Anyone Carry a Weighted Backpack at the GYM??

“I've always thought that the stair stepper at the gym with a backpack filled with my usual weight would be a good way to prepare for the season. Only, I'm not sure how stupid I would look doing that. What do you think? Or must I become the guinnie pig for this social experiment. I'll probably do it regardless anyway. I don't have much shame these days. I'll just make the pack look real big so I look cool.”

“I've taken a loaded pack, boots, trekking poles, shorts, hat and sunglasses and hiked up and down the 3 sets of stairs near the cafeteria at work (I do this for a few weeks before the first big backpack of the season). I get funny looks, but also a lot of attention. They can't believe I'm carrying 35 lbs on my back.”

“I have done that before too. I usally put about 50lbs in my pack way more then I would ever carry on the trail. I did get some people looking at me like I was the weirds guy on the face of the earth. But hey I was in shape when season opened so who cares”

“NEVER!! Chicks don't dig it.


Ummmm...I'm married. Ok, dang it!!
I'm gonna do it!!”

“I have thought about it, but always chickened out because it doesn't look cool.”

“I load a pack up with a bunch of hardback books and do the flights of stairs at work instead of taking the elevator. This in unison with some lower body weightlifting usually gets me ready.”

“Well, I have an old pack loaded with 40# books and I wear it on the treadmill at home but I hate using the treadmill - only when the weather won't let me walk outside.”

“I'm with you, imshee. Any chance to do the workout outside I take it.”

“Go ahead and take the pack, thin air. People are laughing at you behind your back anyway.”

“Never at the gym. I hate the gym. I have carried a loaded pack around the neighborhood many times though, but usually in the dark. ;-)”

“Hey MDS...lets take loaded full packs around some of the Monto Sano trails and wheeler trails...rangers will think we are out for a 5 night expedition on the 8-10 mile trails...lol..i'm gonna start walking around my neighborhood with mine”

“thinair, I've done it. Like Bacpac said, I figured people were laughing at me anyway...

Someone told me when I was training for Rainier that StairMaster's aren't as effective as real stairs and I believe that to a degree. It's still going to give you a great aerobic workout, but may not develop the same muscles as steps.

If it's available, you might also try a treadmill, especially one that has an adjustable incline. I set it to 'Interval Train' and it varies the speeds and the incline between 10 and 15%. It's a good workout and you can wear your loaded pack.

As far as the stares? Just imagine they're staring at your pet squirrel.”

“Ok, sounds like I'll goferit. Here in Fresno it can get real hot, and that's why I would hit the gym insted of stairs. I talking about May.”

“It can't look any funnier than a middle aged chubby woman with a leotard up her crack.”

“I don't see the sense in that for me. I'd be training at sealevel for higher altitude hikes. I just do regular weight training then day hikes up them darn hills”

“It's all about aerobic conditioning, though donman. You'll gain the strength you need from weight training, but you can't neglect strengthening the heart and lungs through an aerobic workout. Dayhikes are good, especially if you haul some weight.”

“I don't think you'll ever see me carrying a pack just to get conditioned to it. That's just way too much self-flagellation!

I only carry a pack to get myself into the woods, the pleasure overcoming the pain.


I have considered wearing hiking boots on the stepper/treadmill, but was afraid of being dis'ed by the babes. We should start a support group!”

“I agree with you Kleetn, and I do some aerobic stuff too. I guess the point I was trying to make is that even when I'm aerobic superman down here, I get up to 7,000 or higher and I get winded scratching my a$$. But if I'm strong in my squats and deadlifts I can carry my pack easily even though I'm breathing a little heavier”

“OPIE, I've actually done that and got some strange looks. Monte Sano SP is close to my house so I train there a lot.

The fitness center I use is located at the hospital where I work ... I'm not sure I want any administrators to see me walking around the hospital with a huge backpack on. LOL!!

I might end up on the 2nd floor if you know what I mean. (nuthouse)”

“One of the reasons I like backpacking is that it is one of the few 'sports' I can still do. It is mostly walking. I am not a peak bagger so not much training is required.”

“Donman,

How to Climb Higher

Pressure-breathe and rest-step: "Together, the two techniques are the best way I know to minimize fatigue when you're hiking up a mountain," says Scott Carr-Morrill, who founded an outdoor-education program at Utah's Brighton Ski Area.

Inhale deeply as your foot comes off the ground, he says, then use the force of stepping uphill to facilitate a complete exhalation, squeezing the carbon dioxide out and setting you up for another breath. To rest-step, drop the heel and completely straighten the leg with each step, which puts the weight on your skeleton and allows your muscles to rest momentarily.

How to Fight Altitude Sickness

Along with ascending slowly and taking time to acclimatize, try the herb ginkgo biloba, used by the Chinese for more than 5,000 years. "Take 100 milligrams twice a day, starting a few days before your climb," says Dr. Peter Hackett, the president of the International Society of Mountain Medicine.

"We don’t know why ginkgo helps, but in tests it reduces both the incidence and severity of AMS [acute mountain sickness]." The herb also increases peripheral blood flow, so your hands and feet may stay warmer.”

“To keep myself fit and ready for the 9000 foot average of the trails I backpack on, I dayhike with about 30 pounds of gear almost all winter long in the foothills south of town. The average elevation is only 5200'.”

“I'm gonna check those out! Although the "How to Climb Higher" part has me imagining the "Silly Walk" skit from Monty Python”

“I've been known to wear a backpack with a 10kg bag of dogfood in it, while mowing the lawn. It confuses the neighbors (and the dog).”

“I like to carry my pack and wear my boots at least 3 times before a good backpacking trip. The conditioning really helped and proved it's self last summer. One of my partners hadden't done any training before our hike and was suffering badly with sore sholders and terrable blisters.

I carried 50 lbs around the neighborhood 3 times in the two weeks prior to the hike along with my usual running and weight lifting. It worked well, I was just thinking of trying the gym for a change.”

“I work out at the same place as my teenage son (the local YMCA), and he tells me it's not cool to wear a backpack and/or hiking boots on the treadmill there. I've worn the hiking boots to break them in, but I haven't taken the backpack yet.”