How to Prepare for Hiking 14'ers with Dr. Catherine Logan

Preparing for hiking involves building strength, endurance, and flexibility to handle the demands of uneven terrain, steep inclines, and long distances. Here are some exercises to help you prepare for hiking:

1. Cardiovascular Exercise: Engage in cardiovascular activities such as walking, jogging, cycling, or using an elliptical machine to improve your overall cardiovascular fitness and endurance. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio exercise on most days of the week.

2. Walking and Hiking: Incorporate regular walking and hiking sessions into your routine to build endurance and get accustomed to walking on varied terrain. Start with shorter, easier hikes and gradually increase the distance and difficulty over time.

3. Stair Climbing: Use stairs or a stair climber machine to simulate uphill hiking and strengthen the muscles used for ascending steep inclines. Focus on taking long, purposeful steps and engaging your glutes, quadriceps, and calves.

4. Lower Body Strength Training: Perform strength training exercises to target the muscles of the lower body, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. Exercises such as squats, lunges, step-ups, calf raises, and leg presses can help build strength and endurance for hiking.

5. Core Strengthening: Strengthen your core muscles, including the abdominals, obliques, and lower back, to improve stability and balance on uneven terrain. Planks, Russian twists, bicycle crunches, and stability ball exercises are effective for core strengthening.

6. Balance and Stability Exercises: Improve your balance and stability to navigate uneven terrain more effectively and reduce the risk of falls or injuries. Exercises such as single-leg stands, stability ball exercises, and balance board exercises can help improve proprioception and stability.

7. Flexibility and Mobility Work: Incorporate stretching and mobility exercises to improve flexibility and range of motion in your muscles and joints. Focus on stretching the major muscle groups used for hiking, including the calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, hip flexors, and glutes.

8. Hiking-Specific Training: Mimic hiking movements and conditions during your workouts to better prepare for the demands of hiking. This may include wearing a loaded backpack during walks or hikes, practicing uphill and downhill walking, and incorporating interval training to simulate varying terrain.

9. Trail Running: Incorporate trail running into your training routine to build endurance, improve agility, and get accustomed to the challenges of hiking on uneven surfaces. Trail running can also help improve your cardiovascular fitness and prepare you for the demands of hiking.

10. Rest and Recovery: Allow time for adequate rest and recovery between workouts to prevent overuse injuries and promote muscle repair and recovery. Listen to your body and adjust your training intensity or volume as needed to avoid overtraining.

By incorporating these exercises into your training routine, you can build the strength, endurance, and flexibility needed to tackle challenging hikes with confidence and enjoyment. Additionally, gradually increasing the intensity and duration of your workouts will help ensure that you're adequately prepared for your hiking adventures.

Author

Dr. Catherine Logan, MD, MBA Catherine Logan, MD, MBA, MSPT, is a sports medicine orthopaedic surgeon specializing in complex knee and shoulder surgery at Colorado Sports Medicine and Orthopaedics (COSMO) in Denver, Colorado. As a former physical therapist & trainer, Dr. Logan provides a distinct expertise in sports injury, prevention, and surgical management.