Ep. 81: Minimalist Training For Long Distance Hiking

In this episode, Winston answers a listener's question about how to train for long-distance hikes when you don't have much time. This is a common issue when we factor in jobs, kids, and the hectic nature of modern life. Combine this with the fact that many people sit for long periods at office jobs, and you have a recipe for injury when you have the opportunity to get out on long hikes.

 

Winston adapts a system he's been using to build a high fitness level with a minimal time commitment. The combination of Escalating Density Training with resisted hikes allows you to get big results without hours of training per week. And to top it off, you can do this at home with minimal equipment. 

 

Resisted hikes are done by pulling a tire or sled behind you. You can make your own pulling tire pretty inexpensively by getting a worn out tire without a rim. You can find these at tire repair shops or sitting at the side of the road. Drill a hole in the tread and attach an eye bolt. This will make it easy to attach a rope for pulling. The most comfortable way to pull the tire is with a pulling harness used for pulling sleds for ice fishing. You can get these at any outdoor store that sells ice fishing equipment.

 

Escalating Density Training is where you increase the amount of work you do in a set amount of time. For instance you set a timer for 30 minutes and do as many sets of the prescribed exercises as you can in that time. Each workout try to get a little more work in. Over time you will see a dramatic increase in the amount of work you get done in the time period resulting in increased strength, conditioning and muscle mass.

 

See Training Program below. 

 

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Show Notes:

 

Training Guidelines:

• Never hit failure
• Don't treat it as a metabolic conditioning workout
• Rest as little as possible but as much as you need to do high quality reps.
• Don't allow yourself to get sloppy to just get the reps in.

 

Strength workouts

• 3 Days per week.
• Alternate Workout A and Workout B on non-consecutive days. First week will be A-B-A, followed by B-A-B.

 

Workout A

• 5-10 Body Rows
• 10 Goblet Squats
• 1 Turkish Get Up (Per Side)

Workout B

• 5-10 Pushups
• 15 Two Handed Swings
• 50 Feet Suitcase Carries (Per Side)

 

Conditioning

• 2-3 X 30 minute sessions per week of tire pulling. 5 minutes of backward pulling to strengthen the knees followed by 25 minutes of forward dragging 

Keep your heart rate aerobic but strive to cover more distance each week at the same heartrate. Just a couple of laps of a city block will often eat up this time as you aren't moving fast but are under constant tension.

 

This is a simple program but if you apply these principles diligently and consistently for 8 weeks you will see a difference in your fitness with less than 3 hours of actual work per week.

 

Hiking & Fitness Podcasts:

• Ep. 80: Solo Adventuring 
• Ep. 72: Winter Training for Summer Adventures
• Ep. 59: Let’s Go Hiking 
• Ep. 46: Don’t Let Winter Keep You Inside
• Ep. 7: Barbells and Backpacks 
• Ep. 53: Kettlebell Training For the Outdoor Athlete 
• Ep. 5: Micro Adventures

Training / Fitness Articles:

• 13 Fitness Game Changers to Turbo-Charge Your Progress
• Training Secrets for the Outdoor Athlete
• Great Lakes Girya Kettlebell Review
• 9 Reasons Kettlebell Training is Optimal for Outdoor Athletes  
• Does Hiking Build Glutes
• Kettlebell Training for Hikers and Backpackers   
• Ruck Marching for Hiking Fitness and Fat Loss  
• #TrekTipTuesday - Ruck Marching For Hiking Fitness  
• Training for Outdoors, Simplified