Understanding Pacing For Hiking

If you always struggle with breathing on steep uphills, pacing is an incredibly important skill. In this episode we explore what good pacing is for hikers and how to practice and develop this skill.

The Best Hiking Speed When Climbing Steep Uphills

​One of the biggest complaints I hear from hikers who want to improve their hiking is breathing trouble on steep uphills.

You know the feeling: you hit an uphill and suddenly you are out of breath. You cannot carry a conversation. You feel self-conscious. You are red-faced. You struggle to keep up.

It is incredibly common. And it sucks.

Over the years, I have talked about training to improve breathing on steep uphills a lot. And I usually recommend things like:

1. Lots of aerobic capacity work (e.g. low intensity, long duration cardio)
2. Specific interval training to improve aerobic power
3. Small amounts of super high-intensity sprint training
4. Practising specific elevation work (through hills, stair or step sessions)
5. Improving strength reserve (e.g. making your legs stronger)
6. Even training the strength of the breathing muscles themselves (e.g. respiratory muscle training).

Want to learn more about training to improve your breathing when hiking up hills? Check out this article: Breathing Performance For Hikers 

All of these matter. And applying these things consistently can make a major difference to your ascents.

But here is an important point many hikers miss:

No matter how well you train, if you do not master your pacing on uphills, you will keep struggling with your breathing.

You will be more fit. You will be stronger. You will improve. But if the pacing is off, you will still be panting your way up every incline.

So today, we are diving into pacing. What it is. Why it matters. And how to train it.

What I Mean By Pacing

When I say pacing, I simply mean how fast you move on the trail.

If you want to include the whole picture, you could look at rest timing (e.g. how often/long you rest) as well. But for today, we are keeping it simple. We are talking about your actual hiking speed.

Good pacing means hiking at a speed you can sustain with minimal fatigue. The kind of speed where you feel like you can go and go and go.

Poor pacing means hiking at a speed you cannot sustain. You fatigue quickly. You are uncomfortable. You start and stop. You gasp. You are miserable.

The best pacing for you is the sweet spot between the fastest sustainable speed and the most 'energy-efficient' speed.

Racers (e.g runners, cyclists, etc) obsess about this, and do a lot of testing and training to figure this out.

Hikers do not need to get this deep. But mastering some basics can still be incredibly beneficial.

For hikers who struggle with breathing on uphills, one of the biggest issues is a lack of control. They have one pace. Or maybe two. Fast and faster. They have no real ability to regulate effort and speed.

And every time they hit an uphill, it feels the same. Hard. Breathless. Frustrating. No matter what.

If you have never trained in pacing, you simply do not have this specific skill. And when you do get fitter, you simply end up going faster instead of more comfortably. So you still feel out of breath even though technically you improved.​

The good news is you can change this.

The Best Pace To Hike At ​

​In a perfect world, you would be able to climb steep uphills at a pace where you can breathe in and out through your nose the entire time.

That is the gold standard.

Why nose breathing?

Not because it is magical. Not because the internet gurus say it cures every problem known to humankind.

Nose breathing is simply a rate limiter. A pace regulator. 

If you can breathe in and out through your nose while exercising, it is a good sign that you are predominantly using your aerobic energy system. That system is slow but very efficient. It allows you to move for long periods without fatigue. It is what we want to use as much as we can while hiking. 

If you cannot sustain nose breathing, you start using more and more of your anaerobic energy systems. Those produce energy quickly but inefficiently. They burn fuel fast. They create waste products (which cause fatigue and slow you down). These energy systems are great for short, sharp bursts of movement - but they are not what we want to rely on while hiking. 

If you can hike uphill at a nose-breathing pace, you stay in that efficient sweet spot.

You breathe comfortably. You last longer. You feel better. You go further.

But one problem here is that the first time many people try nose breathing, they realise it is hard! It is really difficult to sustain. But this is normal.

Nose breathing is a skill. And like any skill, for it to feel normal and natural, it must be practised.

So to help, here is a simple way you can introduce nosebreathing into your hiking and training: 

Step One: Gentle Walking

Practice nose breathing during normal walking.

Practice it around the neighbourhood, around the shop, when you are going to the bus stop. To the shop.

Keep your mouth closed and practice it.

If it is hard, slow your speed.

Step Two: Pack Walking

Once you have got a handle on that, you can practice nose-breathing during loaded pack walking.

Add a little weight to a backpack. Walk around the block or on the treadmill.

This will feel slightly harder, but just adjust your pace so you can sustain the nosebreathing.

Step Three: Elevation

Now we want to practice this on some elevation.

This could be done on:

• A hill
• Stairs
• An incline treadmill
• Stairmaster
• Doing box step-ups

Really, anything with an uphill.

Start climbing, and try to sustain nose-breathing.

Go as slow as needed to do this. It may be excruciatingly slow at first, but do what you need to do. Whenever your breathing gets out of control, slow down. If that doesn't help, have a short rest and go again.


Step Four: Hiking

Start applying this to your hiking. When you come across a big climb, set yourself the target that you will sustain nose-breathing the entire climb.

Go slow. Be patient. Rest if needed. But stick with it.

Week by week, and hike by hike, it will get easier. You will be able to climb faster and faster, while maintaining that breathing control.

Applying These Steps

You can do these four steps in order. Or all at once.

I lay them out like this because many hikers get frustrated trying to start this directly on the trail, especially if hiking with friends (who might get a bit impatient if you are going at a slower pace).

So it can often be helpful to practice and develop this skill privately at first.

A Few Important Notes: 

If You Have Problems Nosebreathing

Some people cannot nose-breathe well due to structural issues. Maybe they have a small nose, or a history of nasal issues. Or maybe you just have a cold or a blocked nose.

In any of these situations, no need to obsess about nose-breathing. As we said before, it is not magical. It is just a rate limiter.

If nose-breathing is not doable, then another measure is using 'conversational pace'. Go at a pace where you can comfortably carry on a conversation without having to huff in between words.

Nose Breathing Definition

When I say nose breathing, I mean in and out through the nose. In through the nose and out through the mouth is already creeping toward higher intensity.

Nose Breathing During Other Training and Exercise

You do not need to use nose breathing during higher-intensity work. Intervals. Sprints. HIIT. Strength. These are high effort sessions, and you should just breathe however you like.

(Nose-breathing is really only for lower intensity exercise)

Navigating Social Dynamics

On the trail, the biggest challenge to pacing can often be the social dynamic because you don't want to start feeling self-conscious that you are holding people back!

If you are practising nose breathing while hiking with a friend or group, I strongly recommend you communicate this before you start hiking.

Tell them you are practising something. Ask them to go at your pace or meet at the top. Most people are fine with this if you explain.

Nose-Breathing Expectations For Hiking

You may not be able to nose-breathe for 100% of every hike. That is normal. Some terrain is brutal. Some days are harder. Some conditions make it impossible. Do not obsess. Do not ruin your fun. The more you practice it, the better. But it doesn't have to be the entire hike.

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If you struggle with breathing on uphill sections, remember that training matters. But none of it works well without pacing.

If you master pacing and learn to control your speed, you will transform your experience on the trail.

Give it a go. Be patient. Stick with it.

It pays off.

Yours in trekking,

Rowan 

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