TRAINING FOR HIKING TIPS

Injury prevention and risk minimisation should be the number one priority for any mountaineers training plan.

Why?

Well, you can't train when injured. And you certainly can't hit the mountain when you are carrying an injury either.

If there’s a bigger jump to take than day hikes to overnight hikes, it would have to be jumping from overnight hikes to multi-day pack carry hikes.
 
In my opinion, the mindset shift is without a doubt the biggest hurdle to overcome.
 
Day hiking involves, as the name suggests, hiking a trail for a day with a small day pack carrying only what you absolutely need.
 
Overnight hikes, for most, start off with driving to a campsite, finding a basecamp & pitching your tent, and then heading off somewhere for a day hike and returning to your campsite at days end.
 
You’re going to eat mostly different food to what you might eat during a day hike, but you do have the safety net of having your car nearby.
 
Furthermore, the biggest difference is that you’ll be sleeping in a tent.
 
But, multi-day hikes are a different kettle of fish.
 
With that in mind, this blog will go through how I believe you should plan for your first multi-day hike.

Today, I want to share a few unique things about me, which you might not be aware of...

Training for mountaineering is a complicated subject. And understanding the deeper reasoning behind training choices, long term structure, progression, and periodisation is important for any mountaineer with serious aspirations.


However, saying this, sometimes it helps to get some clear direction on what you should be doing. So you can dive in headfirst, and learn the reasoning behind it all later.


So with this being said, today I want to share with you one of my favourite strength workouts for mountaineers.

Interval training can be an incredibly powerful method of preparation for a mountaineer.
 
Whether it is long, short or sprint intervals, there are dozens of legitimate methods of interval training a mountaineer can incorporate to increase their performance on the mountain substantially.
 
But no matter what type of interval training you are using, there are a few fundamental rules a mountaineer should follow, to get the best benefits.
 
And today, I want to share them with you:

In this episode, I discuss some of the major differences in the training approaches for mountaineers between Uphill Athlete and Summit Strength.

I have an embarrassing admission to make to you all... when I am out hiking, I get huffed and puffed on hills.
I know, what a terrible thing to admit. But it is the truth.

Now, this isn't always the case. But right now it is something which I am struggling with. And it definitely is impacting my enjoyment on the trail.

Let me tell you a story:

Do you want to know a secret?

For YEARS I thought my body was broken. That there was something wrong with it. And that I was just not cut out to be anymore more than a 'mediocre' exerciser.

Let me tell you why: