If you think hiking is an easy activity for ageing people who want to breathe some fresh air, think again! Hiking is much more difficult than a walk in the park and therefore requires preparation, especially if you are new to hiking or if you haven’t hiked for a long time. But, how to get in shape for hiking? Follow these easy steps and workouts to hit the trails in confidence.
Hiking is not for everyone. Notice the wilderness is mostly empty
Sonja Yoerg
This is not just a quote to look good on your Instagram or Pinterest account (even though I admit I have it on my Pinterest account), it is a fact. Hiking is not for everyone because you need to be prepared mentally and physically to be able to complete a hike, and every hike comes with its challenges. Don’t be a fool, some day-hikes even in the South of England can be tough such as the South Downs for example.
So, okay. You don’t need a six-pack to hike. Having big muscles could slow you down. But you need a strong core and leg muscle as well as back and shoulders to carry your backpack. Before we dive into the workouts to get shape for hiking, let’s have a look at why you should prepare before a hike.
Disclaimer: The exercises advised in this post are intended for people with no medical conditions. Please always seek medical advice before starting any training programs for hiking.
How to Get in Shape for Hiking: What You Need to Know
Why you should prepare before hitting the trails
To avoid injuries.
That is the whole purpose of training for hiking: finishing the hike in one piece and not in a hospital. To avoid injuries, you need to focus on building your leg muscles. Those are the quadriceps, calves and hamstrings. Moreover, the most common accidents are ankle injuries. This is why it is also important to strengthen ankle muscles.
To avoid injuries, you can also use trekking poles. They help protect your knees by distributing the weight and improving your posture while walking on uneven or slippery terrain.
Create a schedule
And stick to it!
You know you need to train before getting into hiking, so all you need is a training plan. When it comes to your training program there are 3 areas you need to focus on:
- Walking (no kidding!)
- Strength
- Cardio
You should start training around 9 weeks before the big day to be ready and confident to get on the trails.
There is no perfect miracle training plan that would make you able to complete a 38.5km Ivinghoe Beacon circular hike without prior hiking experience, but here are guidelines as to how you can plan your workouts.
Training Schedule
Download my training schedule to get in shape for hiking and track your progress.
How to Get in Shape for Hiking: The Exercises
Before you start the workouts to get in shape for hiking, make sure you warm up. It is important to increase your heart rate and your body temperature as well as lessen muscle soreness.
1 – Go for walks
It might seem a bit obvious that to train for a hike you need to walk, but it is essential. Go for a walk in your neighbourhood, but note that when hiking in the countryside you would barely be walking on concrete paths. So if you have a park near you it would be better for a walk due to the terrain. Moreover, when I say take a walk in the park, I don’t mean take your time. To be efficient, you need to walk at a brisk pace.
As part of your training, you should:
- Walk 2 to 3 times per week
- Increase the mileage by 10% every week
- Add a backpack,
- Increase the weight of your backpack
Then when you are comfortable, you can make it more difficult by adding hill climbing. The truth of the matter is that the terrain in the countryside isn’t even. You will go up and downhill engaging a different set of muscles than when walking on the flat ground.
Living in London?
I know, this is where I live too but it does not mean you cannot find a hill! There are plenty of options from Hampstead Heath to Greenwich. To check the list of the highest points in London, click here.
One hill which is not on that list but worth mentioning is Horsenden Hill. If you live in West London, then I highly recommend going there. Accessible by tube from Perival Station on the Central Line, it is the ideal place to train with different types of terrain from woods to grassy fields. To know more about Horsenden Hill, read my article here.
Tip: If you are lucky enough to live near the beach, have a walk in the sand. It is a really good way to make these leg muscles work hard.
Tip 2: When going for a walk, make sure you wear the same shoes you would be wearing on the hike
2 – Core
When climbing, you would be engaging not only the muscles in your legs but your core as well. Here are exercises you can do at home to strengthen your core.
Tip: Don’t know what exercises to do or don’t have a timer? Download Abs Workout by 7M. This free app has a range of core exercises to complete in only 7 minutes with a timer. They also offer videos to explain out to do it correctly. And the extra bonus: You can create your own set of exercises!
Crunches
Muscles: Abdominal muscles
Lay on your mat, legs folded with feet flat on the ground. Your legs could be hip-distance apart or together. Place your fingertips behind the head (not a flat hand to avoid putting too much pressure on your neck) and lift the upper side of your body.
Side planks
Muscles: Oblique muscles
Place one hand on the mat and ensure your shoulder and the wrist are in line, the fingers pointing forward. Lift your body with your head forming a line with your heels. Ensure that your hips are centred by engaging your core. Stack your feet on top of each other with your feet flexed.
Squats
Muscles: Glutes, Quadriceps, Abductors. Hip flexors, Hamstring and Calves
A good lower body round-up exercise. Put your legs hip-distance apart, your arm lifted in front of you parallel to the ground. Bend as if you were going to sit on an imaginary chair. Keep an eye on your knees: they should not point inwards or outwards but stay in line with the feet. When bending, make sure your knees stay behind your toes and that your back is straight.
Lateral band walks
Muscles: Glutes
Put your feet together with a resistance band above your knee. Go down in a quarter squat position, spread your knees apart with your toes pointing forward. Put your arms in front of you to ensure that your chest is up. Step out on the right and then come back to the centre and repeat the same on the left.
