Success is where preparation and opportunity meet. -Bobby Unser
First off. I’m not going to oversell myself. There are a ton of (almost) 53 year old guys in FAR better shape than I am, and I guarantee there are plenty of men who are far better physical specimens to look at than me. However, I feel confident saying that I’m maintaining an above average level of fitness compared to the Average American Male of my age.
For example, last September I ran 12 miles to raise charity funds for Tunnels to Towers. I left the next day for the Adirondacks where I packed in a solid 8 miles, set camp then summited two High Peaks. The following day I did two more summits then packed out the next morning. After I returned home I went back to work and passed my annual Physical Fitness test within the 75th percentile of my age bracket. I can deadlift twice my bodyweight, I could run a respectable 5k right now if needed and I feel safe to say I could strap on a full pack RIGHT NOW and get myself anywhere I want to go.
What advice can I give you?
I don’t have some “magic formula workout” to give you. I’m not going to show you photos of me describing how-to do step-ups or lunges nor will I belabor, for the millionth time on the internet, the importance of cardio for hikers. All of that is great, you need to do them, I do them, but I think that…in the long run…you need to prioritize a MINDSET about staying in shape more than you need a list of sets, reps, weights, distances and heart rates.
My personal fitness philosophy can be broken down into two main themes.
Train For an Objective: I have always tried to have a “purpose” to my training. When I enlisted I wanted to be able to perform all the physical tasks of a soldier without embarrassing myself. I knew I had to be able to run, to carry a pack, to do push-up’s and sit-up’s, etc. etc. so I trained accordingly. I took the same approach with the Police Academy and SWAT. Now that I’m working on the 46 I have another purpose for training.
This sort of approach needs you to be capable across various fitness requirements to be successful vs singular fitness goals. While objectives like “lose 50 pounds”, or “run a Marathon”, or deadlift 400 pounds are perfectly legitimate, it’s my opinion that “end state goals” like that tend to end with a “well..what now?” conclusion for some people. After they reach their goal they lose interest in the program that got them there. Certainly many “Marathon Goal” runners continue to run races and maintain their motivation by striving to make faster times and continue their training, but all to many people check the “well I did that” box and call it a day.
I like to have “all encompassing” goals that have varied physical demands as well as skill requirements. An objective like,” be able to take a full pack at any moment and go 25 miles with it across varied terrain”, requires physical demands like cardio, core strength and muscular endurance as well as skills like land navigation, food and water procurement/supply/preparation and various others.
Do Something Everyday: This doesn’t mean to over train or ignore programming. I’ve followed various programs and will continue to do so. This isn’t about following or sticking to a program (that’s a given), it’s about your mindset. I try to do something every day to improve myself. A large part of that is exercise, but not all of it. If I am on a rest day, or feeling particularly drained, or seeing my resting heart rate on the rise I may maintain my equipment, research a new fitness program or do some map reconnaissance for my next hike.
Some days my “something” may be to do some dry-fire weapons training. Or I may just walk 5 miles around town with a 45lb pack. Today my “something” is writing a blog post to try and actually lay out what I’m doing in words…maybe I’ll learn something about myself and find a better way.
So. What do I actually do?
My training for hiking for the past 3-4 years is usually the selection of a 12 week program that I begin around the end of March and finish in June when my hiking season typically starts. These programs are heavy on the cardio, with lots of stepping movements, core work and with a dash of “supporting” exercises like chins, push-ups, weights etc. Time is coming up for that again.
When I’m off program I tend to do a hodge-podge of workouts that have a strong cardio/muscular endurance component. The following is a list of various workouts I do for about an hour 4-5 days a week interspersed with ruck walks and runs/jogs. Sometimes the other 2 days of the week are rest days (where I try to do a skill session) or “recovery workout” days that may include a walk with the wife/dog or an additional “pack walk” about town.
I usually do one of the workouts below, not repeating for the week OR at least not repeating any one workout the next day.
