Treadmill - Appalachian Trail

imported
#1

when you are training at what incline degree and speed do you set the treadmill to walk?

brownbear

#2

In my opinion, since a treadmill does not reflect at all what it is like to hike, you should use it mainly to increase your VO max (the amount of air you can process through your lungs). In that case you would use a slight incline at as fast running pace you can sustain for as long a period of time that you are going to train. For example I can presently do 8 minute miles for a half an hour then TRY to stay below 8.5 minute miles for another half an hour. The only danger here is when you get on the trail your developed lungs could allow you to out hike your legs. For your legs I would suggest half squats (no more than half) with your pack on to exhastion.

Blue Jay

#3

by your starting condition. If you haven’t excercised much you might need to ease into it.

Before I started my thru-hike I did 45 minutes on the treadmill 5 days a week as follows. Warm up for 3 minutes 4 degrees incline at 4.2 mph Then 10 minutes 13 degrees at 4.7 mph Then 4 degreees at 4.3 mph for 3 minutes again followed by 7 minutes 13 degrees at 4.7. Continued 3 down and 7 up until 45 to 50 minutes. Always worked up a good sweat. 3 days a week for 2 months I would also work out on gym equipment another hour and a half.

Since returning from my hike I have been doing only the treadmill 90 minutes everyday at a little steeper and faster pace for a total of 7 miles and 1500 calories burnt.

I have to say I am 57 and had no leg, ankle, knee or feet problems during my hike. I did end up with numbness in my toes which is not uncommon.

I think I actually get sort of a “buzz on” while hiking and even working out on the treadmill. I don’t think you can go wrong no matter how much you do…just ease into it and don’t do too much too soon,

Skeemer

#4

If they have one at the Gym, have a go. My Dad swears by it as a good means of toning the correct muscles for hiking, and is a good cardio vascular exercise. He also alternates his step i.e zig-zaging, to simulate varied terrain (scree slopes, tree roots, rocks etc). Personaly, I can’t stand the thing, walking forever upwards and not going anywhere feels pointless. If you have a hill near your home, even just a small one, hike up and down that for a few hours with your pack, should do you the world of good in the long run.

Ross :cheers

Ross

#5

with your pack on, alternate one step at a time first time up, than go two steps at a time next time up. Than mix it up. Yeah Buddy.

great spirit

#6

In the first 150 miles of the AT in '02 the problem I saw was knees going out because of the DOWNHILLS. Your quads and lungs will get into shape OK on the trail. But your knees take a beating on the downhills because of compression. If you have access to a gym use the leg extention machine. I think the best though is the bleachers at the local high school. We climbed them with packs on and then went down. UP and Down, UP and Down. We never had the first sore leg or knee on our thru hike. Flame had a hip pointer in the hundred mile wilderness doing a 23 mile day before 3pm and crossing Icecap Mt. I’m a large man and 57 and I had no problem with legs after taining on the bleachers for two months. Good luck on your hike.

Papa Smurf

#7

Blue Jay hit the mark on the half squats. Talk about something that will really get your heart pumping, half squats will w/o a pack on. The way to do them is to set a chair behind you, and squat until your butt just touches the chair and then come back up. Do them in sets of 20 to 50 or so, depending on shape you are in. If you do 300 or 400 of these a day, you will really build up the heart and lungs and endurance and also your leg muscles. Doing half squats with your pack on to exhaustion will kill you if you don’t watch out. Ease into it for a week or two before you try to do that.

Speaking of endurance, to build the lungs, air intake and outlet functions to maximum efficiency, you need what is called aerobic exercise, that is to raise the heart rate up a few knotches and keep it there for 15 minutes or more. That is where the treadmill, stationary bikes and all that comes in. You’ve got to do them for at least 15 minutes or more to get benefit out of them.

Papa Smurf is exactly right on the downhill. They will kill your knees. Use hiking poles by all means and go slow on down hills. All that body weight and pack weight coming down on those knees can do permanent damage to them. Going uphill the weight falls a very short distance on to the knees, in fact it is raised up onto the knee joint, not smacked down against it like it is when going down hill. Hiking two fast with a pack on going downhill can do you knees permanent damage, so slow does it, ease that weight down on those knees and use those hiking poles. And listen to Papa Smurf, he is a seasoned hiker with lots of experience and knowledge and always gives good hiking advice.

