fitness training -> winter hiking

kristo5747 · Post by **kristo5747** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 9:30 am

Greetings.

I am wondering what kind of fitness training you guys&gals do for winter hiking?

I went to Baldy this past Sunday and was awed by the amount of snow that had fallen over Saturday. Tons of powder that made for a absolutely beautiful scenery and for a tough hike.

I made it slowly and painfully (hips&knees very sore) to the end of lift 4. Ran out of steam. The powder made my boots feel a lot heavier than normal and I think it contributed to me getting tired quickly.

Do you use snowshoes? Are your boots all leather (I have a pair of Zamberlan) or plastic shelled? Does it even matter?

I climb stairs, ride my bike but it was not enough. Do you have any advice?

Thanks.

everyday · Post by **everyday** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 9:47 am

I dont do alot in snow. But i climb alot of mtns. I do 40-50 pushups every AM and PM plus 20min of light weights a day, I trail-run in the hills about 8 miles a day, 4 days a week, and on weekends I try to get in at least 3000-5000ft of elevation gain over 15-17miles and finish it in under 4hrs. basically hiking and trail running a good 50 miles per week is my "training" for hiking and climbing. anything that builds your enduance would be good ide imagine

kristo5747 · Post by **kristo5747** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 10:10 am

everyday wrote: ↑I dont do alot in snow. But i climb alot of mtns. I do 40-50 pushups every AM and PM plus 20min of light weights a day, I trail-run in the hills about 8 miles a day, 4 days a week, and on weekends I try to get in at least 3000-5000ft of elevation gain over 15-17miles and finish it in under 4hrs. basically hiking and trail running a good 50 miles per week is my "training" for hiking and climbing. anything that builds your enduance would be good ide imagine

Wow....that's intense.

Forgive me for asking but what do you do for a living?

My workday starts at 5AM and finishes at 8-9PM....I'm not sure how I would squeeze such training regimen in my schedule....

Either way, you put the finger of the "problem": endurance.

everyday · Post by **everyday** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 10:22 am

Used to work for a company that built exploratory oil drilling equipment. I have so much free time now because im laid-off...good for my fitness and overall health...but bad for my wallet, well, in my case purse I guess ha.
yeah, workin 5am -8pm is intense, dont worry bout workout, jeez, just get some sleep! haha

Post by **Taco** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 10:54 am

I used to run a decent amount (50 miles per week or so), and now I bike (average 36mi a week), which helps a lot. I simply avoid postholing by choosing certain routes and times. I do not own snowshoes. Postholing itself is an exercise that "helps" you.

The biking is great because it's easy on the joints and (IMHO) much more fun than running, since you can go see more stuff, and you can go downhill and relax.

I have synthetic/leather boots, Scarpa Charmoz (same as La Sportiva Trango basically). IMHO the ideal alpine boot for SoCal.

Illusive · Post by **Illusive** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 1:30 pm

Are your hips and knees typically sore from hiking, or is it just hiking in the snow that causes the soreness?

Did you have a lot of Post holing and hiked on softer non packed snow?

kristo5747 · Post by **kristo5747** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 4:19 pm

Illusive wrote: ↑Are your hips and knees typically sore from hiking, or is it just hiking in the snow that causes the soreness?

in the snow, soreness scores at 10 (really sore). In the summer, the score is zero, sometimes 1.

Did you have a lot of Post holing and hiked on softer non packed snow?

some and yes.

Illusive · Post by **Illusive** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 8:50 pm

It sounds like a few sets of lunges/scissor kicks at least 2-3x per week will help strengthen the areas you're having problems with while navigating on the softer snow.

Though I'm not sure what good that will do with the snow melting and probably not returning till next year. However doing the exercise will help with non snow hiking as well

You don't have to add any weights to do lunges since most people's body weight is sufficient for a single leg lunge to get a good workout especially if you do the scissor kicks.

For a description of scissor kicks:

"From a regular standing position, take one big step forward and lower yourself into a forward stepping lunge. This is the start position – jump and explode off the ground, getting enough air under you to scissor kick your legs and land with your opposite leg forward and ready to crouch down to the lunge position. Keep doing this, alternating your legs on each jump/repetition for 60 seconds."

kristo5747 · Post by **kristo5747** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 4:19 pm

Interesting. I'll give a try.

Thanks for the advice.