How To Plan Your Training Hikes

When leading into a big hiking adventure, hiking will always be the foundation of any training plan. But most hikers out there don't put a lot of thought into planning these out. This is a mistake.

​Spending even a tiny amount of time and attention doing some longer-term planning can pay some incredible dividends in the effectiveness and safety of your training hikes.

In this video and article, I talk through a simple system of how to approach this:

Planning Your Hiking Training 

Inside, I cover: 

• Why it can be so valuable for a hiker to create a training hike plan
• A simple 3-step system to plan out your hikes leading into a big adventure
• A few frequently asked questions about training hikes ​

​======

Chapters:

0:21 
Planning Your Training Hikes
0:31 
Importance of Training Hikes
4:06 
Common Mistakes in Planning
6:43 
The Process of Structuring Hikes
13:27 
Working Backwards from the Last Hike
16:32 
Practical Example of a Training Plan
18:30 
Frequently Asked Questions
24:59 
Wrapping Up and Additional Support

Step By Step Instructions For Hikers

And while some people may not be able to fit in a huge amount of training hikes (because of practicality or logistics), the vast majority of hikers need to be doing these regularly.

Getting out on the trail. Moving your body for long periods. Building aerobic fitness through long, lower-intensity work. Exposing yourself to uneven and unpredictable surfaces. Hitting ascents. Hitting descents. Figuring out which sections of the trail stress your body. Feeling what your pack actually feels like after an hour or two or three or four.

All of this is so valuable for your training and preparations.

On top of these hikes are the perfect place to practice things like:

1. Hydation
2. Nutrition and snacking
3. Mental strategies
   
   

Getting the opportunity to trial and error all these things, and find out what works best for you, is so beneficial.

Most hikers know they need to be hiking in their preparations for a big adventure. But very few hikers actually plan this out.

Most hikers tend to go out and do a random selection of hikes over the months and hope it all works out.

And this is a mistake.

Because a little bit of planning can have some incredible benefits. It can:

1. Help manage your schedule (and work around social, family and work commitments).
2. Reduce stress
3. Avoid doing too much too soon (which is one of the biggest causes of pain and injury for hikers)

And most importantly, it helps ensure you are building up properly so you are genuinely ready on the day of your big adventure (and not underprepared when the day comes).

So today, we are talking through a simple system to plan your training hikes.

This is not the only way to go about this. But it is an approach that is simple, while still being effective. It is structures, without being suffocating (and sucking all the fun out of your hiking). And it is an approach that finds a nice balance between progression and flexibility.

This is the same process I use with all my online personal training for hiking clients. ​

This is what I recommend:

Step One: Figure Out Your Numbers

Before you plan anything, you need to get very clear on four things. Grab a pen. Grab a piece of paper. And answer these questions: ​

1. What is the longest day of your adventure expected to be in hours? (not distance as in kilometres or miles, but number of hours)
2. What is the heaviest pack weight you expect on that trip?
3. How many weeks do you have until the hike?
4. How often do you realistically think you can hike between now and then? (Is this weekly? Every 2-3 weeks? Be realistic about what will fit into your life here.

For example:

• Your longest day is nine hours.
• Your heaviest pack will be 8kg
• You have sixteen weeks until the trip
• You can probably hike once every two weeks.

Step Two: Pencil In Your Final Training Hike.

I find the best place to start is the end, not the beginning.

Two to three weeks before your actual adventure, you schedule your longest training hike. Mark it on the calendar and block the time off in advance.

The goal for this final training hike is to be the equivalent of your longest day in hours and your heaviest pack weight.

So (using the example from above) if your longest day on the trip is one hour, and your heaviest pack weight will be 8kg, then this final training hike will be a nine-hour hike with an 8kg pack.

The idea here is that if you can tick this off before you go, it can be a great boost in confidence. It is a sign to show that you are physically ready. And it can help mentally to prove that you re prepared and ready to go.

Note:  I prefer hours over distance and elevation because hours are the most flexible metric for most hikers.

Hours naturally adjust for elevation gain or flat terrain. Hours let you choose harder or easier terrain based on your energy levels (e.g. if you are having a tough week, you can do a flatter hike, or if you are really feeling energetic, you can do lots of elevation).

And using hours as a target (as opposed to having specific metrics planned for distance and elevation every hike) gives much more flexibility.

If you prefer to plan and schedule distance and elevation, you can absolutely do that. The system works either way.

