Training for first long distance hike

+1 on the Dave’s recommendation for stairs.  Stairs are much more realistic that a StairMaster.   If you don’t have easy access to stairs then step ups on step stool work also.

Your current routine looks great.  If you do want to bring it up a notch I’d recommend adding some interval training.  This will help out quite a bit with the cardio and improving your aerobic capacity.

Kenneth can you give me an idea of how/what to do for interval training? I appreciate the info!

I’ve included a couple of links that provide good information on interval training.

http://www.outdoors.org/publications/outdoors/2012/outandfit/hike-farther-improve-fitness-interval-training.cfm

http://www.bodyresults.com/e2intervals.asp

https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/backpacking-how-to-cross-train.html

For me, interval training really raises my hiking performance level considerably.  The easiest way for me is to do alternating leg step ups on a step stool as quickly as I can.  I do this at home about 3-4 days a week. So not only am I building up leg muscle but also increasing aerobic capacity.  I’ll do three sets of 100 step ups, going as fast as I can but rest between sets until I catch my breath.  I still do quite a bit of other exercises to develop the leg muscles, but when I started doing interval training I noticed a big improvement.

Before I hiked the PCT in 2008 I was already an avid hiker, hiking every weekend once or twice. I quit my job 6 weeks prior to my hike and hiked every day. I still struggled a bit.

A few years ago I did the Starting Strength program. Starting Strength is good because it is not exercise, it’s barbell strength training. Every session you have to lift heavier weight than the time before. I’ve gotten my squat as high as 200lbs. (I don’t lift heavier every session anymore. That doesn’t last forever.)

Here’s the deal. Climbing a mountain is like doing a whole bunch of single leg 1/8th squats. It’s a submaximal effort, that’s why you can do it all day long. Hypothetically speaking, let’s say my maximal effort is say 100lbs, then let’s say one step up a mountain is 1/100th of that. If I do a strength training program and double what I can do with a maximal effort, then every step now is half as much effort as before.

I have tested this out over the last 3 years and not only has my backpacking performance improved immensely, it seems the cardio comes along for the ride. Lifting heavy is like doing interval training. It takes about a week of recovery to really feel how amazingly strong I’ve become, so sometimes my weekend hiking is a struggle.

This last trip just a week ago I went from couch/desk to 20 mile days instantly and kept it up for 10 days. I had a few days with more than that and a few days with less. I was not able to do that 8 years ago with just training hikes alone.

You probably don’t have quite enough time to run a program like Starting Strength but I recommend it to anyone else who does have the time.

Where are you heading in the Sawtooths?  Sounds like you will be very prepared.  If you walk enough that your boots are for sure broken in, that will prevent a lot of problem.  Walking like Nick G. suggests will build up ankles, feet, calves, quads, and everything, and eliminate lots of possible trouble spots.  Not having foot and blister issues is huge.

Bob,

We are doing a loop starting at Grandjean campground to Sawtooth lake then heading south from there. Here is the gpx file if you want to take a look.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0wsbwniy3z68dwp/Sawtooth%20Range%20Loop%20-%2065%20miles.gpx?dl=0

A great route is from Petit Lake to Sawtooth lake, via Edith, Edna, Long, Cramer, Alpine, and Barret lakes. You can add a southern loop to that and have whatever mileage you want. The stretch from Grand Jean to Sawtooth is a lot of uphill on south facing slopes in dry brush.

Heath,

I’m late to the conversation but as a Phoenix resident who did the JMT last summer i thought I’d share.

My son and I did most of our JMT training on South Mountain and in Dreamy Draw. We’ve been hiking these trails for years, usually 5-8 miles at a time. We did some spring backpacking trips as well leading up to the trip. We did fine on the JMT covering 10-15 miles/day after a slower start as we acclimated to the higher elevation.

I wish I’d done strength training before our hike. I had some IT band issues this fall and did PT with strength training and I can feel a huge difference when I climb now.

