Hiking is a wonderful activity. It combines bracing, steady exercise with nature, and scenic views that you can’t get in a gym or around a city block. If you’ve learned how to walk, then you’re halfway to learning how to hike.
But there’s more to it than just putting one foot in front of the other. There’s always something worth learning about when it comes to hiking, for the sake of safety and enjoyment.
The First Steps – Getting Started
As mentioned, the first step to hiking is knowing how to walk. If you can walk uninterrupted for an hour, you’re fine to hike on simple ground-level trails and routes that don’t have much in the way of difficulty or elevation. You can further test your endurance by adding stairs into the mix to see how exhausting it is to climb an incline and work on getting your breathing and stride down.
Another thing you need to consider is supplies. Even a simple hike in a well-patrolled area will take a while and you should always be mindful of what supplies to bring. You’ll be carrying a backpack or, for shorter hikes, a sling or side satchel, with water and snacks along with any other emergency provisions just in case. Add that weight to a regular walking routine to get used to not just adding up weight to your body but to moving with a new center of gravity.
If you want to start hiking on complicated trails, or in the wilderness by yourself, that’s where the real training comes in. It’s a far cry from walking along a dirt path in a park to climbing and descending uneven terrain through trees, over rocks or across river-eroded landscapes. You need to make sure your body is prepared.
Training for Nature Hiking
The most important aspect of rough-terrain hiking is your physical ability. You can take breaks as needed, but you need the strength and agility to move your body exactly the way you want it. The most important muscle group is your legs, followed by your core and then your upper body.
For a leg workout, start with step-ups. Find something with high elevation – a stair or a box – walk up onto it, and then walk down the other side or turn and walk off in another direction. The steeper, the better. There aren’t stairs out in nature. The closest you’ll find are rocks embedded into grassy mounds. The higher you can step, the more efficiently you will scale those obstacles. Start short, like a step ladder, and work your way up to a bench, or the limit that your leg can stretch.
Weighted squats help add power to your legs which makes long-distance walking and uneven-terrain walking easier. You won’t be carrying a whole home gym with you out on the hike. Pack your backpack like normal and aim for high reps at slow intervals. Training endurance is key.
Your core is what helps you balance and distribute the weight of what you’re carrying, and it helps you stay balanced while the ground is uneven. Simple crunches and sit-ups are a great way to add power to this area.
For the upper body, there may be times when you need to grab onto something as a safety handle while moving. A low-hanging branch or a rock or just to keep your backpack mounted on your shoulders. Push-ups give you good back support and help train your arms. Lightweight curls can also improve arm and hand strength.
Regular stretches and extension workouts can help you establish a wider range of motion. You don’t want to lock up when you’re just one step shy of safety or about to fall over. Stretch before workouts to loosen up the joints in limbs, or on free days to keep your body parts mobile in your free time.
The barrier to entry for hiking is not high. Anyone can do it at a simple level. The demand on the body will match the trail and type of hiking you do. So if you want to upgrade from park lanes to wild forests, simple training can suffice. But if you want to truly test yourself against the roughness of nature, you’ll need to dig a little deeper into advanced training.
Training for Long Distance Hiking
Some trails or routes can take a while to go through. A few hours to get around the whole reserve and see the many scenic views. These are day trips, things you can start in the morning and end in the afternoon. Long-distance hiking starts in the morning and ends on a different morning, possibly later that week.
Make sure your cardio is up to snuff. The more time you spend on breaks, the longer the hike will take. Just because you’ve committed to something that may take days to finish doesn’t mean you should add unnecessary time to do it. You can combine cardio with certain strength training to double up on progress. Either way, the best kind of cardio is also some of the best hiking training: running.
Your legs will carry you for many miles over the days, so they need to be totally failproof. Understand what strength you have now and build it up slowly, day by day. Go from standard squats to jumping squats, which exert much more force on the upper quads and calves, and are bracing for the cardio system as well.
Hiking is not a race. Speed is not the way to do it. Find a pace where you are comfortable walking for an hour or more and learn how to keep it. Walking for miles between short breaks to eat or hydrate is the essence of hiking. It’s the foundation of the hobby.
Lunges help train your legs from top to bottom, including the feet. You can’t train a tendon, those either work or don’t, but you can strengthen the muscles around it to prevent sprains, strains, or the most feared snaps. Walking has its own risks of repetitive strain injury, so working the whole leg to adjust to any elevation or stepping distance can improve long walking cycles.
Stepping Up – Advanced Training Advice
Your first hikes should be memorable and enjoyable, things you can see with a bit of time and effort that most people won’t. A deep exploration into nature with just you and your lightweight survival kit. Maybe a tent and a stove overnight or an icebox for a lakeside trip. But there are always better views. Some are harder to get to than others. More dangerous.
The rough trails, mountain regions,s or truly uncharted territory, require a degree of training above what you might do in your own home with spare time. If you want to take hiking seriously and see things no one else has seen, break records, or just defy nature, you need to up your training regimen.
Hiking AS Training
If you plan on making an advanced hike, you must already be experienced with hiking in general. Perhaps you’ve toured some smaller trails or parks or reserves. You know how to walk the walk. Then you saw a mountain and heard there was a way up to the top that’s not on any maps or brochures, and you want to get there.
