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Hiking season is around the corner! If you are like me, you want to pick up right where you left off, especially after we start getting some sunny days. When we rush back to where we left off last year, we are at increased risk for cranky knees and hips. This is especially true if we haven’t been training for hiking over the winter season. The majority of overuse injuries can be prevented with a little bit of strength training. Below are my favorite three exercises that I use as a baseline to start getting people to get ready to start hiking again. This routine should be able to be completed in about 15 minutes. Doing this two or three times a week for the 6-8 weeks before hiking season will pay significant dividends in injury prevention.
1. Wall sits – This is an old school exercise but, is really potent for building up our quads and tendons around our knees. For this exercise do four repetitions of 30 seconds working and 30 seconds resting. When working, the name of the game is maximum effort. Push into the wall as hard as you can.
2. Side lying hip abduction – I think this exercise can get a bad rap sometimes. Often I don’t think it gets performed with enough intensity. You should choose a loop that only allows you to move your leg up 8-12 inches. Another common fault with this is to let the leg drift forward and to let the toe rotate open. Really concentrate on leading with your heel just slightly backward. Perform for 3 repetitions of 30 seconds of work and 30 seconds of rest for each leg. Just like the wall sits maximum effort must be applied over that 30 seconds.
3. Single leg calf raises off a step- We want to perform this exercise through the largest range of motion that we can while also concentrating on tempo of the movement. It should take about 3 seconds on the way up and 3 seconds on the way down. Start with 3 sets of 6 repetitions. Add a repetition every time you successfully complete a workout. Once you get to 3 sets of 15 put a pack on and add 2.5 pounds each workout.
BONUS: Other great exercises to get your legs in hiking shape include step ups and lunges for the uphill, along with partial pistol squats for the downhill. Also, even getting in some cardio with uphill treadmill walking or the Stair master (can wear a pack) will help out. For cardio pick a pace that you can could get out about 2-3 sentences of speech before you would have to stop to catch your breath. You shouldn’t be able to sing and you shouldn’t be the point where you can’t talk.
As always, thank you for reading! I really appreciate you taking the time to get this far. If you know someone that would benefit from reading this post, please share. To subscribe to blogs that are directed at outdoor athletes fill out the form below. If you have any questions you can email me at dan@arrowptseattle.com or if you are interested in scheduling an appointment click here