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do you train for backpacking? How?


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  • #1584157
    Lynn Tramper
    Member

    @retropump

    Locale: The Antipodes of La Coruna

    We go hiking most weekends that the weather permits (pack weight ~8-10kg). Through the week I train heavy with weights (total body) and walk and stretch and play judo and tai chi. This is enough to keep fit for longer trips, though the first few days out with 10 days worth of food is always a little bit of a shock!

    #1584163
    Roger Caffin
    BPL Member

    @rcaffin

    Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

    > first few days out with 10 days food is always a little bit of a shock!

    Yeah, but is the improvement after a few days because you have got fitter … or because you have eaten half the food weight?
    :-)

    Cheers
    PS: 10 days food is HEAVY!

    #1584259
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    "one woman with a big pack dragging a good-sized car tire behind"

    "Wow; that's comedy!"

    She's trainig for Denali. The tire is meant to simulate a pulk. Whether or not Si is the best venue is another question, but that kind of training is required. Most go down to Rainier, from Paradise to Camp Muir for that sort of training, where the snow pack is more reliable and there is more room to spread out. Not a pretty sight there, either, especially going up Pan Point. And, yeah, there is the question of being considerate of the hordes of hikers on Si on any given Sunday given the contraints posed by a relatively narrow trail. Either way she'd have an audience, which is a prime requirement for comedy. Gotta have someone to laugh.

    #1584261
    David Ure
    Member

    @familyguy

    Intervals. Some Intervals and then some more.

    There is a reason they call me Goat Boy….;)

    #1584264
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    "Then when I was getting ready for a high elevation trip, I increased that to 5 miles, and I would attempt to speed up to a sprint for the last half mile. That improves your pulmonary function, and that certainly helps at high elevation."

    + 1

    "For ordinary backpacking, it is overkill."

    Not necessarily, IME. It's also how I train for one day crossings of 12000' Shepherd Pass in the Sierra. Up here in the Pacific NW, it is difficult to get any altitude training without going all the way down to Rainier or up to Mt Baker. Instead, I concentrate on hiking Mt Si right at the anaerobic threshold from ~ the 1st mile marker on for several weeks before going down there. Same approach as for much higher altitudes, same principle, same result.

    #1584269
    Bob Gross
    BPL Member

    @b-g-2-2

    Locale: Silicon Valley

    Isn't that the Ed Viesturs method?

    –B.G.–

    #1584271
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    "Isn't that the Ed Viesturs method?"

    Referring to?

    #1584273
    Bob Gross
    BPL Member

    @b-g-2-2

    Locale: Silicon Valley

    Didn't Ed work all day and then run at night, ending up with a fast run? That certainly got him good results at high elevation.

    –B.G.–

    #1584274
    Lynn Tramper
    Member

    @retropump

    Locale: The Antipodes of La Coruna

    "Intervals. Some Intervals and then some more."

    Yeah, that's what the judo is for ;)

    "Yeah, but is the improvement after a few days because you have got fitter … or because you have eaten half the food weight?"

    Definitely the latter.

    "PS: 10 days food is HEAVY!"

    Ummm, yeah. It's probably why we only do one or two trips of this length each year, and each time I am tempted to give up on the first day or two, which shows I might benefit from some more heavy day hikes (or just grin and bear it).

    #1584278
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    "Didn't Ed work all day and then run at night, ending up with a fast run?"

    I don't know. Believe it or not I don't know much about how he trains, but the premise is solid, IME. Anything to teach your body to function in an oxygen deficient atmosphere makes sense. Some people use use Hypobaric chambers; some train anaerobically by running intervals or running up hill on a mountain; some use a cardio machine or maybe a bicycle. Lots of different ways, but the principle is the same. But, IME, this kind of training can only take you so high in a short period of time. It works for me for quick ascents in the Sierra, for instance, or Colorado, but at higher altitudes I still have to gradually acclimatize to allow my body to adjust physiologically, again this is strictly my personal experience. It would be interesting to me to hear others' experiences in this regard.

    "That certainly got him good results at high elevation."

    That and some awesome genes.

    #1584368
    Henry Laufenberg
    Spectator

    @hankj

    Locale: PNW

    the woman dragging it looked pretty worthy of Denali.

    So if Si trains for Rainier and Rainier trains for Denali, then does Denali train for Everest? If so then in a sense isn't walking up Mt. Si very much like summiting Everest?

    And I wouldn't compare a Nepali Sherpa to my dog, but my dog certainly then must be my Sherpa if he is carrying more stuff than I am …

    #1584380
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    "then does Denali train for Everest?"

    It can be part of a progression leading to an attempt on Everest. Lots of alternatives, though.

    "If so then in a sense isn't walking up Mt. Si very much like summiting Everest?"

