Adventure Travel Conditioning

As an athlete most of my life, I have come to appreciate the benefits of going into any physical event in some sort of shape. When I started hiking (at the age of 32), I thought I was in pretty good shape. Being a competitive power-lifter for 12 years had given me the (false) sense of I was in peak condition.

Then we took our first hike...

That was the year we did the first 2 miles of the Kalalau trail hike on Kauai. Getting to the beach was a breeze..it was the trip back that wasn't so much fun. Dehydration and lactic acid were the culprits. Simply put - conditioning is the key...but not just running or walking miles on end. Targeted conditioning (something I had no clue about at the time), is what I needed.

So, after much reading and trial and error, here's what works for us. It's a combination of weight training, conditioning and core stengthening exercises. Not all of us have time to train like a professional athlete so the following is what produces the best results in the relatively limited workout time we have. Everyone should customize a workout to their needs and body type and by all means consult your doctor before trying any of this stuff if you haven't worked out in a while:

Monday

Weights:

Bench or Incline press - 4 sets of 8 (moderate wight)
Flyes (cable or dumbbell) - 4 sets of 10-12 repetitions
Tricep pushdowns - 5 sets of 8-10 reps (moderate weight)

Core Exercise:

Push-ups balanced on two medicine balls - 3 sets to maximum
Abdominal crunches (3 sets of 20, if your fit enough, hold a medicine ball on your chest)
Leg Raises - hang from the nearest pull-up bar and raise your legs out in front of you (3 sets x 20 repetitions)

Aerobic Exercise:

Stair stepper - 45 minutes, gradually increasing difficulty every 5 minutes (ie. start at level 3 increase 1 level every 5 minutes until complete)

Slow jog on treadmill for 15 minutes (incline: 1-3)

**This is a long one but if you include some light stretching, this workout should take no more than 2 hours


Tuesday

Aerobic Exercise:

- outside run, 4-5 miles at conversational pace (mixed terrain, ie. pavement and grass, hills and flat areas)

Wednesday

Weight Training:

Pull-ups - 3 sets of 10 repetitions (or as many as you can do)
T-bar rows - 4 sets of 8 (moderate weight)
Pulley rows - 4 sets of 10

Leg Squats (be careful with these!) - 3 sets of 10 repetitions, gradually increase weight by 10 pounds each week
Leg extensions - 3 sets x 10 repetitions
Leg curls - 3 sets x 10 repetitions

Core Exercise:

Bosu ball - start with 3 sets of 8 to 10 squats on the ball, work up to 3 sets of 50. For more of a challenge, work up to these rep numbers with a backpack on!


Thursday

Rest day (walk dogs)

Friday

Abdominal work
Light run (2-3 miles conversational pace)

Saturday

HIKE!! Living in to Mid-Atlantic region really doesn't afford us the luxury of any high peaks but, with the AT a few hours away, you can get in a serious day hike or a good overnight hike. We'll also head to NY and Pennsylvania for some steeper, higher trips. Some days we'll find the steepest 2 mile stretch and do 5 or 6 intervals up and down. Other days we'll just go out and back for a total of 10-15 miles.

Sunday

Hike (10-15 miles)

or

Run intervals at the local track. Jog 1 mile. We like doing 110 yd. sprints; work your way up to about 20 of them with minimal rest between intervals (10-20 seconds) and you will gradually bring your stamina up. Time your interval and try to beat your average time. Try longer intervals to mix it up (200 or 400 yard runs are great too).

End off with a 1 mile cool down.

or

Rest day if your feeling beat up.