Also agree with Ross. Get outside and walk or jog if you can. The fresh air and exercise will do you good.

The “buzz” Skeemer refers to is also called joggers or runners high, and is the result of the body producing natural substances similar to morphine due to intense exercise, and they make you feel real good. I’ve gotten high many times from jogging. Talking about feeling good, oh yeah.

Good luck. See you out there. :cheers

Maintain

#8

when i did the treadmill in preparation; i did it like this.

i’d set the incline for about a 6-8 %. i’d set the pace at 4 miles per hour. i’d load my pack at 60 lbs. and i’d walk. for 3-4 hours. thats all i would do that day. next day at gym; pack on; 1 hour at 4 miles per hour just to stretch the legs; then hit the machines. got my lungs in good condition; my legs never left me. and you got used to walking. even had my water in my platy. drank while i was walking. i got permission to wear my boots on the treadmill cause i was in training. it was a great way to break in pack; back; boots; feet; and body. plus the chicks were curious and loved to come talk with me while i walked.

Big Boy

#9

from CNN

Study links marijuana buzz to ‘runner’s high’

Sunday, January 11, 2004 Posted: 4:19 AM EST (0919 GMT)

ATLANTA, Georgia (Reuters) – The same family of chemicals that produces a buzz in marijuana smokers may be responsible for “runner’s high,” the euphoric feeling that some people get when they exercise, U.S. researchers say.

High levels of anandamide were found in young men who ran or cycled at a moderate rate for about an hour, according to a study made public this week by the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of California, Irvine.

Anandamide is a cannabinoid, or lipid molecule, that is naturally produced in the body. It is known to produce sensations that are similar to those of THC, the psychoactive property in marijuana.

The study’s findings, which were recently published in the journal NeuroReport, fly in the face of those who believe that the release of brain chemicals called endorphins cause the peculiar high that some runners and cyclists claim to feel.

full story:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/01/11/marijuana.exercise.reut/index.html

FYI

#10

set at 15% is aprox.equal to 750 feet elevation gain in per mile.Fast speeds are not nesc.to build endurance.Keep in the range of average hiking speed,add pack and weight as tol improves.The best exercise to train for downhills(besides training on hills)is lunges.As tol increases add dumbells.It is the eccentric control of the quads that gives you the trouble.If you want to work on this with a leg extention machine,put your emphasis on the lowering of the weight.For example if you raise it to a count of one,lower to a count of four.Trust me,Oo

Onlyone

#11

Just figue out your heart rate and maintain it for 30 minutes, three times a week on any arobic level you chose. This will help your wind in the start,and you will need pleny of that. Also do some stretching every day. When you get out there bring some Advil.

Virginian

#12

i hiked 3 miles a day at the local park trail which had mild elevation changes. While hiking, it was boring, but I did get to see some wildlife that to me was out of the norm. But the interesting thing is, when I was hiking GA, i hiked thru many many similar situations and my body fell right into the 3 mile an hr pace without any hesitation. The heart rate thingy can be disheartening when you hit a steep incline for the first few days. Your heart will race like you are 2 beats shy of a heart attack. hehehe, that goes away after 3 days. During this time, take baby steps, go slow, but don’t stop. I think that is the key, not stopping. Slow down so you can regulate your lung heart rate. By the time I made tray mt, i had no need to slow or rest.

burn

#13

Folks over in the ultrarunning community make a couple points that I think are relevant to hike training:

  1. Be sure to train for the DOWNHILLS (as PapaSmurf says). If you get winded on the uphill, you can take a breather. If you screw up your knees or ankles on the downhill, you may be going home. (Ultrarunners typically walk uphill and run downhill, which I find amazing.)

  2. Training your MUSCLES is only a part of the game; you also have to train your metabolism to handle all-day exercise. For this, high intensity, short-duration exercise is USELESS. So, as Onlyone suggests, you’ll need to mix in occasional LONG, LOW-INTENSITY workouts. The ultrarunners seem to like around 4-5 hours. Take a hike, X-country ski, …

Eric