Here is our rough itinerary

Day one we start at 5300 ft at the Grandjean campground, take a side trip to Observation peak (9,100ft) then end up at Sawtooth lake (8400ft) after hiking 8.29 mi then on the second day we would hike down to 5400 ft then back up to 8400 ft and camp at Alpine lake (Mile 19.5 of the hike so we do roughly 13 miles on day two, the next day we do 15.2 miles (crossing our highest point just above Cramer lake at Cramer Divide and camp<span class=”text_exposed_show”> at Lake Ingenberg total miles now at 35.2. The following day we do another 15 miles stopping at the river (trip mile 50) and the last day we hike 10 ish miles to the car. There are some side trips to Mt Regan, Mt Cramer and possibly the feather lakes

Matthew,

I am doing strength training 2-3 times a week plus hiking 3 days a week ( two days of 6 miles and one day of 12-15 miles). I live an hour away from South Mountain and I already lose two hours a day driving to work and back home.  Add to that I don’t like busy trails so I will probably never step foot on South Mountain. San Tan Mountain park is the closest and most convenient thing for me. When I do long hikes with lots of vertical it is on Saturdays or Sundays. I simply can’t fit them in anywhere else. I am hoping that the 24 miles a week at San Tan plus the one weekend a month at altitude doing 12-15 miles is enough. The at altitude week I would still be doing the 12 miles I normally do at San Tan.  Once it gets a bit warmer here I will be doing all my weekday hiking at night and that makes it even less likely that I will go to South Mountain.

Adventure Alan Quick and Efficient Training for Backpacking

Thanks this is helpful and roughly what I am doing!

Body mass (BMI) and nutrition are a couple of other things you might want to consider.

Carrying extra body weight makes hiking much harder. Excess body weight usually means less cardiac efficiency. Of course BMI index data is thought to be unreliable by some. It can, however, be a rough approximation of where you might want to be. Excess muscle would probably lower efficiency as well. Marathon runners are rail thin for a reason.

Nutrition is another thing that you might want to pay attention to. Regulation of insulin and blood glucose levels can make a noticeable impact on long hikes. Lower glycemic carbs are better energy for the long days than faster burning sugars. Protein can also help modulate blood glucose levels. You might want to look into some of the powders made for endurance sports (ie Vega).

If your into ‘quantitative’ measurement, it might be interesting to utilize a home glucose test kit.

+1 on Marc’s recommendation for BMI.  I see way to many posts on this forum regarding folks trying to save grams but then their photos show a high BMI.  Losing pounds of body weight is by far much better and healthier than trying to save grams on equipment.

Marc,

I’m fit but not as fit as I could be. I used to run marathons and do other endurance events but got injured in 2013 and gained 10lbs. I eat a mostly vegetarian diet, rarely consume dairy, don’t drink soda, coffee, tea or alcohol at all. I’ve been using Vega one for years. I also use carbo pro and skratch lab electrolyte mix. I’m hoping that my 30+ miles a week and kettle bell workout will have those pounds gone by July. My BMI is well below 25. But BMI is a terrible way to calculate health.

I also find BMI pretty useless- I’m 180 #, 5’11” and it shows a BMI of just over 25- overweight, I’m far from overweight :)

interestingly Arnold had a BMI of over 32 when he was at his competitive weight of 235 (6’2″)- his body fat was probably in the 5-ish% range

I also find BMI pretty useless- I’m 180 #, 5’11” and it shows a BMI of just over 25- overweight, I’m far from overweight :)

interestingly Arnold had a BMI of over 32 when he was at his competitive weight of 235 (6’2″)- his body fat was probably in the 5-ish% range

True. People with a lot of muscle mass and low body fat are going to have skewed BMI. Most elite marathoners are below 20 BMI. But for us mere mortals, it can be useful.

I think much of this depends on how BMI is measured and if the calculation is accurate.  A simple “at X height you must weigh x amount or death” is asinine.

My bathroom scale calculates it close enough for government work when compared to tape tests and whatnot.  As a blubbery hiker who’s trying to lift more and increase muscle mass, a simple weight measurement really doesn’t show the real progress.  In theory, I could lose 2lbs of fat and gain 1 lb of muscle, and only show 1 lb of total weight loss.  Having an accurate measurement of my BMI over time helps to monitor progress and keep me motivated.

