View Full Version : Physical Preparations for a Thru
AUhiker90
01-07-2010, 19:54
I am 19 and have been planning my Thru for almost 2 years.
I am 6,4 yet only weigh 160 and i am highly active and eat tons but what can i do to build up a bit before i head out? I dont think i could loose too much more weight and be in good hiking form to get to Maine
I go on frequent hikes and ride my road bike twenty miles a day, as well as lift weights but to no extreme
warraghiyagey
01-07-2010, 19:57
Pasta, starches. . . maybe whey protein drinks. . . basically you have to take in more calories than you burn. . .
:welcome:welcome
Lots of peanut butter milkshakes and cheeseburgers. :D
I am 19 and have been planning my Thru for almost 2 years.
I am 6,4 yet only weigh 160 and i am highly active and eat tons but what can i do to build up a bit before i head out? I dont think i could loose too much more weight and be in good hiking form to get to Maine
I go on frequent hikes and ride my road bike twenty miles a day, as well as lift weights but to no extreme
My son is your age and pretty close to your size (6'3" / 155 lbs) and he can leave me in the dust and I hike pretty fast. He eats like a horse and doesn't gain weight. I have no doubt he could make it to Maine - you probably can too if you're in good health otherwise.
rjridgely
01-07-2010, 20:12
start the trail and let nature do the rest. I have been 'training' for 37 years and have not done one shakedown or pre hike walk.
on the train in 2 weeks, I think I should start packin'.
take-a-knee
01-07-2010, 20:44
Completely lay off of the bike, unless you want your pecker to quit working early. I wouldn't ride a bike more than once weekly.
Obtain the book Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. Read it, then re-read it. Get some coaching on the lifts. THEN:
GOMAD ( That is, drink a gallon of milk a day)
Once you've built some strength, then follow the "main page" workouts at www.crossfit.com (http://www.crossfit.com) and follow Dr Barry Sears' Zone Diet for the rest of your healthy/fit life.
http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-2nd-Mark-Rippetoe/dp/0976805421
I just did the AT/BMT Duncan Ridge Loop a couple of weeks ago, 12-15 mile days. The only soreness I had was a slight bit from my pack's waistbelt that lasted about ten minutes in the morning. No blisters, just a good time on the trail. I just turned fifty, I could start a thru tomorrow morning.
AUhiker90
01-07-2010, 20:49
Great advice i surely dont want my pecker to stop working ever.
warraghiyagey
01-07-2010, 20:51
Great advice i surely dont want my pecker to stop working ever.
Well, you need to let it recover from time to time. . .
Lone Wolf
01-07-2010, 20:58
I am 19 and have been planning my Thru for almost 2 years.
I am 6,4 yet only weigh 160 and i am highly active and eat tons but what can i do to build up a bit before i head out? I dont think i could loose too much more weight and be in good hiking form to get to Maine
I go on frequent hikes and ride my road bike twenty miles a day, as well as lift weights but to no extreme
you're fine the way you are
jersey joe
01-07-2010, 20:59
You sound like you are in great shape and you should have little difficulty with the trail.
You'll be fine.
Last year I started my thru hike at 30 lbs overweight with two bad knees and my only training was drinking beer, eating fatty foods, and stressing about my job and money.
I went out there and walked...and I made it.
I saw ppl fatter and much much skinnier who had no problems either. Just pay attention to your body while you walk and adjust things as needed.
Best,
L
Scooby99
01-08-2010, 04:22
Well I'm about a foot shorter and weighed the same when I started, ok not a foot, but close :D. I lost 20 lbs for the hike ending at 140. Sounds like you are in pretty good shape, but long distance hiking is different than biking, running, or even dayhiking. I would drop the biking as you get closer to your jump-off date, do a little more hiking to get your body used to the stresses of the pack and hiking on consecutive days. I would also try to put on a few pounds, with your build you dont have much reserves to lose, and anything extra you gain will most likely be burned off in the first 400 miles or so anyways.
No worries. Start slow and you'll have your legs by the time you reach Damascus assuming you go NOBO.
Completely lay off of the bike, unless you want your pecker to quit working early. I wouldn't ride a bike more than once weekly.
Nonsense. There is some vague evidence that professional cyclists may be at risk. 20 miles a day won't do any harm.
