April 15, 2020 | Posted by misfitwanders | Hiking, Lifestyles, Nature, Time, Training, Traveling, Trekking
As we have the virus chaos throughout the world, you may not want to venture out so much. Here, I have 10 top tips with training for hiking beginners! You can do these exercises right in your home and prepare for the future, when you’ll be able to hike again! Right now, I’ve been working on my patience whether I want to or not. But I’m learning to enjoy the little things and what I have.
Hiking is more than one foot in front of the other. You need to work on your mindset, endurance, strength, balance, and the thing I’m worst at, patience. That’s why it’s best to train and prepare yourself before you go on a hike. Having the right gear plays a huge part with your hike as well. It would be a nightmare if you’ve been walking for a half a day and the bottom of your shoes just melted away! I know, it happened to me! I thought I could do a hike with a cheap pair of boots (not made for hiking). Well… I found out half the way down Colca Canyon in Peru, that I should have gotten actual hiking boots!
Check out Hiking in Sweden to learn about hikes there!
Table of Contents
Since right now, many people don’t want to even leave their home, you can walk in one place. Or walk around your home. Use what you have there. This is great training for hiking beginners. If you have stairs, go up and down them. If you have several rooms walk through them. It’s time to be creative on how you want to make your home into an exercising ground!
Walking about 30 minutes a day helps your whole body. Once 30 minutes becomes easy for ya, bring it up a notch! Doing this helps you with your stamina and is one of the great tips with training for hiking beginners.
Pretend that your stairs are a mountain! Now, hike up the side of that mountain. This training for hiking beginners helps you prepare for trails’ inclines in the outdoors. Plus, this will strengthen your leg muscles and butt as you go up and down the stairs. Try to do this as long as you can. Then, the next day you do it again, try to challenge yourself and beat your time from the last time. To prepare for multi-days hike, do this 3 times a week and work on getting up to 700 steps. It helps to train with a backpack on with weights inside.
This can get you ready for a mountain hike you plan on doing in the future! The kind of backpacks that I would recommend would be Osprey. I have a couple, one is for day hikes and the other is for backpacking while I’m traveling. You can check out the hiking gear I have used.
It’s time to be a kid! Run around your home and try not to destroy anything! This is a great way to get your heart pumping. Picture the wind brushing against your cheeks as you jog in the forest. You just have to use your imagination a little. While you do this, it helps you with your endurance and you get to test your boundaries. Each time you do this, try to take it up a notch. But don’t push yourself too much if you miss some days.
Some great tips with training for hiking beginners is work on strength and your balance. I’ve found that what helps me the most is getting into a routine. Then, I can focus on a specific part of my body different each day of the week. Hiking with a full backpack is worth preparing for. Start practicing with a backpack on your back filled with things to help weigh it down as you walk around your home.
I used to be against yoga thinking that there wasn’t any benefit from it. But I realized after my horrible car wreck that it was one of the best things for my body. At times, I had trouble standing. My equilibrium was way off. Once I started doing yoga though, that changed. I’m able to stand on one foot and do several of the different stances. My balance is the best that it has ever been! Don’t forget, practice, practice, practice. Don’t give up on yourself. It can be hard at first, but this so helpful for a person’s balance. Plus, it’s great for strengthening your core. An app that I use is DownDog, and right now they have a free membership going on for a month!
These rubbery bands can help your legs, arms, ankles, and just about everything. There are several ways that you can use them. It can help build muscle around your ankles and knees. When it comes to hiking, those are key parts that are needed to be strong.
Another key training for hiking beginners is to work on getting your blood pumping. You can easily do this with jumping jacks, burpees, or squats. There are loads of apps that you can download that can help you get into a routine of a daily exercise. I recommend the app Seven. With this app, you have 7 min to do all the different exercises it gives you.
Have your hands at you sides in a standing position. Then jump and spread your legs out and your arms out. Some people clap their hands above their head, but do what you feel comfortable with. Jump again, bring your feet together, and your arms to your sides. With jumping jacks, it can help work those muscles that don’t get as much attention. This helps get your body moving out of its usual movements and can help gain strength and agility.
This is four steps and can become quite hard. It’s something many workout buffs love to do. This is a full body exercise that uses strength and cardio. First, you start in a standing position. Then, go into a squat position with your hands on the ground. Next, it’s the plank position. Keep arms extended. Then, go into the squat position again. Finally, stand up. This helps with coordination, agility, and strength.
Here’s another strength exercise. Lower your hips from the standing position. Don’t forget that your knees shouldn’t go over your toes. Pretend that you’re going to sit in a chair. Then stand up again. You did it! This focuses on your thighs and butt muscles. It will help you have more ease with walking and strengthen your hips. Overall, it helps the whole body. Squats can make it easier for you to do daily chores and it will definitely help with hiking.
This helps with the upper body. This is a great way to build strength. Start in the plank position with your arms extended. Keep your body tense as you bend your arms down. Hover your body above the ground and push up with your hands to a plank position. The benefits of push-ups are that it strengthens your core, upper body, and back.
A sit-up focuses on your abdominal muscles and improves your endurance. Lay down on the floor. Have your feet on the ground with your knees up. Start lifting one vertebra at a time with your arms reaching out to the sides of your legs. Sit up, and then start to descend. That’s a sit-up!
The benefits of jumping rope are that you’re more likely NOT to hurt your ankles or feet when hiking. It improves your cardiovascular health, and helps with your coordination. Plus, you can jump rope practically anywhere!