Lunges
Muscles: Quadriceps, Hamstring, Glutes, Calves
Here is an efficient lower body exercise to practise at home without any equipment. Start on the floor to ensure that you have the correct position. Put one knee on the floor and bend the other leg in front of you. Your shoulder, hip and knee on the floor should be aligned. The foot at the back should be flexed. Finally, make sure that your lead leg is vertical and not too much forward or backward. Then lift up and go back to the initial position.
Tip: If you suffer from knee pain, stick to the stationary lunges. If you are more advanced you can do walking lunges.
3 – Cardio
It is no surprise that running is the best form of exercise for cardio. But to be honest, and I believe I am not the only one out there, if I picked hiking as a hobby it is because I HATE running. So here are some alternatives for you:
- Cycling
- Going to the gym
- Hill climbing (my favourite)
- Doing mountain climbers at home
Mountain climbers are a good exercise for cardio as it increases your heart rate and at the same time strengthens your core, arms, back and shoulders. Go down on your mat facing the floor, arms straight in line with your wrists, hands on the mat, fingers pointing forward. Make sure your body is forming a straight line from head to heels and your back is flat. From here, pull your knees into your chest.
4 – Back & Shoulders
Let’s continue our selections of exercises to get in shape for hiking and this time focus on the back and shoulders. It might not sound obvious but in an activity that involves carrying, taking off and putting back a backpack non-stop during the day, you better have a strong back and shoulders. To strengthen your back and shoulders, here are 2 exercises you can do at home.
Push-ups
Muscles: Chest, shoulders, upper and middle back, biceps
Go down to your mat facing the floor, feet flexed. Put your hands flat on the mat at chest level, fingers pointing forward. Squeeze the shoulders to engage your back. Press up and come back down. If you cannot do the full push-ups (like me), put your knees on the floor.
Plank
Muscles: Abdominal, Obliques, shoulders and lower back
Come down to your mat on your forearms. Make sure your shoulders are directly over your elbows. Tuck the toes under and lift your body. Your body should be aligned from head to toe. Hold it. Once you are comfortable, you can start adding some difficulty to it: full arm length, lift one leg at a time, rotate your hips … are a few examples of what you can do to spice it up a bit.
5 – Steps
Walking is all about making steps so it makes sense that you need to work on your ability to make a lot of steps. From a bench in your local park to a home step, find something around 8 inches (20 cm) tall or more to climb on. Put some music on or listen to your favourite podcast, whatever works for you, and keep on going up and down the step. You can add a backpack to increase the difficulty.
6 – Strengthen your legs
That is a no-brainer! However, as you are using your legs to walk on a daily basis (breaking news!), it is not the part of your body that you would need to focus on the most during your training. So, if you don’t know what to do to work on your leg muscles, here is one good exercise for you to practise at home.
Poor man’s leg curl
Muscles: Hamstrings
Place 2 feet up a bench (or your sofa), your knee should be perpendicular to the floor, place your hands behind your head and lift your hips. Alternatively, you can place your hands on the floor, and push one leg back to lift your hips. Alternate with the other leg.
7 – Stretch
So we worked out our core, shoulders, back, and legs and did some steps and cardio exercises.
So now what?
Now it is time to stretch to avoid having achy muscles the following day. Stretching after working out helps reduce the accumulation of lactic acid in your body which is responsible for the soreness of your muscles. Additionally, stretching also makes you more flexible which can be a great skill when hiking in a mountainous area where you might need to do some scrambling to get to the top.
You can find YouTube yoga classes designed specifically for hikers to focus on the muscles that are the most engaged when walking.
Video: In this video, Boho Beautiful is showing you yoga poses for the lower body, ideal after workouts or a strenuous hike.
8 – Have a healthy Lifestyle
All these workouts and you bite on a Big Mac and drink 5 pints? No, no, no!
It goes hand in hand: with a healthy body and a healthy lifestyle. Delete your Deliveroo app and take your pans out of the kitchen cupboards. It’s time to cook from scratch so that you know what is in your food!
Don’t know what to cook or how to cook it? I’ve got you covered. Download the Tasty app for a choice of healthy recipes with tutorial videos. You can even choose based on the preparation time in case you are in a rush!
Related Content: 5 Lunch Ideas for a Hike
Outside of the food, adopting a healthy lifestyle also passes by changing your habits:
- Take the stairs and not the lift
- Opt for soft or alcohol-free drinks
- Decrease your coffee intake
- Go to bed early
- Have a morning routine
And this is just the beginning …
9 – Prepare Mentally
Finally, to get in shape for hiking, you need to not only be prepared physically but mentally too. Hiking long distances or climbing mountains can be challenging and strenuous. Your body will feel like it is about to shut down but only your mind can take over and tell it to keep going.
To remain calm when your body screams “STOP”, you can practise meditation. No need to download an expensive Headspace app for example when the free Insight Timer app offers a large library of guided and self-guided meditation audios.
Happy relaxation time …
Final thoughts on how to get in shape for hiking
Getting in shape is hard work but going unprepared for a hike is no fun too. Take the time to train your body and remember to keep on working out between hikes to stay fit!
Do you know any exercises to get in shape for hiking? Let me know in the comments below.
Did you like the tips? Pin it on your training workouts board!
