strengthening for a difficult hike

“Does anyone have any tips on strengthening my body for a difficult trip? This is my first backpacking trip. I am not leaving til August.”

“Combine running and stairmaster. Running will help condition your legs, and more importantly, your lungs. Stairmaster will focus more on leg strength and is a good climbing simulation. I've heard quite a few people express concerns about back problems with backpacking. Strong abdominals will help alleviate this. Just do 3-5 sets of crunches and/or sit-ups while watching the ole' boob tube.

Best of luck.”

“See the "beginner on Hi Sierra Trail" thread....

Wear/hike/climb stairs,do as much as you can with your
full pack on.......”

“I also put some advice on the Hi Sierra thread. I'd like to add to the torso-strengthening advice. Lay on your side like you would to do leg lifts and then raise your shoulders off the ground straight up. These are situps for the muscles along the sides of your torso and strengthening them will help you with stability and prevent back soreness or injuries as well.”

“Sit-ups: strengthen the abs which hold together your torso,plus this will lessen the chances of a lower back injury (opposite muscles compinsate for there weaker counterpart)

Push-ups: Builds and strengthens the front and rear shoulder,triceps and latisimus dorsi

Running: cardio plus strengthens the muscles and toughens up your knee and ankle joints

Start off easy and work your way up.”

“Don;t buy any equipments. All floor excercises. Also invest $6.00 in a 6' closet rod dowl. use this on you shoulders, stretch your arms as wide as they go, then do all types of stretchs, isometrics. Do floor dips, sit on the floor, knees bent at a 45 degree angle. straighten arms, lift tushy and then dip with your arms, raising the tushy as far as you can...stretch, stretch stretch. lie on your stomach, feet together, hands clasped behind your head and lift upper torso off the ground. once you get all of the mentioned stuff under your belt, you will begin to invent your own program. As nike says..."just do it". have fun!!!”

“Go hiking”

“I agree with Dude. Why should your first backpacking trip be a "difficult" one?

Go for some shorter, easier hikes between now and then. You'll also learn things you need to know about your equipment--things you'd rather not learn on a longer more difficult trip.”

“i'm going on my extended hiking trip to get in shape. an old friend once said, ----- to get in shape, not get in shape to -----”

“Need to work on the knees (from experience). Men's Health, in the recent edition had some good ideas.”

“Combine running and stairmaster................




Road biking!!”

“Ditto on sir pete. Do you have a bike? It is low impact.”

“In the spring I start to get out on a bike when it is over 45 degrees. I've been out a handfull of times already this year, including 2 trips in Jan and 1 trip in Feb. On a Saturday or a Sunday I will do a 25-30 mile trip. As I get my legs and the days get a little longer I start doing 20-25 milers 3-4 times a week after work and then do at least a 35 miler on the weekend. By the time June comes along I am usually biking somewhere around 100+ miles a week. That is great endurance for me. I mix it up on the loops that I do, some are flatter than others and some are all hill climbing.

One of the coolest things about biking and what really amazed me when I first started was the amount of wildlife that I see while I am out there. I've seen hawks catching rabbits, deer (many almost hitting me), bear, fox and other fine beasts. I've seen all of these hiking but I'll see several of these every time I go out on a bike. I come up on these animals and birds so quickly and quietly that by the time they see me I'm right on them. That is totally cool!”

“I found hiking a few times per week with a loaded pack to be the best way to get in shape for backpacking.”

“i nail an old backpack upsidedown to the wall.i sleep in it downsideup.”

“butterfly...practice doing lunges. get good at them and then use some weights while you do them.
oh, and do some downhill hikes too. great for the quadriceps and works everything just above your knees. thats where i find most of the jarring occurs.”

“Go Hike!!!!!”

“Lots of hiking!!!!!


8)”

“Best training is hiking, or go out walking with your full pack.

Sirpete, I'll start biking this weekend to train for a couple of charity rides, one in mid-May, one in mid-June. It definately builds stamina. I see a lot of wildlife as well; moose, tons of deer, turtles, beaver, snakes, osprey, fox, flocks of turkeys, ducks, and lots of Canadian geese. I bike on a main road through a lakes region, but I wouldn't see them if I was in a car.”