Physical Training for Backpacking

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Backpacking is hard work! Not only does it require good cardiovascular fitness, but you are also using your muscles: quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, your abs, and of course, your back. You are also putting strain on your ankles, knees, hips, and maybe a little bit on your shoulders. So how do you optimize your body to be able to go the distance while backpacking and summiting peaks? Read on to learn more!

I want to preface this blog post with a disclaimer: I am not a personal trainer of any sorts, and everything I talk about here is just what I do to prep for backpacking. Don’t start any fitness program without clearing it with your doctor (even though I never have…).

Also, I am not super in-shape by any means. I do not hike fast. I struggle up climbs. I am not in the average BMI for my height. I am no superstar athlete, but I have been “athletic” my whole life, from childhood sports, to workout programs as I’ve aged. I am an average American Jane. But guess what? I still backpack successfully, sometimes for weeks or months on end. So I might be doing something right? I hope some of these tips can help you be successful in the backcountry year-round!

Inspiration & Routine

Sometimes it can be really hard to find inspiration to “get fit”. Even when your inspiration is being your best, in-shape self for tackling mountain objectives, in the dead of winter, that inspiration can be hard to hold on to. I struggle with this all the time. It is normal. Inspiration is what gets you to want to start working out, and routine is what keeps you working out.

I’m guessing if you are on my blog, your inspiration to work out is to be fit for an outdoors objective: summit a 14’er, backpack the PCT, hike the Rae Lakes Loop in one day, hike your local mountain without feeling like your lungs will burst (been there!!), etc.

First, goals are great, and it is awesome that you have a goal that you want to accomplish and it is making you want to better yourself.

Second, I encourage you to look past your current objective just a tiny bit. Think about what your inspiration will be after you meet your goal (because you will meet your goal!). So many times people train for the one cool thing they’re doing over the summer, and then go into total hibernation mode for the winter. Sometimes this is totally fine. We all need rest and to recuperate. But, gains you’ve made can sharply decline and then you have to start all over again in the spring.

So, whether you think about what other great trip you’ll do next summer, or if you’ll learn a new winter sport, just keep a little something on the horizon to keep you motivated after you complete your initial goal.

Ok, so you have you inspiration to start working out. Now you need to act on it, and stay with it! Depending on your current fitness and how much time you have in the week, you need to start building a schedule. I recommend doing an activity at least 3 times a week, at the very least. Preferably, you will work your way up to 5-6 days per week, but it is important to work with what you can feasibly do. Don’t push yourself to work out every day if you can’t. Start small and work your way up!

Types of Exercise

Super broadly, there are two types of exercise: Cardiovascular and Strength training. You will want to incorporate both of these types of exercise into your routine for the best results! I also like to throw in a “third” broad type, which is Flexibility. You might not think flexibility is important, but have you ever tried to collect water from a sub-par stream and had to get into a weird position to fill up your bottle? I have, multiple times. Being a little flexible helps out here.

Cardio

The Mayo Clinic recommends individuals get 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week to keep your heart healthy. Anything more than this is a good benefit. This is just baseline though. To improve your physical fitness for training and backpacking and being at altitude, you will want to strive for more than this per week. There are, again broadly, two types of Cardiovascular workouts: Low-Intensity Steady State (moderate), and High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT, vigorous). For backpacking, you want to mainly focus on those moderate aerobic workouts, specifically building endurance. But, taking the time to incorporate HIIT into your workout will also benefit you during those though inclines and at higher altitudes.

Strength

If hiking is just walking, why do you need to build strength? Touché. But, when you’re carrying a heavier backpack, having stronger muscles will make that job a little easier. Plus, having strong leg muscles will help you with more strenuous trails. The Mayo Clinic also recommends doing strength exercises at least twice a week. And we’re not talking about “pumping iron” like body builders. Simple bodyweight strength and resistance band workouts can do the trick, especially with the muscles we need for backpacking! Try to get in 2-3 20-30 minutes sessions per week.

Flexibility

Backpacking can be uncomfortable. You’re sitting on the ground more, you’re sleeping on the ground, you might have some obstacles or need to scramble on your hikes. Don’t let gravity feel like its pulling you down to the ground as you get older. Trust me, increasing your stretching and flexibility will make you less sore, and more nimble in the backcountry. I recommend targeted stretching after every exercise session, and dedicating (at least) one session per week to yoga and foam rolling, each. Vinyasa Yoga is also strength building for your shoulders, legs, and core.