Advanced hiking means advanced preparation. The dangers inherent in hiking off beaten paths increase with the difficulty of the terrain. A sprain could become a snap, and a bruise from a fall could become far more deadly. This means packing more provisions, which adds weight to the backpack.
Get used to wearing heavier backpacks. Use it as a training weight and go on regular walks or hikes with it on. Start with what you’re used to and add a few pounds each time. This will change your weight distribution, how you walk, and how much energy you need to keep going the same distance.
Training for Hard Travels
Another thing that can help overcome sore or weak joints is swimming. It’s not in the same lane as hiking, but low-impact resistance exercises help train and strengthen joints in a way that weight lifting can’t quite do. An alternative to swimming is walking on fine sand. It provides a different effect to walking on solid ground, and doing it long enough will help build up resistance to the rolling unevenness of harsher terrain.
Muscle training is essential. Advanced hiking trails may call for the use of hiking poles for extra balance or climbing gear to advance past sheer walls. Pull-ups help strengthen grip and upper back muscles. Finding a rock climbing wall can give you essential practice for the real thing.
A good training regiment to move from basic to advanced hiking can take around nine weeks or a whole season. You can start in the spring and be ready for the summer by building up cardio, muscle endurance, and weight-carrying capacity while doing regular hikes at the beginning of the outdoor season.
Mountain Hiking Training
The hardest form of hiking is when the flat ground goes vertical. When there is no such thing as a shortfall. When you want to get the best view from up above that’s reachable on just your feet. Mountaineering poses serious risks to the under-prepared. This is the hardest kind of hike to take and requires the most work to get started.
Your body has to be in peak condition. For a beginner aiming to conquer some summits, six months or more may be required for dedicated training. The only thing you can trust is your body. It must become the ultimate climbing tool. Any other hike will become a breeze afterward.
Your core needs more advanced workouts, not just for the abs but the obliques as well, everything from the ribs to the hips should be flexed and stressed regularly. Legs need to be strong. Machine or free-weight squats can pump your quads up to handle all the weight you can shoulder.
A big danger for any hike is sickness. Getting sick on the trail is a good way to end a hike prematurely. When you’re stuck miles from civilization in the mountains, it’s a bit different. Aside from a regular first aid and health kit, you need to be preventative so no sickness can hurt you. Including altitude sickness. If you’re reaching for the miles-high peaks you’re going to get it, and you need to learn how to deal with it. Medicine can help, but only so much.
Your backpack is going to be the heaviest it’s ever been. Or, it will be reduced to a belt around your waist. It depends on what style of mountain hiking you prefer, but what you lack in safety can be made up for in mobility. Do the research and assess trails well ahead of time so you always come prepared. But if you’re the cautious type, be ready to carry 50 pounds or more in bulky cold-weather gear to face the frigid heights.
More than a Walk in the Woods
Hiking requires a disciplined body and mind. Your body should be able to handle anything you encounter on the trail, and your mind has to know what the right course of action is in an instant when circumstances arise to change your course. If you’re just hiking for fun, on day trails to see some casual sights, you can overcome many hurdles by staying near trails, finding paths already taken, and having good equipment on hand.
But hiking is about more than picking a direction and wandering until you get lost. It’s about challenging nature and winning. Nature is a strong contender that’s toppled some of history’s strongest who just wanted a glimpse at the hidden beauty over hills and through woods. If you want to hike with the best, your body needs to be ready. Turn hiking into a lifestyle and train for good hikes and good health.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How often should I train for hiking?
A: Training frequency for hiking depends on your current fitness level and the difficulty of the hikes you plan to tackle. Ideally, you should aim to train at least three to four times a week. This frequency allows your body to adapt and build endurance over time. However, if you’re new to hiking or have a busy schedule, even training twice a week can be beneficial. The key is to be consistent and gradually increase the intensity and duration of your training sessions.
Q: What exercises are best for preparing for a hiking trip?
A: When training for hiking, it’s important to focus on exercises that build strength, endurance, and balance. Incorporating a combination of cardio exercises, such as hiking on inclined treadmills, cycling, or jogging, will help improve your cardiovascular fitness. Additionally, strength training exercises like squats, lunges, step-ups, and core exercises will enhance your muscle strength and stability. Don’t forget to include exercises that specifically target your lower body, as strong legs and glutes are crucial for hiking uphill and navigating uneven terrain.
Q: How can I prevent injuries while training for hiking?
A: To reduce the risk of injuries during your training for hiking, it’s essential to prioritize proper form, listen to your body, and gradually progress your workouts. Always warm up before exercising to increase blood flow and prepare your muscles for activity. Pay attention to any signs of pain or discomfort and take rest days when needed. Incorporating stretching and flexibility exercises into your routine can also improve your joint mobility and reduce the likelihood of strains or sprains. Remember to wear appropriate footwear and gradually increase the intensity and duration of your hikes to allow your body to adapt.
Q: Are there any tips for staying motivated during hiking training?
A: Staying motivated during your hiking training can sometimes be challenging, but there are a few strategies you can try. First, set specific goals for yourself, whether it’s completing a certain distance or conquering a particular trail. Breaking your training into smaller milestones can help you track your progress and provide a sense of achievement along the way. Additionally, finding a training partner or joining a hiking group can make the process more enjoyable and provide accountability. Exploring new trails, varying your training routine, and rewarding yourself after reaching milestones can also help maintain motivation and keep the excitement alive.
