Ascending and descending: ca.45 years of training road tests

[giantbrookie]

I know this is going to sound like an evasive excuse for slow travel, but one "advantage" of traveling more-slowly (and not being fixated on the destination) is that one discovers environmental features that may have been a blur in past eras.

Rush rush rush; what's all the hurry for?
More and more people seem to be time fixated, and cramming as many miles as possible in to the time they allocate for their trip. They vacation to relieve stress, only to make it integral to their itinerary.

Actually speed has a purpose: which is to maximize time at the destination and especially to gain fishing time, but there is also more to it than just that. I actually do very much take in the surroundings and enjoy them while hiking; the hike is not a means to an end. When I was a kid I was suffering so much trying to keep up with my dad my eyes were focused on the ground. When I could relax and lead (ie when I "crossed over" with my dad was I was 20 and he was 51) I really began to enjoy the surroundings, and now, even when getting thrashed my Lee I take it in, even if I'm hurting. My life's philosophy is to enjoy the ride and not live only for the goals. Goal oriented people always set another goal when they reach said goal, so if you don't enjoy getting there then you come to the end of the line, it might seem that childhood seemed like yesterday. I know a lot of folks like that. So, just as I enjoy the path of research leading to publishing a paper (more than actually getting the paper in print) I enjoy the hike and even the drive to the trailhead. But I also enjoy going fast, as long as it doesn't hurt too much. Maintaining a reasonably youthful athleticism is also good for my feeling of self worth/identity and the like. I'm far from a world class athlete, but in my mind I'd like to live up to the words of one of my favorite poems, "To Satch" by Samuel Washington Allen, although I suppose my metaphoric "three strikes burning down the heavens" may be research papers written at an advanced age instead of fast hikes.

PS did weighted (not too heavy) stairwell reps yesterday and it seemed to give me more bounce in my step when I shot jump shots today. Yes shooting hoops is NOT a good training exercise for someone north of 60, but I do have a hoop addiction problem.

[Gogd]

@ Giantbrookie
Don't construe my POV as indicative of lacking goals! Having business (fishing) at the end of the walk gives purpose and justification for wanting to reach your destination by a certain time. I get that. My comments were more about folks whose entire trip is hike hike hike, eat, sleep, rinse and repeat, so they can do the JMT in 2weeks. What is the rush! I was guilty of fixating on big miles in my youth. It fed my ego. At some point I realized the trips that were most rewarding were not the big miles affairs done on a time budget, it was the trips where I scaled back the miles so I could actually relax and not be chronically exhausted from doing 15+ miles every day. One of the most rewarding hikes was doing the North Lake/South Lake loop out of Bishop in 10 days. That's practically a crawl! It was downright delectable! We did everything from enjoying full breakfasts, to side trips, to fishing streams and lakes off the route, to getting some great panorama shots, napping lakeside in the shade, and extended our socializing well into the evening.

Regardless of fitness level, the faster you travel the less time you have to see what is around you. My companions who like to blaze along the trail are always surprised when I comment about the owl, snake, coyote, martin or artifact they missed, because they were in such a rush. Sometimes these people blast right past a trail junction and miss their turn. On one trip they missed the turnoff to Cottonwood lakes and I had to chase them down, eventually catching up to them half way to to New Army Pass. On another trip the fast folks overshot the intended base camp location, and had to backtrack the next morning. They lacked situational awareness because they were going too fast to attend to important details. No wonder, then, why they don't see the details in flora and fauna.
Ed

[giantbrookie]

Update as of June 3, 2023. For various reasons my training had lagged a bit as various end-of-semester log jams had me really swamped, to I figured I needed to get in shape for my week and a half of hard fieldwork in Newfoundland. I did three of my neighborhood hill climbs with weighted pack (about 1 hr 20 min each, packweight in the 30-40lb range) in one week, then figured I'd really test the level of conditioning in doing the longest dayhike I'd ever done (about 22 miles, 4000' gain round trip to Lake Vernon out of Hetch Hetchy). The results suggest the training has worked. I was clearly way stronger on ascents than I was on any of my dayhikes last year, whether it was getting smoked by Lee, or, after I had begun the new training method, pulling off some fairly fast dayhikes, such as the quickie to George Lake and vicinity in Kaiser Wilderness.

