart.

Rule of thumb for Phase 1:

  • ~60% strength

  • ~40% conditioning

Build structure → build capacity → blend them later.

The goal isn’t to look fit.
It’s to perform when it counts.

Common Off-Season Mistakes

1) Skipping the Foundation

Jumping straight into high-intensity training is a shortcut to injury.
You’re stacking volume on dysfunction.

2) Random Workouts

Strength one day, power the next, endurance the next… with no plan.
You burn calories but build nothing.

3) Ignoring Recovery

You don’t grow from training.
You grow from recovering from training.

4) Neglecting Mobility

If your hips, ankles, and shoulders don’t move, your range of performance shrinks—and pain follows.

5) Chasing Exhaustion

Feeling tired isn’t the same as getting better.
Phase 1 should feel productive, not punishing.

The mountain doesn’t care what you bench.
It cares how you carry, climb, and recover.

Why Phase 1 Matters

This is the base camp before the climb.

You’re laying the groundwork that makes every step of training effective:

  • Stronger connective tissue

  • Cleaner movement patterns

  • Better oxygen efficiency

  • Faster recovery

  • Renewed discipline

If you do this phase right, Phase 2 becomes opportunity—not survival.

Without it, every next step has a higher risk of breakdown.

What’s Coming in Phase 2

Starting in January, we’ll shift toward:

  • Heavier progressive strength

  • Structured endurance development

  • Mountain-relevant work capacity

  • Weighted carry work

  • Interval conditioning

But none of it matters without the base you’re building right now.

This is the foundation.
This is where the hunt begins—long before boots hit dirt.

Preparation Is Your Edge

You can’t fake preparation.
You can’t buy endurance.
You can’t shortcut strength.

The hunters who succeed next season are building that edge now—long before anyone else is thinking about September.

Every session is a down payment on the season you want.

Show up.
Train with intent.
Build your base.

Take It Deeper: Join TEAM BACKBONE

If you’re serious about going further—physically and mentally—TEAM BACKBONE is where you sharpen your edge.

As a member, you get:

  • 20% off site-wide

  • Monthly member-only t-shirt shipped to your door

  • Full access to the digital content vault

    • Training programs

    • Checklists

    • Backcountry strategies

    • Mindset tools

  • Private Facebook group with direct access to me

  • Direct call/text/email access for personalized guidance

  • Monthly gear giveaways

It’s built for the hunters who train with intention, push themselves in the off-season, and want to be surrounded by a tribe that makes them better.

If that’s you, check out the membership and join the inner circle.

TRAIN HARDER. HUNT SMARTER. NEVER SETTLE.

— MATT HARTSKY

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