Examples of Exercises

Cardio

  • Hiking: 1-2x per week. First start with a light day pack with your 10 essentials, then move up to longer hikes with more elevation gain, and progressively add more weight to your pack as you get stronger. The best way to train for backpacking is to… backpack! But if you don’t have overnight options available to you, day hiking with weight is a great alternative. You should try to make hiking your cardio workout as much as possible. Why? Because hiking isn’t just cardio, and hiking on trails is different than walking on pavement. Hiking strengthens your lower legs and ankle ligaments, and carrying a weighted pack improves core and back strength. You also want to train your feet. Hiking in the same shoes and socks you’ll be backpacking in will break your shoes in and toughen your feet up to reduce hot spots & blisters.
  • Running/ Walking: If you can’t get out on a hike, neighborhood or treadmill walks and runs are a fine way to pump up your CV system. If you prefer low-impact walking, try to walk at ~3-4 mph on a treadmill/ outside to really get the cardiovascular benefits. Doing sprints and stairwell runs are a great way to get HIIT in too.
  • Swimming: If you have access to a pool and know how to swim, this is a really great workout. I was a swimmer growing up, and I’ve never had the same back muscles since I stopped. Work on steady state cardio with long, continuous freestyle sets (500-1,000 yards/ meters), and sprinting with other strokes. To work on back and core strength, learn butterfly and do regular sets incorporating it. Kicking and pulling sets will isolate certain muscle groups and build strength too.
  • Cycling: This is one of my new favorite ways to get cardio done. I recently purchased a Peloton bike, and it really has been a game changer for working out. Because there are so many class options, I can choose if I want a HIIT workout, or a low impact day to work on my recovery/ base cardio. You can also cycle outside on a real bike (just be safe!). Cycling, like swimming, walking, and hiking is another great low-impact cardiovascular workout.

Strength

Disclaimer: I am not certified to teach you how to do these exercises. Please look up safe weight training for proper form so you don’t injure yourself!

  • Standing: This sounds silly. But, increasing time standing on your feet has been shown to better your health. Also, backpacking (and especially thru-hiking) requires you to be on your feet all day long. If you can stand more in your day, you are training your whole entire body (feet, ankles, legs, core, back) to be more upright and engaged for longer periods of time. Some jobs/ careers require lots of standing time, or you could try a standing desk if you have a more sedentary job to get some “freebie” training in!
  • Lower Body Exercises – do these in sets. 10-20 reps, 3-4 cycles.
    • Squats
    • Sumo Squats
    • Pulse Squats
    • Lunges
    • Jumping Lunges
    • Lateral Lunges
    • Burpees
    • Crab Walks w/ Resistance Band
    • Step-Ups
    • 1 Leg Squats/ Balancing (try on Bosu Ball for even more burn)
  • Core Exercises – do these in sets. 20-30 reps or 30 seconds each, 3-4 cycles
    • Crunches
    • Bicycle Crunches
    • Plank
    • Side Plank
    • Leg Raises
    • Russian Twists
  • Upper Body Exercises – do these in sets. 10-20 reps, 3-4 cycles.
    • Shoulder Presses (weights)
    • Bicep Curls (weights)
    • Bent-over Row (weights)
    • Push Ups (on-knees is fine!)
    • Tricep Dips
    • Pull-ups (if you have a bar)

You don’t have to do all of these exercises in one set. Feel free to mix it up depending on your workout focus for the day.

Flexibility & Recovery

  • Yoga: There are so many kinds of yoga! Vinyasa flow and Power yoga practices are definitely more cardio and strength focused. Slow flows and Restorative Yoga are more stretching based. Doing some Vinyasa sessions to increase both strength and flexibility is a great dual-purpose workout.
  • Stretching: I love stretching! There are so many static stretches and I am sure you know a lot of them! Touching your toes and static lunges stretch your calves, which is super important after hiking. The “Figure 4” stretch stretches your glutes. The quadriceps stretch helps your balance and stretches your quads. Hold stretches for 30 seconds or longer to maximize the benefit.
  • Foam Rolling & Massage Devices: When you start exercising more, your muscles can get really tight. Stretching helps, but sometimes you need something a little more aggressive to loosen up those muscles. I recommend foam rolling at least once a week. It might be really uncomfortable at first, but it gets better, trust me. Laying down with your quads on the roller, doing the figure 4 position with your butt on the roller, laying sideways with you IT band (outside of thigh) on the roller, and rolling your calves is where you will really feel the benefits. Roll each area for ~1 minute, and if you hit a spot of extreme tenderness, hold that spot or do small micro-rolls in that area for ~30 seconds. You can also invest in a massaging device like a Hypervolt or Theragun. These are really great hand-held, battery-operated massage devices. They can be a little intense at first, but ultimately feel really great on sore muscles. I love mine!

Exercise Programs

While I just listed some ways to exercise above, I have a really hard time with accountability when it comes to exercise. And, I have a hard time “just exercising” with no real plan or help. So, I have had pretty good success with using actual exercise programs to motivate me, and guide me in exercising. There are two app-based programs I’ve really loved and used extensively: Sweat With Kayla and Peloton.

