Fitness Training for Backpacking in Fitness

Backpacking is a pleasurable but physically strenuous opportunity to escape the routine of everyday life and relish the outdoors.

If you want to focus more on the fun of backpacking rather than the effort, it is essential to take time for physical preparation beforehand.

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Backpacking fitness training ensures that you have the physical endurance and strength you need to get to where you are going and stay safe on the way.

Sport Specificity

According to the principle of sport specificity, you get better at a particular activity by practicing that activity.

Therefore, one of the best ways to build fitness for backpacking is to engage in the activity frequently.

For practical backpacking fitness training, you must decide which backpacking elements you wish to get better and then begin simulating those activities.

Hiking

No matter the intensity and length of the backpacking trip, you can expect to walk for a few miles daily.

Long-day hiking is ideal for fine-tuning your footwear and building up your hiking endurance, getting a feel of any problem areas before walking miles away from any remedy.

Besides, hiking allows you to identify your abilities and comfort level on irregular terrain.

If no hiking trails are available, you can use your fitness training in a gym.

The stepmill is perfect for simulating an uphill hike, one of the most challenging aspects of backpacking travel. Stair climbers are also famous for manufacturing the feel of hill-hiking.

Heavy Packs

Though hiking helps prepare for the walking part of any backpacking trip, you must also prepare your legs to carry the pack’s weight. Weigh yourself with and without the group, and then subtract the two figures to find the pack’s weight.

Once you estimate how much gear you can carry on a typical outing, you could either do your climbing or hiking training with a full pack or invest in a weight vest that weighs as much as your whole pack.

Using the weight vest during activities such as; hiking or climbing stairs can help your legs get accustomed to the effort of carrying a full pack.

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Balance and Core Training

Intense abdominal, hip, and back muscles help protect you from injuries as you maneuver your pack over, around, and under obstacles.

Balance training gives you the agility required to navigate uneven terrains with minimal risk of falling, twisting, and ankle tripping.

The two usually go hand-in-hand since good coordination and core strength are vital for maintaining balance.

How to Train for Backpacking

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