Most hikers forget this in their training 👇
While working on strength-endurance is important for hiking, there are studies that show another type of training will help you MORE by reducing the amount of energy it takes to make each step.
💪 Strength and Power 💣
The stronger you are, the smaller percentage of your one rep maximum lift each step is when you're out hiking.
So what do we actually need to do?
First thing first you want to build strength by doing some exercises in the 5 to 8 rep range and taking lots of rest. The focus on strength will actually make bigger changes in strength to your muscles, tendons, bones and ligaments, meaning that you feel durable even in the last kilometer of the day.
➡️These are my favorite exercises for building strength:
Rearfoot Elevated Split Squats
Lateral Step Ups
Weighted Step Back Lunges
And then you want to build power. Power comes from short, explosive movements with really, really long rest. Think four rep maximum and tons and tons and tons of recovery time.
➡️ These are my favorite exercises for building power:
Lunge into high knee
Cossack Squat into high knee
Front Squats
The focus on power is going to help your mind-to-muscle connection.
This means at the end of a long day, you're still going to have the pep in your step to make the micro-adjustments that you need to stay balanced and strong.