Heath,

We’ve talked off line about this hike but here’s what I’m doing this week to train not only for this hike, but in general.

This week is screwy due to the house remodel, but the flooring will be in on Saturday and the pile of furniture in our kitchen/dining area will be back to where it belongs, giving me some breathing room to sneak away for an hour here and there to exercise more.

Cardio:

So for this week, my cardio is just hiking up a local mountain at a 3-4 mph pace for 2 x 1hr sessions and 6-800′ today and yesterday, and a 2-3 hour session planned for Sunday.

Starting next week, same hiking regimen but adding three days of biking with plenty of hills.

Moving weight:

I’m getting back in the gym after a few week’s hiatus.  Previously, I was just lifting three days a week.  Day 1 legs, Day 2 chest/triceps, and Day 3 biceps/back.  Conspicuously absent up to this point was any meaningful core workout.  I’m starting a 12 week challenge which will put me in the gym six days per week.  I’m going to have to modify it here and there when I travel.  My plan is to return to a three day per week lifting regimen with core exercises added at the end of the 12 weeks, with the hopes that I’ve leaned up some.

Elevation/climbing specific training:

I live at 400′ and the highest “mountain” I can climb locally is well under 2k’ with only 800′ of elevation gain during the hike.  I make due by hiking it as fast as I can and more than once when time permits.  I plan and hope to climb St. Helens again this year, plus Camp Muir and Mt. Adams both for the first time.  Not super high in elevation but I have business in Seattle next month and plan on finally day hiking Mt. Si on the way home.

As far as diet goes, I’m going to try and maintain a 20-15% caloric deficit until D day.

“I have business in Seattle next month and plan on finally day hiking Mt. Si on the way home.”

For a good workout do both Si and Little Si.

Indirectly related to what David T. said, i’ve found that the better i treat my body in a general and holistic sense, the more it maximizes what exercise i do.  Diet, reducing stress, having positive attitudes, and spiritual strengthening (meditation/prayer, service, etc) all play a factor in how vital or not the body is independent of the exercise factor, or so i’ve found via a lot of experimenting, refining, core changes over the years.

Diet is a huge factor.  I eat A LOT of low starch, highly nutrient dense veggies (like collard greens, broccoli, spring mix salad, etc), a little bit of whole food, gluten free carbs (brown rice, quinoa, amaranth etc), some only select, easier to digest legumes like lentils, the only dairy i do is goat and sheep sourced (much easier to digest than cow) and not a lot of it, and occasional select fish for otherwise hard to source nutrients (mostly Wild Alaskan Salmon and sardines–which btw, i consider a super food).   I also get extra iodine through eating a lot of kelp sourced from northeastern Canada (i mix it with a little himalyan salt and use it for salting purposes).  Certain seeds and nuts like chia, cashews, etc  I also eat a good amount of fermented or cultured foods like unpasteurized sauerkraut, kimchi, goat yogurt, etc.  Oils are mostly extra virgin olive and coconut.

The only times that i ever get a cold or sick, is when i majorly deviate from the above (and i occasionally do, especially when traveling or visiting friends or family), or i become unusually stressed out/upset (which occasionally happens).  When i do, rarely get sick, i’m usually good within a couple days, 3 at most, and i don’t go to the doctors, take antibiotics, etc.  I don’t lift or do much upper body stuff (besides occasionally carrying  or moving around a 100lb + client whom is wheel chair bound), but i’m naturally strong and muscular.

I’m 36, but i look and feel younger (with generally a consistently good mood), and i don’t do as much exercise as i should (something i’m trying to work on).  If i exercised ideally and meditated more, i’d probably age even more slowly/gracefully.

With all that said, i think it’s ok to eat less ideally on a long hike, since you’re burning so much of it off, processing toxins faster, and need the extra calories.  But, on our upcoming CT hike, i plan to pack a combo of parsley flakes and kelp powder for extra food based nutrition (always way better absorbed and actually used than the huge majority of vitamins/minerals in pill forms) and dehydrating a good amount of cooked quinoa and lentils.  I’m also trying to exercise more, but i’ve never really been a gym kind of guy, but maybe i should try that for the next month and a half.