For Hub City Times

MARSHFIELD — If you are a deer hunter, you know what time it is. It is Wisconsin’s gun deer season, and opening day is Nov. 21.

To help get deer hunters physically prepared, Marshfield Clinic has created a series of simple and effective exercises, along with health and safety tips, in a special fitness campaign called Couch to Deer Camp. Exercise videos and accompanying health information are provided weekly on the clinic’s blog, Shine365, and through social media up to opening day. This year subscribers to the free weekly newsletter will be eligible to get a free knit hunting cap. Sign up at couchtodeercamp.com for email updates.

Clinic experts in cardiology, nutrition services, orthopedics, physical therapy, and sports medicine were resources for the health and fitness information included in Couch to Deer Camp.

“We want hunters to be as fit as possible for a sport that many are passionate about and look forward to all year long,” said Dr. Laurel Rudolph, a Marshfield Clinic sports medicine physician and an avid hunter. “If your lifestyle is more sedentary, deer hunting can in some cases put too much stress on your heart, bones, and joints and take away from the joy and pleasure you find in hunting.”

Gun deer hunters do a lot of walking, lifting, bending, stretching, twisting, and turning. Over the nine-day season, hunters probably do more of these activities in a condensed timeframe than they realize.

“To avoid health problems or discomfort, such as being out of breath or experiencing achy and sore joints and muscles, you need to take care of yourself,” said Aaron Homolka, a physical therapist at Marshfield Clinic. “Hunting is a rigorous sport, and Couch to Deer Camp can help prepare the body. Physicians also can provide advice to help make sure hunters are ready.”

Couch to Deer Camp information will be released weekly on Shine365, located on Marshfield Clinic’s website, and through the clinic’s Facebook and Twitter pages.