hiking cadence

[Diane Pinkers]

In working on running technique so I don't injure myself, I've recently learned that a recommended running cadence is about 180 steps per minute. Also, I recently re-read Dirtmonger's post about hiking efficiency. It got me wondering, is there an ideal hiking cadence? Recently, my boyfriend and I seem to have made a break-through in hiking speed–we used to consistently hike at about 2-2.5 mph, but lately we've had some 3 mph hikes, over familiar terrain. I'm pretty sure the difference is a faster cadence.

[Paul Wagner]

I'm a cyclist, and I like a cadence of about 95-100 on the bike. My hiking cadence feels a little slower than that–but I've never measured it. A quick calculation shows me that if I take 30 inch strides and at a pace of 90/min I hike 2.5 miles an hour.

But it's a good concept. Going uphill, keep that same cadence, but just take smaller steps, like shifting down on a bike. I am amazed at the number of hikers I see that keep taking large steps going uphill, gasping for breath, and stopping to rest every few yards.

of course, when the trail is a series of 18 inch granite steps, all bets are off!

[Greg Mihalik]

In working on increased speed pay attention to your current stride length. If your hip stabilizers aren't ready the hip of your leading leg can drop, which can stress the ITB of the opposite leg.

If your core and hip stabilizers are solid you will have no problems. But if you find a sore ITB look at the opposite hip.

IMHO, YMMV, etc. (I'm not a PT, and I often wait to long to see one.)

[Rick Reno]

Thanks for bringing up this interesting topic.

Three comments:

1. Cadence seems more a concept than reality; it might be fine for walking down a city sidewalk, but maybe bot so much out in the woods with rocks, roots, holes, slippery leaves, scary monsters, etc.

2. Walking faster i.e., cadence) isn't necessarily the key to hiking faster (covering more ground) or having more fun. On upe and downs, for example, you can't always just take little tiny quick steps. Often much slower cadence is the answer, in order not to have to rest as often.

3. check out Pacer Poles (http://www.pacerpole.com/). It's a whole new paradigm and while the end in mind isn't necessarily walking faster or hiking faster, that's definitely a by-product!

have fun!

[Jake D]

Rich, you need to get yourself on Pacer Pole's payroll with the advertising you do ;)

I'm not sure if cadence while running is helping her speed go up. I'm guessing that being on familiar trails and being in better shape due to the running might be more of it.

[Hiking Malto]

Don't let Dirt fool you. He is about 6'6" with a VERY long step.

Over the years I have increased my hiking speed significantly.
1) fitness. Being able to power up hills keeps your pace more consistent.
2) technique. especially on downhills. Swami may be the faster natural downhill hiker that I have hiked with. I suspect he has written about it on HikingLife.com.
3) Vary pace. Employees didn't muscles and holds off fatigue.

One last point. there is an efficiency that you can see with very experienced long distance hikers. There is no wasted motion and they glide down the trail.

[Greg Mihalik]

"There is no wasted motion and they glide down the trail."

+1

When you hike, watch the shadow of your head. You shouldn't see much "up and down".

[Bob Moulder]

There is no wasted motion and they glide down the trail.

This is huge.

Also learning to step over and go around logs and rocks, not stepping on them and lifting your entire body+pack weight unnecessarily. Saves a ton of effort and wear&tear on the body.

Learning to find intermediate foot placements on steep up- and downhill sections to avoid high-stepping or big down steps.

I also found that, for me, using trekking poles on flat or slight uphill and downhill terrain actually slows me down a bit. I just hold them in my hands and don't use them, which is why I now really appreciate very light poles (modified BD ultra-distance, 4.3oz).

Use gaiters so you don't have to stop frequently to empty little pebbles and sticks from your shoes!

[Jake D]

Yes.. i treat hiking like mtn biking or moguls.. avoid the big bumps, rocks, roots. don't go over if you can go around.

I do use my poles on flats and downhills if unless it is empty trail.. if there are rocks etc then i'll use them to keep my balance while letting my feet travel the best path

dirty girl gaiters for the win! I wish I had these way before I got them.

Not super long distance but during my Long trail thru i could definitely feel myself becoming smoother. There were times that i'd be going and not even paying attention to the trail. I also found that my hamstrings became more flexible so i'm guessing my stride lengthened some too.

