If you are going to do almost any hunting, much less go to Africa, you must be in reasonable physical condition.

  Many doctors are telling their patients that the single most important thing that they can do to improve their health is to engage in a regular exercise program. This advice is given by doctors in such diverse fields as General Medicine, Cardiography and Psychiatry as a component in part of a health recovery or preventative program.

  As a young guy, I was never an athlete. I did live a healthy outdoor lifestyle when I was doing field work as a Geologist and would walk every day, sometimes covering 13 miles of overland travel carrying a 40-pound pack through the Alaskan wilderness.

  In later years as a writer my life became more sedentary, my weight started to climb, I began to have pain in my joints as I aged and I had to take meds to control diabetes. I was even, in my mid-60s, thinking that I might need a hip replacement because of joint pain. This proved to be a problem of tendons, rather than joints. I was out of shape with poor muscle tone.  

  I joined the Wellness program that I describe in the video, and am doing much better. The joint pain has disappeared, my diabetes is better controlled and I have a much more healthy outlook on life.  When I get off my exercise and diet for a period of week some of my previous symptoms return. When I resume exercise and diet, these symptoms go away.

   I can’t say that I enjoy it. I can’t say that it is fun. However, for me it is a necessity to maintain a reasonable level of physical capabilities so that I can go the interesting hunts that add much to the quality of my life. In brief, unless you do a variety of physical work in your job, your life will be improved if you visit your doctor and start an exercise program. Any is better than none.

  I live some distance away from  town, and  I go to Wellness  two or three times a week when I am not hunting. I find that hunting activities, by themselves, do not adequately substitute for regular cardiovascular and strength-building exercises.

  A 7-minute video “Getting in Shape for Your Hunt” is posted on YouTube, if you should have any difficulty watching this version. It  can be seen  at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkZd5CPf0O8&layer_token=11398e188a5243c9.