World-Wide
01-08-2010, 09:02
I am 19 and have been planning my Thru for almost 2 years.
I am 6,4 yet only weigh 160 and i am highly active and eat tons but what can i do to build up a bit before i head out? I dont think i could loose too much more weight and be in good hiking form to get to Maine
I go on frequent hikes and ride my road bike twenty miles a day, as well as lift weights but to no extreme
Want to gain weight?? Get married and then weigh yourself in a 3-5 years! Presto, 20 lbs easy!! :D Good luck on your weight gain endeavor and "Congrats" on Alabama beating Texas....World-Wide
take-a-knee
01-08-2010, 09:13
Nonsense. There is some vague evidence that professional cyclists may be at risk. 20 miles a day won't do any harm.
That's bogus because "professional cyclists" (whoever they are) are so skinny and fit (cardio-wise), they are hardly bearing any weight on the seat as they ride, especially uphill or in a race. Running and cycling are poor methods of attaining true/all-inclusive fitness, they jack up your estrogen levels and waste muscle mass. Long distance runners father twice as many daughters as sons. If you don't want to be a girlie man, get off the damn bike and get to the gym and move some iron.
Pedaling Fool
01-08-2010, 09:40
That's bogus because "professional cyclists" (whoever they are) are so skinny and fit (cardio-wise), they are hardly bearing any weight on the seat as they ride, especially uphill or in a race. Running and cycling are poor methods of attaining true/all-inclusive fitness, they jack up your estrogen levels and waste muscle mass. Long distance runners father twice as many daughters as sons. If you don't want to be a girlie man, get off the damn bike and get to the gym and move some iron.
I'm a cycling nut. Been riding for over 20 years as my primary form of transportation and have done several long-distance touring rides. However, I mostly agree with TAK. There is no single exercise for the body and just because an exercise is a great cardio workout doesn't mean you have a strong body; too much cycling will cause severe lower back problems since much of the weight bearing muscles are largely inactive. As for pecker problems mine still works, but I can see if I cycled in a particular way I would have problems -- I do cycle in the standing position a lot.
Eat food.
By that I mean real food, in its most natural forms.
Avoid stuff that vaguely resembles food.
Fruit - they come from trees - fresher is better. dried is ok.
Vegetables - they comes from dirt - fresher is better. dried is ok.
Whole grains - oats and grits good. white rice or white bread ok.
Legumes - beans, lentils, peas. Dried vegetables, but easier to carry.
Dairy - Milk, cheese, yogurt. Don't be afraid of sat fats if in real food.
Meat, fish, eggs - Don't be afraid of sat fats if in real food.
Good Fats - Fish and eggs and vegetable oils have very good fats.
The only real fat to avoid is stuff like margarine, and peanut butter with hydrogenated fats, which is not food. Eat food. If you are getting fat, it becomes more important to avoid saturated fats, but getting fat is because of excess calories and insufficient exercise, not because of too much fat.
Protien/Carb/Fat
Zone diet is very good for many purposes ,including hiking. 30/40/30
If burning > 4000 and maintaining weight, ie also eating > 4000, then some might argue you can cut back on the protien some, in terms of ratio, but still the more you exercise, the more protien you need. For hiking and maintaining weight, burning sat 5000/day even just 10% protien would still be 125g, but I would go a little higher than that if burning that much. At least 15% of calories burned. Fats can go up for hiking, because you are mostly burning fat, but you don't have to go to extremes. On 5000 calories, wanting to build muscle and bone, and maintain 10% body fat, I would say 15-20% protien, 30-50% carbs, 30-50% fats. That would be 162-250g of protien, but you are a big boy and would be putting it to good use if burning 5000 kcal/day.
Energy drinks - not food.
Coffee, tea - good in moderation.
Alcohol - ok in moderation. ***
*** warning - definition of moderation changes as you drink. ;)
If you do like to have a few extra now and then, having real food and lots of exercise in your program will go a long way towards mitigating the damage.
p.s. Oh yeah. Drinking age is 21 down there. :rolleyes:
If you do it right, you shouldn't be all skin and bones when you are done. At your age you can and should come off a thru-hike with more muscle and sinew and bone density than when you started. Wouldn't hurt to do pushups every day also, for the upper body, maybe bench press a log or something, or a fellow thru-hiker. Just don't eat them, though they are real food.
garlic08
01-08-2010, 09:56
Twenty miles a day on a bike isn't that much, certainly for a skinny, fit 19 yo. That's just enough for basic aerobic fitness, which is excellent prep for a hike. If he were doing 80 to 100, different story.