Step Three: Work Backwards In Your Calendar

Now, grab your calendar and pencil in every single date between now and the trip when you think you can realistically hike.

Once that is pencilled in, check these dates for any conflicting holidays, social events, or even expected changes in the weather.

Over time, your scheduling will change as things come up (and you can never predict the weather so far in advance), but having a rough plan is important here.

Then start from your final training hike and work backwards through those dates and fill in your targets of hours and pack weight.

The goal is that every hike increases either the hours or the pack weight (not both at the same time).

On top of that, we want to try and plan out the slowest possible progression between now and your hike (which will still get you to the final target). The reason for this is the more time you can give your body to adapt between hikes, and the slower the build you can take, the less chance you will have of aches, pains and burnout.

The intention for your hikes is not to be 'hardcore training'. You do not want to be pushing yourself to exhaustion or right at your limits.

In the perfect world, your training hikes should be challenging (i.e not a walk in the park) but enjoyable. Because even in the more 'serious' training program, hiking should still be the fun part!

Example:

A few years ago, I used this exact process to prepare for the Kokoda Trail.

This was the situation:

• I had 16 weeks until the hike
• My longest day was 9 hours of hiking
• My heaviest pack weight was going to be 8kg (I was hiring a porter)
• I knew I could hike once every 2 weeks

I scheduled my final hike - the target was an 8-9 hour hike with an 8kg pack, 2 weeks before my trip.  

Then I worked backwards.

This was the plan:

• Week 1: no hiking
• Week 2: 3-4 hour hike (4kg pack)
• Week 3: no hiking
• Week 4: 4-5 hour hike (4kg pack)
• Week 5: no hiking
• Week 6: 4-5 hour hike (6kg pack)
• Week 7: no hiking
• Week 8: 5-6 hour hike (6kg pack)
• Week 9: no hiking
• Week 10: 4-5 hour hike (8kg pack)
• Week 11: no hiking
• Week 12: 5-6 hour hike (8kg pack)
• Week 13: no hiking
• Week 14: 8-9 hour hike (8kg pack)
• Week 15: no hiking
• Week 16: Kokoda

This plan wasn't perfect. There were some jumps in the hikes, which were a little bigger than ideal (e.g. jumping 2kg at a time in pack weight, and jumping from a 5-6 hour hike to an 8-9 hour hike in the final weeks).

But it fit around my life. It started off at a level that felt very comfortable. And it got me exactly where I needed to be.

Your plan will look different based on your timeline, pack weight and schedule.

But the process will be the same. ​

Common Questions And Answers

Q: What if I cannot dedicate much time to hiking?

Just fit in what you can.

If you cannot reach the hours of your longest day, then build up to the longest realistic hike you can manage. And compensate with pack weight if needed (e.g. you can aim to build up to a slightly heavier pack weight than you need, if you cannot hit the full distance).

Q: What if my summit day or longest day is extremely long?

If your summit day (or longest day) is going to be something super long like 12-20 hours, then again, just plan to do what is realistic for you.

Aim for the longest training hike you think is going to work for your schedule. And then compensate with a bit of extra pack weight.

Q: What if I can only hike once in a while?

Then lean heavily on your other training.

Make sure you are nailing your :

• Strength training
• Steady state cardio (e.g. pack walking, cycling, etc)
• Elevation training (e.g. hills/stair/box steps sessions)
  
  

And just hike where you can.

Q: What about overnighters or multi-day hikes? How do they fit into this planning?

Fit them in wherever it makes sense for your schedule (just make sure you have built up to whatever needed pack weight already).

And remember, your longest day on the overnighter should line up with your longest planned training day.

(e.g. if your original plan had a 5-6 hour day hike scheduled in, and you wanted to do an overnighter, just make sure the longest day of your overnighter is still no more than 5-6 hours).

Q: What if I miss a a week? 

It happens. Either readjust the plan or slightly modify the next target so the jump is not too large.

Summing Up

When it comes to training for a big hiking adventure, a little bit of planning goes a long way.

Having a structured plan for your training hikes will:

• Reduce stress
• Build confidence
• Protect the body

And ultimately, ensure you arrive at your adventure prepared and excited instead of anxious and unsure.

On top of your training hikes, we strongly recommend you combine this with:

• Strength training
• Hiking-specific cardio
• Mobility and recovery
  ​
  

Put this all together, and you will be unstoppable on the trail!

Yours in trekking,

Rowan 

Want to get
fit, strong and resilient
for your
​hiking adventures?

Check out
The Online Summit Program