Prehiking Conditioning and Strength

Imagine that you're a thigh muscle. How about one of the quadriceps, perhaps vastus lateralis? You've been at rest in the passenger seat of a car for the last two hours, while traveling to a trailhead. Now you're headed toward that trailhead. You'll be expected to perform maximally without complaint for the next four hours, with only brief rest stops. What would be your dearest wish as you head out? A good long stretch, of course.

Muscles are what I regard as the faithful dogs of the body. You ask (or demand), they oblige. It's unkind to ask these faithful servants to go to work without a good stretch, both before and after a hike. Quick and easy hiker's stretches will keep your muscles less prone to aches the next day (a real concern on backpacking trips, really more of a nuisance for day hikes). Proper body mechanics are important for avoiding backaches or neck strain. Water intake and conditioning also play a role.

How to keep your muscles in shape for hiking? Cross training can be useful: biking (indoors when the weather is crummy), swimming, dancing. Brisk daily thirty minute walks, including some inclines and uneven terrain (avoid pavement, in other words), keep up my lung capacity and muscle tone. Two or three times a week, schedule permitting, I do a thirty minute workout on home gym equipment (not being really keen on sweating in public, except while hiking). I include resistance training and weight lifting. Listening to music or news programs keeps it from getting dull.

I try to park far away from store entrances. I use the stairs at work, being secretly very proud of my "never-use-the-elevator" status. I walk up escalators. I try to stand up a lot and move around during the day (not hard while I'm teaching, but requires mental discipline when I'm deep into a project at my computer). And I hike or snowshoe every week-end, with multiple-day trips whenever possible. In other words, I take my "faithful dogs" out for daily romps!

The hidden motive here is injury prevention. Injuries rob you of trail time and enjoyment of your favorite activities. Invest some time now in prehiking conditioning and strength building, so you can enjoy trail time into your golden years.

Prehiking conditioning and strength tips aren't enough to make you a strong hiker. Try these tips.