Today I share a simple, but incredibly powerful strategy a hiker can use to help maintain consistency and motivation during a training process:
Recently, I have been on a journey to rebuild my training routine. In previous months, my life got a bit complicated. Amongst other things, my training went completely out the window. Which was a bummer. Because I had had some BIG training goals for 2024, and in the first half of the year, I had been making some big strides. But now, I feel like I am back to square one with my fitness and strength. Over the last couple of weeks, I have been doing my best to get back into training. It has been both a physical and mental battle. But I am getting there. Today, I want to share one of the most valuable tips for any training journey. Whether you are just restarting... Or have you been training consistently for months (or years)... Knee pain is such a common issue in the world of hiking. The tricky thing about knee pain is that many hikers get tunnel vision when trying to improve. They get told they must do 'one thing' to overcome their pain, and they put all their attention, time and focus into this area. But it is rarely that simple. There are so many different things that can contribute to knee pain while hiking. If you want to give yourself the best chance of overcoming it, you want to take a more comprehensive approach. So, to give some insight into this 'comprehensive approach', today I want to share with you 13 different areas that can make a genuine difference to knee pain while hiking: rEDUCING kNEE pAIN wHILE hIKINGThe lunge is one of the favourite exercises for hikers worldwide.
And for good reason! It is simple, effective and works some muscles very relevant to hiking. However, as with any exercise, the body tends to get used to them pretty quickly. And if you are not regularly giving the body new challenges with your exercises, it will not have any reason to adapt and get stronger. Now, there are numerous ways to progress an exercise (such as adding extra weight, doing more sets, etc), but today, I want to share two slightly different options for your lunges. These are simple and effective and can be used by any hiker (whether you are training at home, in a gym, or outdoors). Here they are: 1) Add A Deficit A 'deficit' lunge involves standing on a small plate or box and lunging off it (either forwards or backwards). The idea here is because your start position is slightly higher than the ground, this adds a bit of range of motion to the movement. When you first do this, use a small plate/box (it doesn't need to be much more than an inch or so in height). And take your repetitions slow and controlled. It is a simple change, but adds a big punch of extra challenge! 2) Change Up Your Weight Placement How you hold your weight can significantly impact how you feel when you exercise. Some positions will feel a bit 'easier' (and allow you to use more weight), and some positions will feel a bit 'harder' (which won't let you use as much weight but will still give a good challenge). Both situations can be very effective in keeping the body moving forward. Here are a few different options you can experiment with;
== As you can see, these are pretty simple! But if applied, they can add a good amount of new challenges to the body to ensure it is regularly moving forward. So, if you have been doing the same old lunges for a while now, give one of these options a go! And it will serve you well. Yours in trekking, Rowan One training belief that needs to die is the concept of 'go hard or go home'.
This approach has been instilled in so many people, quite often from an early age. And SO many hikers have the idea ingrained in them that if they don't push a session to an uncomfortable level of difficulty or finish a workout exhausted, they feel like it was a waste of time. But let me tell you, that belief is wrong. "As a 66 year old grandma who doesn't hike, I never thought it was possible"
Today, I want to share with you some kind words from Summit Strength graduate Mary - who recently came back from a successful adventure on the Tour Du Mont Blanc: |
AuthorRowan is an online personal trainer who specialises in training for hiking and mountaineering. He helps get them fit, strong and resilient so they can conquer every adventure. Archives
January 2025
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