    For some folks. ;-}

    #1584438
    Robert Blean
    BPL Member

    @blean

    Locale: San Jose -- too far from Sierras

    Some folks train for hiking/backpacking.

    For others, it seems to me, it is more of a case of hiking and backpacking being part of their overall training to have a healthy mind in a healthy body.

    — MV

    #1584439
    W I S N E R !
    Spectator

    @xnomanx

    Practice long distance trail running year-round with as much elevation as you can find and backpacking will likely become your break from training.

    #1584984
    YAMABUSHI !
    BPL Member

    @thunderhorse

    I run with a weight vest for training.

    Not all the time, but for Rugby it's great.

    #1585020
    Eugene Smith
    BPL Member

    @eugeneius

    Locale: Nuevo Mexico

    The only 'training' I've done on the trail is for trail running races and personal fulfillment, definitely not for backpacking. Backpacking trips are my mini 'vacations'. I've been doing more strength and cross training the last 2 months due to an injury but I'd be trail running and strength training regardless since they're both activities I enjoy, especially being out on the trail for an hour or so in the morning running solo. I think I'm gonna have to second Craigs response, if you like to run and can afford to get out and run trails with an emphasis on elevation gained not distance traveled, then walking around with a lightweight pack on will come fairly easy and be a welcomed retreat. Trailrunning vs. hiking for me is more about time issues with work and family. I think trail running get's you outdoors quicker, let's you see more faster, and is definitely going to accelerate your fitness building more so than walking, but running has its dangers of course so be cautious. If you have the time to do so, which many of us don't, duplicating backpacking and hiking for hours with a pack on in the week is obviously the best way to 'train' for backpacking, as is taking more backpacking trips! :)

    #1585069
    David Dixon
    Member

    @talusman

    Stairs with a weight vest. Good work out in the short periods I have to do it, but the vest makes you look suspicious.

    #1585159
    Jim W.
    BPL Member

    @jimqpublic

    Locale: So-Cal

    Does anyone use ankle weights? I'm trying to get in better shape for a trip next month where I'll be wearing boots and snowshoes or crampons- so 3-4 pounds on each foot. I get my training on the way to/from work so I don't want to wear heavy boots. Would ankle weights be a good idea?

    My only concern is whether I'm likely to injure my feet with two pounds of extra weight at the ankle.

    #1585204
    Bob Gross
    BPL Member

    @b-g-2-2

    Locale: Silicon Valley

    I have a whole pile of ankle weights that I had to use following a knee injury. The one thing that I remember is that you don't want to jump directly into heavy ankle weights all at once. You need to work your way progressively into that weight, otherwise, you can screw up your knees.

    I would think that weight training would do more good if you kept the weight from your hips to your shoulders, more like a backpack. Or, wear a fanny pack with some heavy cans of soup inside.
    –B.G.–

    #1585225
    Miner
    BPL Member

    @miner

    Locale: SoCAL

    I use ankle weights all the time for conditioning while walking near home. I wouldn't recommend them for running. Unless you are going to carry a heavy pack, they are more efficient on strengthing your legs for the weight carried. According to research done by the U.S. Army many many years ago, a pound on your feet is equivalent to five on your back (at least that was what I was always told). It works especially well for those of us who live where it is flat with no hills to train on. While really heavy boots would do a similar function, I like walking on uneven surfaces so my ankles strengthen and the boots would interfer with that.

    But when I go out to the mountains for day hikes for conditioning for summer trips, I'll take a gallon water bottles in my pack (I can dump the water weight if I get tired).

    #1585564
    Gordon Smith
    BPL Member

    @swearingen

    Locale: Portland, Oregon

    >>we would work up to 40# (mostly water) in about 1 hour 45 minutes on Mt Si, dumping the water at the top<<

    I wonder if the gal dragging the tire rolls it down Mt. Si.

    G

    #1585566
    BlackHatGuy
    Spectator

    @sleeping

    Locale: The Cascades

    "I wonder if the gal dragging the tire rolls it down Mt. Si."

    Nah, Henry didn't watch her long enough. She's actually building a car at the top. Then she's driving down.

    #1585572
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    LOL Doug.Can't wait to see her bringing up the the drivetrain. Wonder if she'll go with a V8.

    #1585688
    Henry Laufenberg
    Spectator

    @hankj

    Locale: PNW

    but building a car seems like a much more interesting way to go …

    #1585714
    Art …
    BPL Member

    @asandh

    For you guys who haul pack loads of water up a hill only to dump it at the top,
    my question is WHY dump the water ?

    Yes I know going downhill with lots of weight is hard on the knees & back.
    But in real life backpacking you can't dump your gear at the top.
    There's more to training than a pure cardio workout, you need to train the muscles, joints, and connective tissue for all aspects of the backcountry experience.

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