Getting in Shape for Hiking
Hiking is an exhilarating outdoor activity that allows you to explore nature while getting a full-body workout. But to fully enjoy your hike and avoid injuries, it's essential to prepare your body. Hiking requires strength, endurance, flexibility, and balance. Fortunately, there are many exercises you can do to prepare your body and make your hike more enjoyable. Let’s dive into some of the best exercises to get in shape for hiking.
1. Cardio for Endurance
Hiking often involves long distances and varying elevations, so building up your cardiovascular fitness is essential. If you want to hike with ease, aim to improve your stamina through aerobic exercises. Here are some effective options:
Running or Jogging
Running or jogging on flat terrain or hilly paths will improve your cardiovascular endurance. To mimic the demands of a hike, try to include hill sprints or interval training into your running routine to build strength and stamina.
Cycling
Cycling is another fantastic low-impact cardio exercise that targets your legs. It helps build endurance and strengthens the muscles in your quads, hamstrings, and calves, which will be key for hiking.
Stair Climbing
Climbing stairs replicates the uphill challenge you might face on a hike. Stair climbing boosts heart rate and strengthens your glutes, quads, and calves, making it a great exercise to simulate the steep ascents in hiking.
2. Leg Strength Exercises
Strong legs are crucial for hiking, especially if you’re tackling difficult terrains or high-altitude hikes. Here are a few leg-strengthening exercises that will help you power through those tough sections:
Squats
Squats are one of the best lower-body exercises. They target your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. Perform bodyweight squats or, for an extra challenge, add weights. To make it even more hiking-specific, try goblet squats (holding a weight in front of your chest) to improve your balance.
Lunges
Lunges work your legs while also improving your balance and stability—key components when navigating uneven trails. You can do forward lunges, reverse lunges, or walking lunges. For a greater challenge, try weighted lunges or step-up lunges.
Step-Ups
Find a bench or a step and step up and down repeatedly. This motion closely mirrors the action of climbing uphill on a trail. You can increase the difficulty by adding weights or using a higher platform.
Deadlifts
Deadlifts target your hamstrings and lower back muscles. A strong posterior chain will help with the strain of hiking up and down mountains or steep trails. Start with bodyweight deadlifts and gradually add weights as you build strength.
3. Core Strength
Having a strong core is essential for maintaining balance and stability on uneven or rocky terrain. A solid core will also help with your posture, reducing fatigue during long hikes.
Planks
Planks are an excellent core exercise that also engages your shoulders and legs. Try different variations of planks—such as side planks, forearm planks, and plank leg lifts—to target all areas of your core.
Russian Twists
Russian twists help strengthen your obliques, which are important for lateral movement and stabilization on trails. Use a weight or medicine ball to increase the intensity and improve your rotational power.
Mountain Climbers
Mountain climbers are great for combining cardio and core strength. These will also work your arms and legs, making it a full-body exercise that mimics the movements of scrambling over rocks.
4. Balance and Flexibility
Flexibility and balance are essential when hiking over rocky and uneven ground. Improving your stability will help prevent injuries and make your hikes more enjoyable. Here are some exercises to boost your balance and flexibility:
Single-Leg Balance
Stand on one leg for 30 seconds to a minute, then switch to the other leg. For more challenge, try doing this with your eyes closed or standing on an unstable surface like a balance pad.
Yoga
Yoga helps build flexibility, balance, and strength. Poses like Downward Dog, Warrior, and Tree Pose are great for stretching and strengthening the legs, hips, and core. Yoga also improves mental focus and breathing, both of which are valuable during a hike.
Standing Calf Raises
This exercise strengthens your calves and improves ankle stability. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, then slowly raise your heels off the ground as high as you can, then lower back down. Repeat for several sets. Try it on one leg to add difficulty.
Hip Flexor Stretches
Hiking can put a lot of stress on your hip flexors, so make sure to stretch them regularly. Lunging hip flexor stretches and pigeon pose in yoga are great options for relieving tightness and improving your range of motion.
5. Upper Body Strength
While hiking mainly focuses on the lower body, your upper body will also be engaged, especially if you use trekking poles or need to scramble over rocks. Strengthening your arms, shoulders, and back will help maintain your posture and endurance.
Push-Ups
Push-ups strengthen the chest, shoulders, and triceps. They also help improve upper body endurance, which is crucial if you need to use your arms for stabilization or pushing yourself up rocky surfaces.
Pull-Ups or Lat Pulldowns
A strong back and shoulders help with maintaining proper posture and provide additional stability while hiking. Pull-ups or lat pulldowns strengthen the upper back, shoulders, and arms, giving you more power on the trail.
Dumbbell Rows
Dumbbell rows target your upper back, shoulders, and arms. Perform this exercise by pulling the weights toward your torso while bent over, ensuring that you maintain good posture throughout.
6. Hill-Specific Workouts
Hiking often requires steep ascents and descents, which can be taxing on the legs. Prepare for these conditions by including hill-specific exercises into your routine.
Incline Treadmill Walking
Walking on an incline simulates uphill hiking, providing a good workout for your quads and calves. Gradually increase the incline to mirror the steepness of different trails.
Hill Sprints
Find a short, steep hill and sprint up it. Jog back down to recover, then repeat. This builds explosive power in your legs and helps you develop the necessary strength to power up steep hills during a hike.
Sand Dune Running
If you have access to a sand dune, running up it is a fantastic way to build strength and endurance. The instability of sand forces your legs to work harder, replicating the challenges of uphill hiking on soft, uneven terrain.
7. Active Recovery
Lastly, don’t forget to include active recovery in your routine. Stretching, walking, and foam rolling will help maintain your flexibility, reduce muscle soreness, and prevent overuse injuries.
Foam Rolling
Foam rolling helps release muscle tightness and improves flexibility, which is key for recovery after tough training sessions.
Walking or Hiking on Flat Terrain
Incorporate gentle walks or short hikes on easy trails as part of your active recovery. This keeps the muscles moving and allows your body to adapt to longer treks without pushing too hard.
By incorporating these exercises into your fitness routine, you’ll be better prepared to tackle any hiking challenge that comes your way. The key is consistency, so gradually increase your training intensity and duration. Not only will you feel stronger and more confident on your hikes, but you’ll also reduce your risk of injury and enjoy your time in nature even more. Happy hiking!