Do you love a good hike? There’s something highly meditative and invigorating about spending a day in nature, breathing deeply, navigating through unknown territory, and pushing your physical and mental limits. Recently, I had such a day hiking, rock-scrambling, and climbing up the South East Ridge of Mount Barney (Queensland, Australia). After 8.5 hours of strenuous exercise, I experienced sore knees, burning quads, a rumbling tummy, a profound sense of accomplishment, and had a whopping smile on my face.
I feel lucky to be able to push myself like this and have such a large amount of trust in what my body can achieve. I do believe that a good training program can help you gain more confidence in your next hike, whatever distance or elevation you choose. Here are a few tips to get you started.
1. Breathe through your nose.
Many people over-breathe during physical activity, leading to excessive CO2 loss and reduced oxygen delivery. Nasal breathing and maintaining a balanced breath rate can enhance your aerobic capacity, reduce breathlessness, and improve endurance. By practicing breath-hold exercises and reducing over-breathing, you can increase your CO2 tolerance and optimise oxygen utilisation.
2. Strengthen your feet and ankles.
Often overlooked, the ankles play a vital role in maintaining stability during hiking, especially when navigating through unstable sections of dirt, moving rocks, and slanted surfaces. Building ankle stability is crucial for preventing slips and falls during long hours of hiking. Strengthening your intrinsic foot and ankle stabilising muscles is key. You can achieve this by training barefoot and incorporating exercises on unstable surfaces such as BOSU or balance boards. Additionally, single-leg training with and without eyes open, as well as hopping drills, can be beneficial. Lastly, it’s important to strengthen your ankle in positions commonly associated with sprains, such as ankle inversion.
3. Focus on eccentric quad strength.
This is important to cover your ass for that gnarly, never-ending downward descent which exponentially creates more stress on your knees. Ways to do this are focusing on the downward action of a loaded squat, walking slowly down a steep hill (with and without a loaded pack), walking slowly down stairs (with and without a loaded pack), single leg lowering off a step in various directions and single leg reaching of your opposite foot in various directions.
4. Prioritise your posterior chain.
Strengthening your glutes, hamstrings, and back through hip-hinging exercises is crucial for muscular balance and injury prevention. We tend to be quad-dominant due to excessive sitting, so focusing on the posterior chain helps create balance and reduces joint wear and tear. A well-developed posterior chain will provide stronger propulsion during hiking, preventing early fatigue and compensatory movements.
5. Train (shorter hikes) with a weighted backpack.
If you are planning a big day hike, it’s important to consider the necessary items to carry, such as at least 3L of water, snacks, minimal first aid supplies, and a means to contact in case of emergencies, such as your phone. Keep in mind that this additional gear will amount to at least 3kg on your back, which can lead to fatigue in your upper back and shoulders, causing earlier exhaustion compared to just carrying your bodyweight alone.
6. Assess your fitness level.
Regular exercise and cross-training are essential for enhancing cardiovascular fitness and preventing muscle imbalances. It’s crucial to engage in a diverse range of activities, including walking, running, swimming, rock-climbing, cycling, dancing, kayaking, surfing, and more. By incorporating various movements into your routine, you can safeguard against muscle imbalances that may arise from repetitive and asymmetrical sports.
7. Hike with a companion.
Apart from being way more enjoyable (for most), hiking with a buddy is also a hell of a lot safer. Let me share a personal anecdote to drive this point home. Picture this: it was just over a year ago, and I found myself hiking solo through bum f*%k nowhere in South Australia (not the brightest idea, I admit). On the treacherous descent, I managed to badly sprain my ankle. It took me nearly two hours to make my way down the mountain, cursing every step of the way. I couldn’t walk properly or drive my manual bus for a grueling four days. Luckily I had enough food and water to keep me going until I could get my act together. Let’s just say it was a stressful experience that I would never wish to repeat! Moral of the story: buddy up and spare yourself the solo misadventures. Safety and shared laughter are worth their weight in gold on the trails!
8. And lastly, my thoughts on hiking poles and hiking boots. Do you need them?
Do I suggest high ankle boots? I guess with everything in life and factoring on your unique situation, it depends. I believe that if you lack the ankle stability and natural support to hike for extended periods, it’s crucial to build them up before hiking. While there are situations where ankle support may be necessary, I strongly advocate for prioritising ankle stability training as a first step (or in combination with other measures). I have a good friend who would have sprained her ankle if she hadn’t been wearing high-ankle boots. However, as a result of the ankle immobilisation, she ended up developing a more severe condition in her knee/hip areas. Managing this complex injury has been challenging and difficult.
Do I use hiking poles? I personally don’t but whether you need them is going to be your call. I love using my hands to scramble up rocks and climb. I also rely on my hands to assist me during tricky downhill sections and move in a crab-like manner. If your knees are causing significant discomfort, hiking poles might aid in the descent. However, it’s important to assess your leg strength and stability. Have you trained your ankles, knees, and hips? Do you possess sufficient eccentric knee-extensor (quad) strength? If you have addressed these factors and still require poles, then by all means, use them.
During my Mount Barney hike, I encountered a group of early teen kids (accompanied by adult supervisors) who were all using hiking poles. Interestingly, my friend and I easily surpassed them by bear-crawling up the steep rocky sections in a primal fashion. It appeared that the kids were struggling to navigate with their awkwardly long poles. For young teens, I can’t imagine they had much need for those poles, and using them seemed to hinder their ability to rely on their body’s natural intelligence and athleticism while ascending the mountain.
By following these tips, you can enhance your training and be better prepared for your next hiking adventure. Remember to listen to your body, respect your limits, and most importantly, enjoy the beauty of nature. Share your experiences and photos of your hikes—I’d love to hear from you!