Often, many questions arise before you start planning a trip. Since you clicked on this post, I guess that one of yours is how to get fit for travel or hiking.
Good.
These are things to consider well before you plan on leaving for a trip. Because let’s be honest, you won’t manage to be fit enough for a challenging trip if you start preparing only one week before departing.
Disclosure: I am in no way a fitness expert and all of the following are just recommendations on how to get fit before travel from the point of view of someone who enjoys both fitness and travel. Follow these tips at your own risk.
How to get fit for travel depends on three factors
Before considering how to get fit for travel or hiking, ask yourself these three things: the first, what type of trip do you want to get ready for, the second, for how long will you travel and, third, how long do you have to prepare for said trip.
What type of trip do you want to get ready for?
There are many different types of trips. And depending on your trip you will have to consider how to get fit for travel from a different perspective.
You can just take a flight and arrive to a paradise beach and not move your ass in a week. There are also trips where you are supposed to enjoy the ride and relax (like my sailboat trip was supposed to be). If you just want to look nice in a bikini, my advice is to put on a bikini and tell yourself you have a nice body. There’s no better compliments than the ones we give ourselves.
Now, if we actually need to get into a better shape to accomplish a goal during our trip, there are different things to consider getting fit(er) for a trip.
Where to focus your efforts
If you want to do a multi-day trek through the forests (my current goal, do the GR11), you may need some preparation. Another factor to take into consideration is your travel style. If you are a backpacker, you will need to strengthen the muscles in your core and back. All of this without forgetting about your legs. These will help keep your column steady and to better carry the weight to avoid getting back pain. Depending on your type of trips, this is how to get fit for travel.
How to get fit for travel will depend on your style traveling.
How to get fit for city trips (+)
If you are planning on visiting one or two cities, and your normal day-to-day does not include sitting all day, you will most likely be already prepared for this type of trips.
If this is not enough for you, or you have a sedentary lifestyle, then some cardio training and resistance should be enough for you. If you commute by public transport to work, consider getting off a couple of stops earlier and walk home. And don’t take any escalators, or elevators. Whenever possible. You will need to be able to walk and/or stand for 8-9h a day and you will be good to go. And that’s not much.
Light trekking holidays (++)
In case you are asking yourself how to get fit for travel before spending a week or so doing treks only a few hours long, then you need to give yourself some time to prepare.
Hike around the Catalan Pyrenees in the North of Spain and discover the beautiful National Park of Aiguestortes
Ideally you will have a month to get ready before departing. If possible, try to walk at least 10 miles a day 4-5 times a week. And once a week, go do a trek through the mountains. Try to walk a few miles through these treks going up and down mountains or hills. There is no better preparation for trekking than trekking, even if it is in small doses.
Multi-day Hiking (+++)
This is the hardest type of trip you can do. How to get fit for travel through the mountains for several days is hard. It is hard because you won’t have time to recover from the previous day before starting with the next hike. You cannot stay somewhere for three days recovering because your legs are hurting because you need to make it to your next stop. You need to be in a great shape.
If your trip is longer than a week, you should be in the best shape of your life.
If you are planning on doing a long hike, you either are in a good shape already, or, like me, you have plenty of time. If you are someone in the sedentary spectrum, you better have a few months. I would say if you are really sedentary, plan to have at least 6 months to safely prepare for a hike. Bringing that to 3 months if you are an active person.
If you are sedentary, I would say to start walking every day until you can safely walk 10mi a day for a week. Then, increase that to 20mi a few days a week, and start climbing stairs with a heavy backpack once or twice a week. You need to focus on both strength and resistance. You will most likely walk 20 to 30mi a day and you need to be able to keep up. If possible, try to go out for a hike to replicate what one of your days will be at least once a week.
In the other hand, if you are already a bit active, you already are half-way there. Increase your walking load weekly to reach the 20mi three or four times a week and, from there start taking long hikes, carrying a heavy backpack, two to three times a week.
Backpackers
Like I’ve mentioned above, how to get fit for travel as backpacker is a must before any type of backpacking trip. Getting fit in general is always a good idea, but these muscles will help you carry the weight in you back more easily, but also to walk with better posture. That will also help you avoid the back pain associated with walking too much or just for carrying extra weight. There are many workout routines to strengthen the back, but I will recommend strength training. Focus on your higher and lower back, and do not forget your abs, since they play a main role in maintaining the stability of your whole upper body.
I personally enjoy Bodypump workouts because they teach a lot of basic exercises that you can then reproduce by yourself to focus on other areas. In any case, my main recommendation would be to either look in Youtube for workout videos focused on back and abs or, if you have a larger budget, to look for a personal trainer and discuss together your goals.
What do you think? Would you recommend another type of exercise routine? How do you get fit for travel?
Tell me all about it in the comments section!