[Terry Sparks]

I think all of us are preaching to the choir with this thread as I'm sure we all hike in similar fashion. I will add to the very good comments in the thread with my take on hiking efficiency.
As Malto mentions, hiking efficiency is getting down the trail with no wasted motion or, said in another way, getting from point to point as fast as possible, using as little energy as possible with the techniques we use to hike. To add to this efficiency, and I'm sure most everyone hiking 40+ mile days does is, I just don't stop walking. My goal on these big days is to stop for lunch and to stop for dinner only. This normally doesn't happen as I need to peel of layers in the morning as it warms, bathroom, pick up water ect. but, what it does is, increases my efficiency by cutting down on unneeded breaks and needlessly taking off the pack. To me, taking off the pack equals a five minute break and a loss of .25 mile for the day, minimum. You start adding these time wasters and you end up either hiking longer than you planed or, you cut your mileage.

[David Thomas]

>"I just don't stop walking."

+1

I don't stop for lunch – I pack items I can eat as I hike. I note where I am as I start nibbling on my lunch and how much further down the trail I am at the end of lunch. It can be a mile or so. Playing (and winning) little psychological games like that helps on a 40-mile day.

Yeah – scoop water quickly, keep walking. Treat the water as you walk, etc.

[Bob Gross]

Some people would suggest that you set your cadence or pace in order to hit a target heart rate. Speedwise, that probably means slowing down slightly on the uphills, and it probably means slowing down slightly if you have excess pack load.

In your training, you can figure out what that target heart rate is.

–B.G.–

[Adam Kilpatrick]

This Easter long weekend we ran our annual Bushwalking competition for Venturer Scouts in South Aus, as always, I was in "hike team", the guys and girls that set the course, monitor it, SAR, etc.

For some reason I couldn't find my gaiters on Friday and Saturday. Saturday night I went home after dropping my daughter off to her Mum, and went back there for Sunday, now with Gaiters. I really missed not having them. I felt naked. No where near as fast moving through the bush. Even on open tracks or trails there were times when they or some low gaiters would have made a difference as grass etc comes over and I have to move through it more slowly.

The gaiters add weight to the legs which is inefficient (in an ideal world I'd make my own from some lighter materials, eg some dyneema grid) but they add so much more to moving along. I have so much more freedom in my route choice decision making, so much more confidence, and untimately can move much faster as I'm not slowing and weaving around heavy grass, small sticks, etc. I just can't do the same without them, my shins would be bruised and bleeding. They also add other things for me too…they keep my calves warm, and with shorts, I find this works just great in most conditions. Its just what I need. When its hot, it doesn't really make me any hotter as they vent and keep the sun off my lower legs (means less sunscreen application, so save weight and time there).

Sometimes, obstacles are more efficient to choose to go over/through them. It really depends on the situation and the obstacles and all the choices at hand. But giving yourself more options through more skill/right equipment in mixed terrain makes you more efficient. If you are flexible enough, stepping on a log or rock but not standing fully upright, saves on that gravitational energy loss. Depends on you and the obstacle in question whether you can do it or not.

Pack weight helps a lot. I've always noticed those lumbered with big heavy traditional packs are restricted not only physically but mentally in making correct, timely micro-route decisions.

Training can help a lot. Trail running, cross country running, orienteering, rogaining…they really train the brain to think fast about moving through the most efficient manner through terrain. Coming back to "walking", all those mental decisions are now so much easier as you are used to thinking fast. You have the ability to make even better ones, no stress.

Actual cadence; there are a lot of things at play here. I think I noticed a big difference in myself with efficiency though when I increased my cadence, which happened naturally after doing a lot of cycling (at high 110-130 cadences), especially after a 9 month cycle tour. My stride had naturally shortened and my ability to have cadence was relatively immense. I definitely always used to overstride, that's not an issue any more, but I can stride out when I need to (eg to clear an obstacle).

Small efficiencies…
…I find that not eating breakfast in camp in the morning makes a huge difference in how long it takes to get going in the morning. I can wake up, break camp and pack in well under five minutes if I don't eat in camp. That's so quick that starting moving I am still warm from being in my sleeping gear. My muscles are pretty warm. Then, slowly eat on the move during the first half an hour or so. If I try and eat in camp, I sit up and try and do it in shelter, trying to keep warm, but its slowly filtering out, and I waste 5-10mins at least eating, slowly packing some things in between. I'm getting cold…time blows out…when I start moving I take a while to warm back up again. So yeah for solo trips I'm definitely moving completely towards this system (no matter how much I love my morning oats…).
…I always found (from back hiking as a young Scout) that I was better off just wearing gloves and a beanie straight out of camp. I'd usually be packed first on any group trip, and be waiting, rugged up. Then as soon as everyone else was about ready I'd take off my top layers, and just leave my gloves and beanie. Carrying my sun hat in my hand. In a few minutes, I'd warm up everything and first swap the beanie for hat (and stuff beanie in pocket), then take off gloves, stuff in pocket. This still works well for me today, or some variation of. It means I don't have to stop to take off a jacket, etc. Some groups you hike with are just so much slower that these things don't really matter though.