I have a similar body type, and enjoy cycling (in moderation, as in 20 miles a day) tremendously. It keeps me fit for nearly everything, I find, including the activity alluded to above (nudge nudge).
My skinny body has worked very well on hikes. With no fat reserves, I need to eat every two hours, or I'll hit a wall. You'll probably need a slightly higher food budget to satisfy your appetite during town stops. Budget an extra couple hundred dollars for greasy diner food and don't skimp on that. It'll be fun--enjoy the hike!
I am 19 and have been planning my Thru for almost 2 years.
I am 6,4 yet only weigh 160 and i am highly active and eat tons but what can i do to build up a bit before i head out? I dont think i could loose too much more weight and be in good hiking form to get to Maine
I go on frequent hikes and ride my road bike twenty miles a day, as well as lift weights but to no extreme
WOW..you are pretty skinny and if you don't put on some weight you will end up really losing too much,
Here's what I suggest.. several times a week..
eat biscuits and gravey and mounds of pancakes and saussage
Hit the buffet ever night. Get plenty of cheeseburgers and fries.
Other than that you are in excellent shape and set to go. While on the hike, you will want to stop at every restaurant you can. Espcecially, get to Smoke Mountain Diner in Hot Springs, Weizies (can't spell it sorry!) in Wayesnborough, VA--all you can eat pancake special!, get to every food magic spot, and just keep eating. You don't have a pound to lose!
Blissful
01-08-2010, 10:10
I'd watch riding bikes before a long hike. You use different muscles and I know a 20 yr guy on his thru hike in '07 who blew out his knee on day six because of it. I'd stop six months before and switch to walking.
DrRichardCranium
01-08-2010, 10:53
When I was your age I was pretty skinny too.
But I'm 45 now, and have put on a few pounds since then, thanks to a regular regimen of 12-ounce curls.
Cheeseburgers can be real food.
Depends on the bread and cheese and special sauceand what the put in the burger.
Real cheese, real burgers, real lettuce and tomato. Awesome.
... but rare as hens teeth.
Rather than cut out the cycling you could include some hiking with it.
Use the bike to bike to a local hiking trail, then hike the trail.
Sometimes stashing the bike can be an issue. Sometimes you can hide it in the woods.
The Fundy Trail folks let me store it in their shed.
:-?Always wondered why there were more Mice at shelters in Dixie than New England.
Raul Perez
01-08-2010, 12:38
I suggest picking up a body building nutrition book and increase your meals to 6 times a day concentrating on high protien to build muscle mass.
Eating cheese burgers and sausages and high grease will wreak havoc on your cholesteral levels. Gain weight using proper nutrition. There may be a nutritionist on site at a local gym facility go for a consultation.
Raul Perez
01-08-2010, 12:39
I suggest picking up a body building nutrition book and increase your meals to 6 times a day concentrating on high protien to build muscle mass.
Eating cheese burgers and sausages and high grease will wreak havoc on your cholesteral levels. Gain weight using proper nutrition. There may be a nutritionist on site at a local gym facility go for a consultation.
Raul Perez
01-08-2010, 12:40
Sorry it posted twice
take-a-knee
01-08-2010, 15:35
I suggest picking up a body building nutrition book and increase your meals to 6 times a day concentrating on high protien to build muscle mass.
Eating cheese burgers and sausages and high grease will wreak havoc on your cholesteral levels. Gain weight using proper nutrition. There may be a nutritionist on site at a local gym facility go for a consultation.
Doing the bodybuilder/mega protein thing doesn't work unless you are 25 or so and on steroids. An NFL lineman's body can assimilate 50-60 grams of protein per meal, most of can only assimilate 30-35 per meal tops. Any more than that just gets turned to fat.