  • Sweat: At $19.99/ month, this is a woman-focused exercise program. Kayla Itsines’s programs are varied for every type of “exerciser”. BBG is a bodyweight and hand-weight based strength program, BBG Stronger is a gym machine based strength program, and BBG Zero Equipment is exactly what it sounds like: a strength program that uses no equipment and only bodyweight strength. She also has a Post-Natal program, and has teamed up with other women fitness trainers to offer even more strength, cardio training and yoga. The weeks of each program get progressively harder as your fitness improves. And dudes, don’t worry: these exercises are NOT just for women. You will feel the burn if you do these programs. There is also a meal/ recipe component to the app, with healthy food plans for meat-eaters, vegetarians, and vegans. At one point in my life, when I was at my fittest EVER, I had been doing BBG for 16 weeks and I felt so amazing. My life also low-key revolved around eating healthy and working out, but hey, I felt like I could do anything.
  • Peloton: There are two different tiers to a Peloton membership – those who are only app users ($12.99/ mo) and those who also have a Bike or Tread ($39/ mo). You can access all of the Bike and Tread workouts even if you just pay for the app. I have the Peloton Bike, and can say that I absolutely love the programming for the hardware. I’ve also noticed a marked improvement in my cardiovascular health and endurance since regularly using the Bike as my cardio workout. The app also has great programming. There are strength, HIIT cardio, stretching, outdoor running/ walking, meditation, and yoga classes. I really appreciate the effort Peloton is making into the app-based workouts. There are live yoga classes every day of the week, which has been so helpful for me getting back into a yoga practice. I have yet to regularly do strength classes, but I’ve done a few of them, including some Barre classes! If you are considering buying a Bike or Tread, you could easily only pay for the Peloton membership: it has every type of workout you really need for at-home exercising. With the addition of the Bike to my household during COVID-19, we’ve decided we probably don’t ever need to pay for a gym membership again (except maybe for a pool for lap swimming).

Pulling It All Together

I touched on this a littler earlier, but bringing all of these different types of exercise together and consistently doing them is when you’ll start to see results. So here is a potential weekly schedule. Remember: the best training for hiking and backpacking is to hike! So try to hike for exercise as much as possible. I’ve dedicated Saturday & Sunday for hiking exercises as this allows for a one-night backpacking trip to be included in your weekly schedule. If you can only get to the trail once/ week, swap hiking day #2 for low impact cardio or lower body strength.

If you are just starting out on your fitness journey, I would make a few changes. Decrease the strength or hiking to once/ week, giving yourself 3 rest days. Dedicate at least one rest day to do nothing and let your body recover, and the other 1-2 rest days, try some gentle yoga, stretching, and foam rolling. Once you feel good there, add back another day of hiking or low impact cardio, or strength, depending on which one you eliminated.

If you are further along in your fitness journey, you probably only need one rest day per week. Recovery is so important for your body. Stretch, foam roll, and maybe do some restorative yoga. If you feel like you can’t take a rest day, then try to limit your activity for the day to a walk around the block.

Safely Increasing hiking mileage & Elevation Gain

Everyone has different physical limitations and abilities. Below is a chart of an easy – moderate hiking training plan for when to increase mileage, elevation gain, and pack weight. Try out the first two weeks as I’ve recommended with your other workouts and see if that is too easy or too hard.

If it’s too easy, increase elevation gain first. If it’s too hard, decrease elevation gain first. This can also be adapted to where you live. If you do not live in an area with a lot of elevation changes, work on increasing mileage and weight instead of elevation gain.

When adding weight, this should be extra weight on top of your 10 essentials, which should always be in your pack. To add weight I usually advocate for adding more water than you need (2-3 more liters), since that is a useful thing to have, and a liter of water weighs 2.2 lbs. Also, if the weight is too much, pouring out some water isn’t a big deal.

The goal of this progression is to eventually hike as many miles and feet of elevation change as you would on an average day of backpacking for whatever trail you are training for.

Accountability & Electronics

Setting a weekly schedule and sticking to it is sometimes easier said than done. If you need a little more daily nudging, or want a device/ program that will actually track your fitness progress, I would look into a smartwatch with fitness capabilities and signing up for a free Strava account.

  • Strava: A tech company that makes a fitness tracking app. It is very popular with outdoor athletes, especially runners and cyclists. Strava is known for friendly in-app competition where you can make and “race” routes and segments with others who also walk/run/ride these segments. You can also just track your walks/runs/rides on the app, or connect a GPS smartwatch and the activity will automatically upload on Strava. Strava is like Facebook for working out. You can connect with friends and like or comment on each other’s activities. You can keep track of mileage on your shoes. Premium subscription plans get you more insight into your training and fitness. If you want a digital workout diary, its hard to beat Strava.
  • Smartwatches: Garmin, Coros, Suunto, and Apple all make top of the line GPS smartwatches that are great for tracking workouts. If you really want a great GPS smartwatch, I would look into Garmin (especially the Fenix or Forerunner lines) and Suunto for the best capabilities when hiking and backpacking. I personally use the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Sapphire, and I love the training features it has, including training status & load (which shows me how much low aerobic, high aerobic and anaerobic I’m doing in a week), suggested daily workouts based on my weekly training, and just the sheer number of pre-loaded activity types like Hiking, Walking, Indoor Bike, Bouldering, Yoga, Track Running, Skiing, etc. The outdoor features are really great as well. You can load .gpx files onto the watch and then track your hike based off the uploaded route. You can monitor your progress through climbs and the route as you hike with the ClimbPro feature. I’ve also found the GPS to be extraordinarily accurate. The Topo maps aren’t super detailed, but they’re pretty detailed for having to fit on a watch face.

Questions or comments? What is your favorite way to train? Let me know in the comments below!

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