Managing Energy And Training [For Hikers]

Many hikers out there go through periods of changing energy. Some days and weeks we are feeling normal. Some days and weeks we are feeling really flat.

This can be difficult enough to manage when we are just living day-to-day life and balancing out things like work, family and social life.

But if you are trying to fit in a full training program, this can get really tricky.

One tendency for many hikers in this situation is to fall into an 'all or nothing' approach.
 
Where they will either just grit their teeth and try to push through with their training (no matter how run down or flat they feel)...

Or they just entirely fall off the wagon with their training and do nothing during their low-energy periods.

Neither of these options is great.

I strongly encourage any hiker in this situation to take a bit more of a flexible approach.

To adapt and adjust their training around how they are feeling. 

So they can make the most out of the good periods. And be kind to their body and mind during the lower periods. But amongst it all, still maintain a consistent routine of training.

If you can do this, it can be incredibly powerful. 

To help with this, I want to share a simple training strategy I use with many of my hikers to help them find this balance.

This is how you do it:

This is a strategy I use with many of my hikers. And while it is simple, it can be so useful.

In fact, here is a message I received from one of my hikers yesterday who just started applying this:

"I woke this morning and deliberately waited to do my weight training, just mindful of my energy.

Using the 1,2,3 method allowed me to acknowledge I was at a 2 when I went to do my training .

It also gave me permission to go through my session at the same level as I had last week.

This had a real impact on my mindset as I worked through the session.

Just finished and feeling satisfied that I completed it, rather than critical that I could have achieved more."

If you are going through a training journey, and you are aware that your energy is up and down, I strongly recommend you give this a go!

It can make a major difference.

Yours in trekking.

Rowan