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Backpacking 102 Get fit


Mike Long

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Backpacking is an endurance activity.

 

The number one area that you need to stregthen is your cardiovascular system. Anything that helps to strengthen your heart and lungs will work. Swimming and running are big winners here.

 

The number two area you need to strengthen is your lower body. Hips, knees, ankles and feet take the brunt of the pressure of backpacking. So you need to work your quads, hamstrings, and calves. Once again running will most likely be the most effective exercise in that area. You also need to build the weight bearing ability of those muscle groups. A little weight training wouldn't hurt. Stair climbers are great too. If you feel the need to lay oput some cash or have access to a gym spend some time on a nordic track Teton. Remeber, a properly adjusted pack will transfer the weight of the pack to your hips and down your legs not your neck and shoulders.

 

Now you may ask "What about getting used to that big 'ole pack?" I have bad news for you. The only way to get used to the backpack is to wear it with weight or exercise in it.

 

My best real world suggestion that will work for everyone is to start small. Take a walk everyday and begin to take longer walks. If you are gung-ho start running. At some point take a long walk with your empty backpack. Over a series of packwalks add weight to the pack. Some folks just toss it books for weight but I think is a better idea to add pieces of gear you intend to use. This give you a feel for how the pack will ride. Gradually you will build up endurance to the point that you are walking with a fully loaded pack. Oh yes, don't skip that walk if it is raining, take it anyway. You won't likely have the option to not hike when on the trail so you might as well figure out how to deal with the elements and get comfortable with your gear in your own neighborhood. You might just find out that you hate that poncho and want a rainsuit, maybe the garbage bag was a better pack cover than the store bought one. How long will this take? Only you can answer that. My best answer is until you feel confident.

 

The big problem that I have seen is that most first time hikers try to outpace their heart and lungs. This is especilly true when they hike their fist big incline. Only go as fast as your body tells you. On particularly rough grades I will literally take a step, breath, take a step, breath ect. Learn how to Rest Step. As you put one foot forward and down, you pause for a second or two while the weight is still on the backward leg. (it is ok to let the knkee lock.) Then transfer the weight to the forward leg, take a step forward, and pause again. This gives you a little break with each step. Once you get used to the rest step, you'll be able to set a comfortable pace and move uphill without having to climb 10 steps and stop to gasp for air, then climb another 10 steps and stop and gasp again. This technique will definately work to help you up that hill.

 

How to save your knees and ankles.

 

In a phrase, get some walking sticks. Not one but two. Telescoping trekking poles have been proven to remove TONS of pressure off of your knees. Many folks like the spring loaded versions to help cushion the shock of going downhill.

 

Knee braces and supports are good but the poles will do much more for you.

 

The biggest benefit for physical conditioning is not that you won't feel whuped on the trail, it is that you will recover faster when you get whuped.

 

Get your scouts to walk and spend a couple of meetings just going for a small hike with backpacks on around where you meet. It really does make for an interesting meeting.

 

In short you don't need to be an ironman to backpack. You just need to be in reasonably good condition. Granted the better your condition the easier it will be on you. The lesser the condition, well, just choose your trips and gear conservatively.(This message has been edited by Mike Long)

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All of Mike's advice is very sound. The one thing I would add is the necessity for training hikes with loads where the scouts, and adults, can be observed. Often people have unsuspected orthopedic problems that surface under these conditions. Often there are solutions for these problems and these can be worked out before a serious trek is undertaken. I have found the most difficult and stressful thing to be going downhill on a difficult trail with a load.

 

Several years ago our troop sent two crews to Philmont. A scout was allowed to go who had not participated in any of the training. It turns out he had big problems with his hips and was in agony for the entire trek. His dad went along too and knew about this beforehand. It got rather ugly. One also wonders about the doctor who signed off on the kid.

 

There is no substitute for training hikes after everybody has done their individual training.

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