The Zone Diet's reccomendation is 0.5 gram-1.0 gram per pound of bodyweight, depending on your activity level. 0.5 for non exercisers, 1.0 for atheletes who train several hrs/daily (or thru hikers) is all you need. IE, it is all you can actually use. This is however, a lot more protein than most Americans consume. The Zone Diet is also a 40/30/30 (carbs/protein/fat) diet just like body builders have adhered to for decades. It is important to note that the 4/3 ratio of carbs to protein needs to be fairly closely adhered to each meal. If you eat more protein than that, it can trigger elevated cortisol levels. This is the classic stress response, which will retard healing and recovery.
AUhiker90
01-08-2010, 15:40
Great advice from all.
This is really giving me more confidence coming into my hike!
Doing the bodybuilder/mega protein thing doesn't work unless you are 25 or so and on steroids.
Steroids has nothing to do with it. Even if it did, that would more reason why the "mega protein thing" would work for a young man.
@ AUhiker90
If you want to gain weight, and you probably should, go to www.tmuscle.com and look for ProfessorX. He's prior military and currently a doctor. He's gone from a skinny young man like you to a size where he's just about ready to get on the bodybuilding stage and compete as a professional. The bulk of his advise is pretty simple: eat. If you aren't gaining weight, you're not eating enough. The advice from other posters there are great as well. If you look at the diet recommended by thru-hikers, you'll see that the diet gets closer and closer to the bodybuilder diets.
And if for some reason you are considering steroids, don't. At your age it won't help much unless you are tested to have low hormone levels. Taking it is also likely to reduce your natural capacity to create testosterone in the future. Plus if you were to take it, your diet, exercise regime and sleep schedule have to be top notch and strictly adhered to for it to be beneficial. Simply put, it's not worth it, especially when you can go very far very quickly without it.
AUhiker90
01-08-2010, 16:21
Steroids have never really crossed my mind so i wont have to worry about any of that cheater stuff. I believe in real natural work outs without a "edge".
You won't be the first or last skinny young man to go on a thru-hike. Sounds like your base fitness level is pretty good. It is amazing how the body adjusts. Eat well on the trail and when in town.
Good luck!
A guy I met on the PCT started his hike at 135 and gained a few pounds. He was really skinny. Eats like a bird, too. He does just fine. You'll be fine. It's just walking.
SawnieRobertson
01-09-2010, 12:26
Once you've built some strength, then follow the "main page" workouts at www.crossfit.com (http://www.crossfit.com) and follow Dr Barry Sears' Zone Diet for the rest of your healthy/fit life.
Your point about following the guidelines of the Zone food plan is well taken. In 1999 I was very conscientious about that. Maybe it was because I was so happy and engaged with being on the trail, but being a compulsive, emotional overeater, it was amazing to me that I actually was never hungry or having bouts of cravings on the trail.
I studied the ingredients and macro nutrients of the freeze-dried foods and chose only those that had percentages close to Barry Sears's recommendations. (The best was Mountain House turkey tetrazini, which I found was good cold as well as hot.) I also had 5 Zone bars interspersed thoughout each hiking day after eating a Bear Bar with a cup of coffee for breakfast. Only the Bear Bar got old, but that was before I added in the cup of coffee which did yen/yang magic to my tastebuds.
In town I went out for meals that the others were craving just for the company. I could have just continued eating my daily fare without complaint.
Oh, these were Zone bars from the earliest batches with no coating. They were relatively tasteless, just nutritious. Then a coated lime-type Zone bar appeared as I sat down on the bottom step of the firetower at Shuckshack. Wow! What a treat my support person back home had stuck in my maildrop.
This year I will follow essentially the same plan.--Kinnickinic
That's bogus because "professional cyclists" (whoever they are) are so skinny and fit (cardio-wise), they are hardly bearing any weight on the seat as they ride, especially uphill or in a race. Running and cycling are poor methods of attaining true/all-inclusive fitness, they jack up your estrogen levels and waste muscle mass. Long distance runners father twice as many daughters as sons. If you don't want to be a girlie man, get off the damn bike and get to the gym and move some iron.
Wow. More nonsense based on ignorance. Sir Chris Hoy - 92kg - winner of 3 gold medals at the Beijing Olympics. He is built like a brick ****house. You have to have some serious muscle mass to get the bikes he rides going. Regardless, weight is not much of an issue. It has to do with heat and the friction that rigorous cycling causes that may cause infertility.
There is no conclusive evidence.
Cycling and running are one of the most effective and accessible forms of aerobic exercise. This is the type of exercise that is most effective at promoting good health and fitness.