[D M]

How about hiking cadence and your breathing being in sync? I use heart rates for judging my recoveries and stress levels. Long ago I used a Polar heart rate monitor religiously , but as I got more used to my normal heart rates for the level of fitness I was at, I found my breathing also an interesting tool. Especially for recoveries after a long hard hill climb or fast steady pace. Of course the heart rate levels off like the breathing, but I just find the syncing of breath and foot cadence during activity interesting. I was pushing really hard in a particularly rocky, technical and hot section of trail on the AZT last week and really was enjoying being able to breathe as hard as I could while hiking as fast and as hard as I could and FEELING so on my game….it was awesome!

[Nick Gatel]

Hmmm… I just walk and don't think about it. I'd go nuts if I was monitoring steps per minute or heart rate. Once in a while I hike with an engineer friend. Since I am much more experienced than him, he has a tendency to analyze how I walk, even the mechanics of heel and toe placement. I tell him to ignore all of it and enjoy the scenery. The brain will direct foot traffic without manual override :)

The two biggest factors, IMO, are the physical condition of the hiker and how many hours he or she is actually walking each day. Pack weight, if it is too heavy would be a factor.

Just be careful and do not force a specific stride length when walking, apt to injure yourself.

There is probably a smart phone app for this too ;)

[Katherine .]

"Training can help a lot. Trail running, cross country running, orienteering, rogaining…"

that is my word for the day!

[Bob Moulder]

Yep, I had to look up that one! :^)

[Adam Kilpatrick]

Rogaining, get on it guys ;-)

Actually, the sport was invented about the same time in the 1960's by the Mountain Clubs of Melbourne University and The University of Adelaide (my Uni!). I have organised and ran a couple of annual iterations of the AUMC 24hour Walk (Rogaine), nice bit of history :-)

[Ken Thompson]

I thought it was for bald folks.

[Jennifer Mitol]

There has been a lot of research lately on changing running cadence in order to alter lower extremity biomechanics – primarily for injury prevention but also for what we call running economy.

If you want to change your running gait, say to shorten your stride, have a more mid-foot strike, etc – basically just concentrate on having a higher cadence and all of that just happens naturally; one of the off-shoots of the barefoot running craze.

Anyway – not sure how it would help your hiking…but for running it's a wonderful adaptation.

[Jenn M]

My GPS watch (Garmin 920…I don't use it for backpacking) measures cadence so I have an idea of my running cadence, though not my hiking.

How do you change your cadence without changing speed? I mid-foot strike, so I'm happy with that. On runs where I'm near max (85% MHR) I don't necessarily want to pick up the pace but still have a cadence of 168-170.

It's easier for me backpacking, but for times when I'm pushing hard, the question remains. I'm curious on people's take here.

[Jennifer Mitol]

you increase your cadence but decrease your stride length. A long stride forces you to heel strike and wastes a ton of energy as you absorb force upon landing, then have to generate it again when you push off.

So the whole point is to decrease stride length, increase cadence, land mid-foot. Or so the LATEST research seems to indicate. Of course…give it a year or two…..

And Jenn it sounds like you are pretty close to optimum cadence anyway – 180/min is the target for running. Obviously NOT the best backpacking cadence tho…

[Jenn M]

And I do mid-foot strike. I'm just chasing that 180/min. Dare to dream lol

I always assumed I heel struck, but my wear patterns are really even on my shoes. I have ankle problems though thanks to trail running with my husky mix so really focused on shorter steps.

[Greg Mihalik]

A long stride, with poor hip stabilizers, can lead to ITB issues.

A short(ened) stride will mitigate that somewhat, to keep you on the trail, while you get after all those strengthening exercises you've been blowing off.

A short stride is also part of eliminating the up-and-down motion seen in walkers. The less "bobbing" you have the less you are "lifting and lowering" your body weight with each step.

[Bill Segraves]

"It's easier for me backpacking, but for times when I'm pushing hard, the question remains. I'm curious on people's take here."

If you want to go faster, you have to increase cadence or stride length, or some combination of the two.

IMO, pushing stride length beyond what feels natural is asking for trouble. Much better to push the cadence. Both for walking and cycling, my experience suggests that comfort with higher cadence can be trained, independently of fitness. For a fit hiker, this can mean the difference between walking at < 3 mph with lots of fitness in reserve and walking comfortably at 3.3 mph with a little less fitness in reserve. At a certain point, though, your mechanics will start to break down and efficiency is going to start falling off (there's good data on the decline of efficiency, but AFAIK less is known about how readily specific training plans can attenuate the decline). For long hiking days, I always want to be in that zone where I'm efficient and smooth.

Cheers,

Bill

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