Excercise - Appalachian Trail

imported
#1

If you have a daily excercise regimin let me know. I’m fixin’ to start excercising myself.

smuck

#2

I was thinking of running from earthquakes as a prep hike. Sake, rattle and roll.

Bushwhack

#3

I think thru hiking with a backpack or just hiking with a loaded down backpack is one of the most streneous things a person can do. It is no wonder that only 10% make the entire AT thru hike. And of those 10% that do, some of them have done themselves damage (in some cases permanent) from their never say die/never give up attitudes (Type A personalities—they will not quit—they may die trying–but they will not quit).

The best exercise for hiking and backpacking is of course hiking and backpacking itself. Take as many short hikes as you can and do as many section hikes as you can. REI’s website has a little info on conditioning (see hike/camp and then learn).

Running/Jogging is also great. Or just plain walking is also great (I do at least 3 to 6 miles at least 5 or 6 days a week----and also do some AT section hiking/backpacking).

Upper body workouts are also good, part of the weight is carried by the upper body, a lot on the hips due to the waist belt of packs, but some is still carried by the upper body----so some light upper body weight lifing is good to do. I also do upper body workout, chess presses, dumbell chess presses, and also balancing exercises are good (balancing is something that one can keep keen on by doing balancing exercises). I also do half squats without weights for to condition the legs and also do toe touches for the back, etc and twists for the waist/back.

Toughen up those feet, walking barefoot as much as possible to toughen up your feet is good-----the tougher your feet are the better they will hold up, and the less prone to blisters, etc they will be.

The AT will kick your a** and thru hiking the AT will really kick your a** so the better physical shape you can get yourself into, the better off you will be.

I think most that have completely thru hiked the AT were in pretty good shape prior to starting and had prepared themselves well physically or else they would have never made it. Also when you start, slow, slow, slow----until your body adjusts to the trail which will take 2 to 3 weeks at least. Unless of course you are in super tip top shape, in which case you can start doing 20 and 30 miles days from day one.

Hope this helps. Keep on hiking. :slight_smile:

Maintain

#4

I found that no exercise can prepare you fully for backpacking except backpacking. If you have weak knees or are prone to knee problems you may want to do light wieght work with lots of reps to strenghten the muscles around the knees. Any aerobic exercise is good to help on the uphills. Mostly get out of the car and walk as far and often as possible. The first three weeks will be rough no matter what you do but one day you will sit down at the end of a long day and think hey that wasn’t too bad.

Big B

#5

Hiking is the best exercise to train for backpacking. The longer you walk the better. If you go to the gym using a stair master can be helpful. For weight training using leg extension and leg curls with light weight and high reps. I use about 30 to 40 pounds and do 3 set of 50. I also found squats using around 50 to 80 pounds with sets of 50 to be very helpful on the up high climbs. Nothing will totally prepare you but it does make the start a little easier. If you have a lot of extra body mass it doesn’t hurt to lose some weight before hitting the trail, less weight to carry up hills. Don’t diet but do work out. I agree that any cardio vascular exercise will be helpful.

Darth Pacman

#6

The wife takes her pack to the gym and runs the stair climber on the Everest setting for an hour. Wierd looks but when the see the 2K patch they give her the not worthy. Bramble rocks. :tongue

BW

#7

I walked up and down the bleachers at the high school with my pack on. The down hills are what blows out the knees so I made sure I developed the down hill knee compression. I personally do not use a waistbelt on my pack so I do a lot of power-cleans to strengthen my traps. But as the others have said, walk, walk and do some more walking.

Papa Smurf

#8

In addition to the above great ideas:

The latest issue of Backpacker magazine has a good article on exercises for the legs.

Also, consider yoga for balance, strength, and stretching. It’s especially good for hamstring stretches and other leg stretches and overall flexibility. Good luck! Annie K

Anie k

#9

Before a big hike I wipe down my feet every night with rubbing alcohol. It dries 'em out and makes em tough. My Skin on the ball of my feet might as well be a rhinocerous hooves.

Bucky

#10

While backpacking is the best, second best is almost anything that gets your heart rate up and works your lower body. Running is the obvious choice. Biking is good also. Stair climbers, Even walking is better than nothing else.

Peaks

#11

Regarding a preparatory exercise program, I found it interesting when I read an article that Toby Maguire, the star of the movie Spiderman, is preparing for the next sequel by doing only yoga and weight training for his strenuous role. Also, Stan Urban, a competitive cyclist, turned to yoga after he began experiencing lower back pain which was caused by shortened hamstrings along with tight hip flexors and rotators. As mentioned in Anie’s post above, yoga is also great for strength, flexibility and balance (and helps prevent injuries when the body in under physical stress). Muscle imbalances and tight muscles along the hips often cause numerous problems, and can cause low back, shoulder, and knee pain.
For more about yoga for sports training, log on to www.yogajournal.com, click “Practice” on the top navigation bar, and then click “Crosstraining”.

Peep

#12

Ditch the Car, get a bike (for cardio). Use clipless petals, they offer better energy transfer, work muscles both ways, and help tremendously in strengthening knees. Go to the gym and use the stair stepper (climbing muscles). I did the bike thing for the Spring of 2001, and when I went to hike the LT, I had no trouble dishing out the miles.

-Howie

Hungry Howie

#13

Nothing like hiking itself! But if you don’t have hills locally, try putting on heavy boots, a loaded pack and find a local building with stairs . . . more than a little boring, but effective. I actually believe going DOWN the stairs is as important as going up . . . something you miss using a stair master. The truth is anything is better than nothing!

Le

#14

Aloha! Strength training! Get on those weights and work! Anyone can hike the trail if they have the mental prowess to do so. Those that start it in better shape will have a much easier time and better chance to succeed though. I learned the hard way. Left my thru-hike with a broken femur (stress fracture gone bad) and cracked tibia. Too far, too fast, too furious. Strength training and mental strength will get you there. Aloha! 8)

AlohaAnn