Regarding the going too fast to take in the surroundings, I find that being in better shape allows me to take in my surroundings better. When I'm really hurting my eyes tend to be focused on the next step in front of me, partly to blot out the discomfort, so with the exception of the geology and wildflowers, I tend to miss far more when hiking slowly and out of shape, then I do hiking fast when in shape. Also, hiking speeds of 3 mph or so, which are pretty much my top end, are not all that fast in terms of seeing things. If I was really running that would be different, because, not only would my speed be high, but I would also have to focus more on the next step to avoid falling. Yesterday's long dayhike allowed abundant time to soak up the gorgeous long sight lines as well as to enjoy wildflowers (a bit past peak, but some nice pink and yellow lupines in places) and some wildlife not as commonly seen (such as two very nice garter snakes) as the usual squirrel or deer.

In any case, I think the weighted hill climb method has worked well for me because I'd be hard pressed to recall hiking stronger at any age. I realize that optimal training methods will be different for each person, but the weighted hike method certainly has proven itself for me. A few additional observations: Neighborhood streets/sidewalks don't get super steep, so I found that doing weighted climbs up the stairwell in my Science building was in fact a better workout, but now that I'm back in the Bay Area for the summer I won't have the stairwell option. I spied a particularly steep hill close to home and I'm thinking of doing reps on that one although that will be more boring than the longer neighborhood hikes. The latter are enjoyable for the great views of the SF Bay as well as checking out the variety of landscaping in folks' front yards. Of course the hikes are also fun because of the short conversations struck up with various folks. So I guess it can be said that I enjoy the training, as well as the hiking that the training is designed to help me enjoy more (so that I won't be hurting as much).

[Harlen]

giantbrookie wrote:

...I realize that optimal training methods will be different for each person, but the weighted hike method certainly has proven itself for me. A few additional observations: Neighborhood streets/sidewalks don't get super steep, so I found that doing weighted climbs up the stairwell in my Science building was in fact a better workout...

Hymmm, we love reading this post, and will certainly use some of the advice found herein to our advantage. However, I for one, will remain guardedly pessimistic about trying to follow the advice of giantbrookie. You may recall some of his other workout/painfests which entail not only too many regular pull-up reps, but includes the inhuman practice of jerking up and over the bar to clap for himself, for F%#@ sake!!
I would clap for myself too if I could manage that-- oh well.

[dave54]

I have already met both of my previous challenges -- my age in consecutive pushups, the 1000 pushup challenge (1000 in one day). I decided to pushup the envelope. I turn 70 this year, and I definitely feel the numbers catching up to me.
I found another challenge online -- the 500 workout.

10km hike, 500 meter elevation gain (5% grade), while wearing a 20kg pack. During the hike you must complete:
100 pushups while wearing the pack
100 rows with the pack
100 flutter kicks holding the pack above you
50 burpees wearing the pack
50 squats wearing the pack
50 shoulder presses with the pack
50 curls of the pack.
500 total exercises. Reps and sets of each and how often to stop is your choice. Finishing the hike and still having a bunch of exercises remaining would be a real drag.
The target time is 2 hours, but just finishing all the exercises and the hike would be considered a win.
Fortunately. I have a route near my home that fits the distance and elevation exactly -- a road to a lookout tower. Before I tackle the real thing, though, a lot of treadmill time will be necessary. A threw some weights into an old day pack. I would like to get a regular weight vest, but they are out of my budget.
I set a target date of June 1, which may be ambitious. However, I have publicly stated my goals. so no backing out now!

[giantbrookie]

Whew that would indeed be a challenge. I think it's fair to say that if you complete that challenge your backpacking will be much easier. It makes me feel tried just thinking about trying that.

To update the update above, the 2023 season went fairly well but I think I slacked on the training a bit after returning from Newfoundland and didn't seem to be as strong as I thought as I should be on climbs but I was probably expecting too much. Then came the hernia in September. Surgery for hernia repair (early December) improved things, but I confess to being in sort of a winter maintenance mode when it comes to weighted hill and stairwell climbs. Strength training has gotten back to pre-COVID levels and probably before that. However, pull-ups are dialed back owing to a lot of aching elbow issues from those muscle ups that I suspended about 2 years ago. Not only did the elbows hurt, but I couldn't straighten out either of my two arms. I finally have the left arm straight (this is the elbow that hurts the most) but I have a bit to go with my right (about 1-2 degrees short of straight). Doing more forearm stuff has helped to reinforce those elbows. Regular icing of the elbows has helped, too. With more extension in my arms other exercises are returning to older levels. Friday I put up 245lbs on the bench (I weigh 160) for the first time since about 2015 or so. But that doesn't help hiking. I actually plan to do my first backpack trip (overnighter) earlier than I've ever done one (late April to about the only place in the Sierra low enough to do this) so I will need to step up the weighted climbing stuff.