Cardio: IMO cardio probably the most vital thing for hiking. Running, treadmills, ellipticals, heavy bag/boxing drills, burpees, step-up’s/down’s, walking.
Research Heart Rate Training and get a Heart Monitor. It works. You don’t have to be a marathoner, or run till you puke….I think too many people get turned off to cardio by biting off too much too soon. Working up to higher efforts can actually be fun if you do it right. Somedays my cardio is an hour on the treadmill (It’s winter here) or the elliptical at my target heartrate. Many days its a blended workout where I run/lift/run or run/box/run/. Run/burpee/run. Burpee/box/burpee…etc. etc. Ill talk more about that later.
Deadlifts: Deadlifts are great core, posterior chain and overall strength builders. Hauling that pack, hoisting it off the ground, all of that can be trained with deads. Be warned, there is a skill/technique learning curve to them so you don’t hurt yourself. You can work max strength by working up to single rep lifts and you can improve your endurance by doing higher reps at lighter (but still challenging) weight.
Traditional Weight Lifting: Most of my Trad Lifting these days are “Push Pull” lifts. This week was Bench Press 12-15 reps followed by 10-12 chin-ups followed by 25 ab/core movements (sit-up/ab machine, leg lifts, etc). Wash, rinse, repeat.
Somedays I’ll do overhead presses vs bench, rows vs chins, etc. One “push” movement followed by a “pull movement”. Squats find their way in some days too. I’ll also include core/ab stuff here. Planks, roll-outs, crunches, leg-lifts, etc. etc.
Heavy Bag/Boxing: I do “rounds” (typically a song on my playlist) on the heavy bag. I mix in kicks, combinations, sometimes burpees. Rest a minute or two then back at it till you have covered 45 min/hour. My gym also has a “loose bag” that’s available to “bear hug walk”, slam on the ground, or “ground and pound” (straddle it and punch/elbow away at it for a round).
Step Up’s/Downs/Lunges: Mix it up. Sometimes I’ll just do step ups for 30-45 minutes straight (don’t even bother counting anymore). Sometimes it will be 10 minutes on a regular height bench, followed by 5-10 minutes on a high bench. Sometimes I put a sandbag across my shoulders and alternate that for 5-10 minutes at a shot.
Walking lunges, walking weighted lunges, lunges with a kettlebell held overhead, split squats, one leg deadlifts. They have all found their way into this workout.
Burpees: They suck to do, but I think they are great. Some days my only goal is to do 100 of them (in “chunks”). Other days I will do burpees mixed in with other exercises (see “Blenders” below). Burpees under a chin-up bar with chins “on the jump”. Burpees mixed in with Heavy Bag.
Rucking: Simple. Put on a pack and walk. Vary weight, vary distance, vary pace/speed. Good for cardio, core, muscular endurance, foot toughening/blisterproofing.
“Blender Workouts“: While a workout day may be just one of the workouts described above, more and more I will “blend” stuff together into an hours workout. Burpees are a good “ingredient” here.
One of my go-to’s is the Run/Fight/Run workout. I run 1/2 mile, hit the heavy bag for 5 min, run 1/2 mile, hit a grounded bag for 5 min, run a 1/2 mile. Sometimes I toss in “10 deadlifts at 225 lbs”. Sometimes its 10-20 burpees, or a “bear hug” heavy bag carry for a set number of laps around the gym. My goal is to do a set number of cycles till the “run” portion of the workout hits a specific distance. For me between 3-5 miles.
Some other examples:
30 min on the treadmill then 30 min of step-up’s (alternating weighted and not).
Run/burpee/run/burpee/run (repeat till mileage is met).
Run/deadlift/run/chins (repeat till mileage is met).
Run/deadlift/run/sit-ups and push-ups/run/chins (repeat till mileage is met).
The combination possibilities are endless.
In conclusion. I’m not a certified physical trainer. I’m not claiming that my approach to fitness is “ideal” for me or for you (lol), but I have been doing OK for myself with it so far. If you are looking for some ideas to “mix-up” your training, maybe you can incorporate some of what I do into your routine.
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