Preparing for Your Term

Participant Stretch Routine and Fitness Plan

Working a season with MCC can be physically and mentally challenging. You often work long hours in harsh conditions doing physically challenging manual labor.

To help with this, MCC has designed and implemented a stretch routine that every crew completes at the beginning of each workday. It has resulted in a large decrease in common injuries. The protocols are listed on the following pages. Please read through it carefully, as we do not want you doing these poses incorrectly. We will thoroughly go through this together at the beginning of the season as well.

We recommend starting the stretching routine now. It will start to build some of the physical fitness that is needed for your term of service, provide some structure to your day-to-day life, and provide mental clarity and dedicated time each day to check in with yourself.

Additionally, we suggest that you begin to build your fitness before you arrive. This will help you be more prepared, be more comfortable with the work, and limit injuries that can be caused by over-exertion.

• Any fitness activity that you can do before the season will help, whether that is just getting out for a hike, heading to the gym, doing bodyweight exercises at home, or just going for more walks during the day. One of the best ways to prepare is simply putting some weight in your backpack and hiking/walking regularly.
• If you are someone who needs a little more structure, we have found an exercise program that fits the type of work that we do. The program is called the ELK FIT Program and was originally created for backcountry hunters. The combination of hiking and manual labor that we perform is a very similar physical activity. It’s a 12-week program that combines cardio and body weight exercises to prepare your body for the upcoming season. If you are less than 12 weeks away from the start of the program, that’s okay! Getting started now will still help, and you can also shorten each phase by a week or so if needed. This is not necessary to work for MCC, but it is highly encouraged.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to your Program Manager for help, clarification, or guidance.

Click the button below to download the stretch and fitness routine, or scroll to view it on this page.

Stretch Protocol

The morning stretch routine that MCC members and staff follow has been developed by professionals who specialize in movement science. The sequence of movements was designed to warm up specific areas of the body that are most at risk for injury. Research supports that an appropriate, specific warm-up prior to labor-intensive work decreases the incidence of work-related injuries and decreases the cost associated with lost work time. Injury prevention is our goal and after one year of implementing this stretching routine MCC reported a ~40% reduction in overall work-related injuries compared to the previous year.

While the flow of this routine incorporates yoga poses, it is not intended to be a yoga practice nor does it follow a specific lineage. These stretches were picked because they benefit the muscles we use. If there are other stretches that individuals prefer to perform (“I like this flow better than the one MCC asks us to do”), there is ample time before or after the work day to perform additional stretches or a yoga practice outside of the established stretch circle. Modifications are provided for more difficult stretches but otherwise, alterations to the routine are discouraged.

Dynamic Warm Ups: Complete prior to Dynamic Stretching, on “Partner Time”

• All the Dynamic Warm-Ups should be completed within 5 minutes.
• Dynamic Warm-Ups do not need to be completed “fast”. The slower they are completed, the better form used, and the better the “wake up”.
• Dynamic Warm-Ups must begin with jumping up and down, loosely, for 30 seconds.
• There are eight required dynamic warm-up moves. The eight dynamic warm-ups may be completed in any sequence, but you must complete them all, as they are designed to wake-up different areas of the body.
• Each exercise should be conducted for 30 seconds total, rotating between extremities as needed.

Dynamic Stretching: Complete immediately after Dynamic Warm-Ups, on “Partner Time”

Follow the flow exactly as written. Utilize position modifications provided for stretches that exceed your ability or cause discomfort to joints. If you find yourself struggling to properly obtain one of the stretches, reference the middle column for additional cues. Do your best to maintain a neutral spine, engage the correct stabilizing muscles, and focus on your breath during the stretches. Mindfulness is a key component to completing the stretches correctly.

Dynamic Warmup:

• Begin by jumping up & down to loosen your body for 30 seconds.
• Then, do the following dynamic warm-ups for 30 seconds for each move. Switch extremities where necessary. Complete all moves within 5 minutes.
  • Hackysacks
  • Butt Kicks (don’t let back arch or ribs flare)
  • Leg Swings, Forward & Back (practice leading w/ heel, then leading with toe)
  • Leg Swings Side to Side
  • Hip Circles (switch up directions)
  • High Knees (don’t let your back round)
  • Arm Crosses (don’t let ribs flare too much)
  • Shoulders Swings (palms back)

Dynamic Stretching: Do the stretches below for 20 minutes.

Suggested Fitness Program

The ELK FIT Program is designed for hunting, but applicable to the work we do. Please use Google if you are unsure how to do one of the movements. This program is structured in three phases. We recommend exercising three days a week for 45 minutes. Each phase should take 4 weeks, for a total of 12 weeks for this program.

Beginners: Use body weight and resistance bands to complete the exercises.

Advanced: Add 25-45 lbs. in your pack with either a sandbag or weight plate.

Phase 1:

Whether it’s your first time out west or you’re a seasoned pro, phase 1 will challenge your body and increase your stamina. You’ll begin building your foundation with the 16 exercises and 20 minutes of cardio, focusing on either distance, elevation, or high-intensity interval training (HIIT).

Phase 2:

Taking the same 45-minute, 3-day-a-week approach, you’ll now be implementing “rest-pause” sets. A rest-pause set requires you to push to failure for 3 sets with a short rest period in between, usually 30-60 seconds. You’ll decrease in reps per set, but the stamina gains and lean muscle growth will be worth the effort. Remember that each day still starts with 20 minutes of cardio, focusing one day on distance, the next on elevation, and one on a HIIT cardio regimen. Remember to keep pushing and challenge yourself.

Phase 3:

We saved the best for last - Phase 3 is the final and the most challenging stage of the Program. It keeps the same staple exercises but decreases the rest interval. Each exercise will be broken down into 8 sets. Each set is performed for max reps in 20 seconds with 10 seconds of rest in between. As soon as the rest period is over, you’ll go right back into the next set.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to your Program Manager for help, clarification, or guidance.

Click the pop-up boxes below to view each Phase's suggested exercises, or download the entire routine at the green button at the top of the page.