Quote:
Originally Posted by cinnamongrrl
Yes it is  Excellent analogy about the calves too! I do those types of raises, and used to do the ONE machine at the gym that was for calves. Nada. But, like you said, they are strong because they have to be. I'm sure if I get into backpacking I will feel them then.
SPEAKING OF WHICH!
I found workouts geared towards backpackers on youtube...of course. Youtube has everything.. I don't think these are trainers per say. I think they are backpackers that figured out what they needed for conditioning to prep for a thru hike. Sadly, everyone suggests the stairmaster...my nemesis. I just find them HUGELY boring....the stairway to nowhere. At least on the elliptical I can escape my mind and I'm cross country skiing or running somewhere pretty. I can not imagine heaps of stairs going anywhere nice. Except maybe Machu Picchu.
I guess I need to suck it up, throw on a pack and take the stairs....it will never be as much fun as hiking though. Even my imagination can only do so much... |
While this is something I don't get to do anymore (at least until I can get fixed), I was very active in the mountaineers for 15 of my younger years and found a couple of things to be true; basically know what you are going to climb/hike and train for that. Of course some crossover training is always a good idea.
Think about the terrain you will be on and if possible find something similar but less severe. Do as much as you can with a pack on with what you anticipate to be the weight you will be carrying, and work up to it over a few weeks if you have that much time pre-trip. This has the added bonus of making you decide half of that stuff is unnecessary
. Strength training so that you can manage the pack would be the standard suite of core and leg work with good stretching important. Remember carrying the pack is the easy part, taking it off and putting it on is when you are most likely to strain something.
The other thing is elevation, I don't know if your plans include it, but if you are going to be doing that it is really important to work your cardio system. If a 1000 foot elevation gain over one mile or less doesn't pull your legs out from under you, doing it at altitude will. When I lived at sea level and was all kinds of fit and active just making it to the trailhead at around seven thousand feet would suck all of the wind out of me (and my ego). That of course was at the bottom
Stair, or equivalent, would be spot on training if you will be above the timberline because when most of those trails were built, unless you are boondocking it, there will be stairs cut into the stone and you will literally be climbing stairs at altitude. If you don't want to do that at the gym, find a tall building and run the stairs there, usually some sort of view and sense of accomplishment at the top.
Using a HR monitor for exertion training is great. I found an
article at fitclimb.com about this that includes some specific training schedules for cardio for hiking and a list of good relevant strength exercises. Have a peek.
Have fun with it and let us know, if you are comfortable doing so, what hike you are going to do when you decide. It would be fun to follow along when you get to do it.