Training for hiking beginners can be practiced with a friend, since it’s always best to hike with a friend or a partner on trails. There’s no telling what the future holds and, on a hike, it’s common for someone to roll their ankle or sprain their ankle. If you have someone with you, then you’re not alone trying to figure out how to get out of the middle of the wilderness. When you hike, bring a first aid kit with you, just in case! It’s better to be prepared than not. Make sure that you read up on the weather and the trail that you’re planning on hiking. It could be blocked or destroyed by the weather. Or worse, you could get stuck in some kind of storm! Don’t forget the tips with training for hiking beginners because this can help you!
When it comes to having the right gear, it’s different for each individual. The shoes, backpack, and clothes will work for someone and maybe not for the other. That’s why it’s best to try them before buying them. Or, at least try the gear before you go out on a hike with them. The worst thing is going out on a hike with the wrong gear or uncomfortable gear that can possibly make you hurt yourself more than give you support. You can check out the gear I have when I’m hiking!
Now, I never hike in everyday shoes since I wore the wrong shoes on an intense hike and it went badly. The only time I let it slide is when the trail is easy on a sunny day. Then I’ll wear my Salomon running shoes. But other than that, it’s my Oboz hiking boots all the way! They cover my ankles, giving them support as I hike on rocky, or unstable terrain.
When you’re looking for Good hiking boots, think of where you’re planning on using them. What kind of terrain is there? What fits comfortable on you? Make sure that your heel doesn’t move around in the boot. You don’t want your toes hitting the end of the boot either . Now, there are breathable shoes and boots meant for hiking. It just depends on the weather and where you’re hiking which shoes would be best. Leather shoes/boots are best for staying waterproof over time. But the downside is that they take longer to break in. The synthetic shoes/boots are easier to break in and can be waterproof as well. But they don’t last as long. What matters the most, is comfortability. You won’t enjoy any hike if it hurts to walk, so make sure it fits you!
The kind of backpack you use as you go on a hike depends on the length of the hike. If it’s just a couple of hours, then a daypack would be perfect. But if it’s a hike for days, then it’s best to have a bigger backpack that has space for food, extra pair of clothes, rain jacket, and sleeping gear. My go to backpacks are Osprey. They’re durable and come in all kinds of sizes. I have a daypack that’s going on 3 years and a travel/hiking backpack that I’ve had for around 5 years.
With the bigger backpacks, you need to make sure it fits your frame. The weight goes on your hips with a strap and there usually is a clip that attaches the two shoulder straps together and rests on your chest. Check out a few at a store to see what works for your body. Add some weight to it and walk around to see how it feels.
No matter if you go on a short hike, a water bottle is a must. It’s especially good to have on hot summer days where the sun beats down on you. My favorite kinds of bottles are metal ones. That way, I can’t break them as easily and I don’t have to worry about losing a plastic water bottle.
You can never know what the future holds for you. Why not have a first aid kit in your pack? That way, if you hurt yourself, you have tools that you can use.
Check out the gear I use at Hiking Gadgets.
Best Outdoor GadgetsI’ve noticed that since I’ve written up a schedule for my day, I’m a lot better at staying on top of training regularly. Once you’re in a training routine, it will make it a lot easier for you to keep doing it. Some days it will feel not as bad because it’s become your daily routine. There will still be bad days at keeping on it, but you have to push yourself. Try to not forget your reason for training. Remember that you’ll get to enjoy the beautiful view from above looking down at a valley. Listen to the chirping of the birds as you crunch leaves below your feet. See, you got this!
This is a hard one for me. Randomly, I’m craving chocolate or a pizza! Yum! But, you can’t make it a habit to eat those. Your body needs nourishment, not just a bunch of junk food. That’s how you’ll get into better shape and ready for hiking. Protein is what helps with muscles, and all the vitamins are great for your body. Antioxidants and fiber are beneficial for the body as well. As you begin to eat healthier, you’ll be able to perform better in activities!
Check out Healthline to learn more about eating healthy .
Before you train, you can begin with a warm-up to help get your blood flowing. In the end of a training session, it’s always good to stretch. When hiking harder hikes, I would suggest stretching before and maybe do a little warm-up. Then after the hike, stretch again. This helps you to avoid getting as many aches throughout your body from the intense hike.
Yoga is a great way to warm-up and is filled with stretches. Several of the exercises I mentioned for your adrenaline can be used as a warm-up too. If you decide to skip stretching after a hard hike or workout, and you’re not use to doing that much, then your body is going to let you know. Stretching out after a workout or an intense activity helps it not become an issue.
If you plan on an easy hike, then you should have no problems with having to keep pushing on. But it gets hard if you’re on a long hike that lasts for days. That’s why it’s best to be in the right mindset. You can’t give up on yourself. You’re the only standing in your way when it comes to this. Don’t forget about your goal and how far you’ve come. Stay positive and believe in yourself. I know how this is, but be like Dory from Finding Nemo, “Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.” You got this!
Check SummitStrength to learn more about your mindset while hiking.
Last of all, Hydrate yourself regularly. If you want to keep that body moving smoothly, you need water. On hot days, water is definitely needed and you can become dehydrated if you don’t take care of yourself. Even if you’re going on a short hike, I recommend a water bottle to go with you. You can have a day pack with you with a first aid kit, a water bottle, rain jacket, and snacks. Now, you’re ready to go!
If you’re planning a journey to Europe for a great hiking experience, check out Hiking in Sweden. It’s a country that’s filled with nature! Check it out!
If you’re wanting to practice social distancing, what better thing to do than hike! Check out this article about hiking and social distancing.
If you want to find other information on hikes, check out Top 100 Hiking Blogs.
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