Hiking Strength Series – Introduction
Hiking Strength Series – How to improve strength, stability, and endurance on the trail to be ready for your dream hike
“You are wise to climb Mt Fuji, but a fool to do it twice.” -Proverb
In July 2010, I was in Tokyo for a short conference on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief. While there I had the amazing opportunity to climb Mt Fuji and despite my lack of training, I couldn’t miss the chance to see the iconic mountain of Japanese lore up close.
The plan was to set out on a beautiful Saturday night around 11pm and reach the summit in time to watch the sunrise on Sunday. What an experience it would be; watching the sunrise on TOP of the Land of the Rising Sun, yeah, I was pumped! Well, so were about twenty thousand others that had the exact same idea. There were actually areas along the trail where
hikers were clumped front-to-back and four wide. It was so crowded that my climbing partners and I would get to a standstill and have to wait. To pass the time, I would watch ahead to see spaces open up. The next person would advance a step and I could watch the gap just move like a slinky as the hikers along that section of trail took their step. Occasionally, we would get to an area where the loose lava rock cleared and opened up to a solid rocky outcropping. At these moments while the herd was taking the well-worn and easier route we would scramble up solid rock trying to get as far in front as possible and ensure our seat at the top of the mountain. Luckily, we arrived just in time to see the sun rise.
The summit of Mt Fuji is a little over 12,000 ft and while it is not really a technical climb, more just a long uphill hike, for a low-land Missourian (me) it would still be a challenge. This would be my first time anywhere near that high, so to study I read a few forums and trip reports, issues were mainly altitude, distance, and weather. I also looked into training, but dedicated content on improving hiking abilities was limited. I had been a sporadic CrossFitter for probably 5 years and I had dabbled in strongman and trail running, so I added in a few hikes and called it good. It was not good. It was still 8ish hours of steep uphill climbing in thin air. The one thing that oddly worked out for me was the mass of people. The snail-like pace that immediately 
followed the occasional sprint up a rock actually allowed us plenty of time to rest and recover. If I had been on less populated mountain and pace was unrestricted we would have pushed hard to make time and no doubt suffered due to our lack of training and acclimation. The lessons from that trip and adventures since then formed the framework for this series.
Through this upcoming sequence of posts I’ll cover strength training, exercises, and routines that have helped me and will act as a solid basis for your outdoor hiking and backpacking adventures.
The posts will be broken down by movement or function. There are so many resources out there for specifics of technique that it is difficult to wade through the waters sometimes, but for each segment I’ll explain why I feel these movements are good for you and the points of each movement that I try to focus on. I’ll also include videos I’ve either found from around the interweb or my own to help illustrate these points. I’ll break the series down roughly as follows:
- The SQUAT – this is the ultimate, #1, top, favorite exercise that I feel everyone should be doing. Ideally weighted, but bodyweight is also good. I’ll discuss some proper technique, various ways to increase range of motion, and options outside of the gym. Not just for the legs, this is a great full body movement, and should be at the top of everyone’s training list. It is so important, in my mind anyways, that it deserves its own post (hell, it could probably use its own website if it doesn’t already!)
- Lower body – Here I’ll cover some of the other primarily lower body movements that are beneficial to have in your training program. These will include deadlift, which is near the top there with the squat, and some single leg movements, which will help build stability and balance.
- Core – squats and deadlift are also secretly core builders as well, but outside those movements I’ll cover a few others that will help hauling those overstuffed sixty pound backpacks the distance. We’ll also touch on a few trail running drills to help with balance and footwork.
- Upper body/balance – In all programs you need balance, here I’ll cover a few basic movements to round out your program to improve overall health. There will be no curls or tricep extensions here, these are compound movements similar to the lower body exercises mentioned, and variations of each to keep you interested or progressively increase the challenge.
Finally, I’ll put it all together, the movements were chosen for max effectiveness so most training periods will be under an hour and only a couple of times a week. Getting outside and moving through nature will be the other side of that. Hiking or running local trails will be key to getting a feel for uneven surfaces and will help build stamina and endurance. Combining this strength work with trail work will make you better prepared and confident when that dream hike comes your way!
I hope you enjoy this series, be sure to subscribe to get the latest posts and follow the whole series. As we near the end I’ll release a full 10 week program to all my email subscribers. Also, please let me know what you think in the comments, what motivates you to get outdoors and how can I help you do more?
Thanks for reading!
Hiking Strength Series
