Comments on: Training for a long distance hike? https://pmags.com/training-for-a-long-distance-hike Practical advice and musings on the outdoors, hiking, backpacking, ski touring, and camping. Mon, 02 Aug 2021 23:13:23 +0000 hourly 1 By: Paul Mags https://pmags.com/training-for-a-long-distance-hike#comment-699619 Mon, 02 Aug 2021 23:13:23 +0000 https://pmags.com/?p=29600#comment-699619 In reply to Colorado Jones.

Sounds like you found something that works well for you. Which is all one can ask. 🙂 I regularly WFH so home-based workouts fit my needs well. Plus I genuinely enjoy weight training.

]]> By: Paul Mags https://pmags.com/training-for-a-long-distance-hike#comment-699617 Mon, 02 Aug 2021 23:09:27 +0000 https://pmags.com/?p=29600#comment-699617 In reply to Ed Kohinke.

and find the weekend warrior lifestyle is too stressful overall, trying to cram 10 lbs of activity into a 2 lb sack.

Very good point! The other bonus about maintaining fitness is that you can choose to “go big or go home” if you want a high mileage or long hour day. Or you can join your friends and their children one weekend,, drink coffee late into camp on a Sunday, and take a leisurely stroll. All without feeling like you need to hit it big. Being fit gives both options.

]]> By: Colorado Jones https://pmags.com/training-for-a-long-distance-hike#comment-699615 Mon, 02 Aug 2021 21:47:10 +0000 https://pmags.com/?p=29600#comment-699615 Good advice for staying in shape, Paul, but definitely not my preferred method. Pre-Covid, I biked 12 miles RT to work a minimum of 3 days/week and am now slowly getting back into that. When gearing up for a multi-day backpack trip, my emphasis will shift to less cycling and more mountain hiking or in-town walking days each week, typically long walks around the perimeter of Cherry Creek Reservoir or Barr Lake. For me, bike commuting is a time efficient way to get a workout since I have to commute anyway, so I may as well extend the commute by a a few minutes each way and get a work out in at the same time. High-mileage city walks, on the other hand, do require a great deal more time commitment than the types of workouts you describe here but, for me, are more fun and interesting. Bad weather days usually mean working out on the exercise bike in my living room while catching up with reruns of Alone or The Adventures of Young Colorado Indiana Jones.

]]> By: Ed Kohinke https://pmags.com/training-for-a-long-distance-hike#comment-699613 Mon, 02 Aug 2021 16:22:21 +0000 https://pmags.com/?p=29600#comment-699613 Well said, I concur with the lifestyle approach to hiking fitness. I workout/cross train throughout the week because it’s fun and that’s what my life is about doing. Also, I’m 50 now and find the weekend warrior lifestyle is too stressful overall, trying to cram 10 lbs of activity into a 2 lb sack. “Getting into shape on the trail” is a recipe, for me, for short miles, unnecessary injuries, and frowny faces.

]]> By: Ellie Thomas https://pmags.com/training-for-a-long-distance-hike#comment-699612 Mon, 02 Aug 2021 15:42:04 +0000 https://pmags.com/?p=29600#comment-699612 Thru-hiking is much more enjoyable if in some type of shape, and agony if “hiking your body into trail shape.” Unfortunately, it took me a few years to figure this out. 🙂

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