Your last comment makes you sound like a mug. What is manly about pumping iron? So I can admire myself in the mirror? To overcome my insecurities? So I compensate for my lack of masculinity?
Nothing manly about it my eyes.
take-a-knee
01-09-2010, 16:00
Wow. More nonsense based on ignorance. Sir Chris Hoy - 92kg - winner of 3 gold medals at the Beijing Olympics. He is built like a brick ****house. You have to have some serious muscle mass to get the bikes he rides going. Regardless, weight is not much of an issue. It has to do with heat and the friction that rigorous cycling causes that may cause infertility.
There is no conclusive evidence.
Cycling and running are one of the most effective and accessible forms of aerobic exercise. This is the type of exercise that is most effective at promoting good health and fitness.
Your last comment makes you sound like a mug. What is manly about pumping iron? So I can admire myself in the mirror? To overcome my insecurities? So I compensate for my lack of masculinity?
Nothing manly about it my eyes.
First, let me state I was wrong about aerobic training raising a man's estrogen level. That rises naturally with age, it saps your TESTOSTERONE level, and if you don't know enough to understand the "manly"/biological significance of that, you are too damned ignorant to even discuss this issue. For your perusal:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0076.htm
Note from the study the deleterious effects happened when men ran over thirty miles weekly. There is also a long ago proven "limit" to the health/longevity of aerobic exercise. Dr. Ken Cooper (who coined the term aerobic and trained NASA astronauts) proved from decades long longitudinal studies that running improved longevity, up to fifteen miles/week, with no increase in longevity with added mileage. LOOK at the average marathoner, then LOOK at the average middle distance runner or sprinter. I would ask you which one looks more "manly" but I'd get some brain-dead answer. So, if you want to look like a stick man, live most of your life with injuries (runners LIVE with injuries caused by running), then go run 10-12 miles daily. Or you could do the smart thing and do 400 and 800m sprints, mixed with bodyweight exercises (pullups burpees, pushups), mixed with high rep total body barbell/kettlebell exercises, alternated with heavy deadlifts, powercleans, squats, and overhead presses. NONE of this will produce a Mr Olympia, it will produce, in a young man, something that approximates Michangelo's "David" sculpture. MR Olympias are products of intense weightlifting, overeating, and steroids.
To boil it all down, we are all trying to stay out of a nursing home hopefully. Some just live in denial, some just try not to think about it. I ask you, did anyone ever get placed into a nursing home because their 10k time got too slow? Remember, long-distance runners LIVE with overuse injuries, especially those who eat a high-carb diet. What happens when the knee cartilage is gone? You sure as hell won't be running then. Did anyone ever get placed in a nursing home because they can't extend their hip joint? IE, rise from a chair. In case you didn't know, inability to do exactly that is what keeps nursing homes full. Reread this post from the beginning and think about it. Coach Greg Glassman, Crossfit founder has said a lot of profound stuff, but probably my favorite is this, "The needs of or grandparents and the needs of olympic caliber atheletes differ only by degree, not by kind."
I was also wrong about pumping iron, you should be pumping "rubber", IE, rubber bumper plates on a barbell that can be dropped to the floor. Yes, you'll need to spend a little money on gear, but you can outfit two or three gyms for what a carbon-fiber wondercycle costs.
You told the lad to stop cycling as it will ruin his pecker. All I said is that's not true. I love cycling and it has many positive benefits (mostly mental for me). I find cycling a lot of fun and a great way to travel. I agree with you about running and the effect it has on the knees. The great thing about cycling is that it is low impact.
I'm assuming the lad cycles 20 miles to school or work each day. The benefits of cycling far outweigh his other option if he gets off the saddle: motorised transport and any slight decrease in testosterone or healthy sperm levels.
take-a-knee
01-09-2010, 19:21
You told the lad to stop cycling as it will ruin his pecker. All I said is that's not true. I love cycling and it has many positive benefits (mostly mental for me). I find cycling a lot of fun and a great way to travel. I agree with you about running and the effect it has on the knees. The great thing about cycling is that it is low impact.
I'm assuming the lad cycles 20 miles to school or work each day. The benefits of cycling far outweigh his other option if he gets off the saddle: motorised transport and any slight decrease in testosterone or healthy sperm levels.
For your perusal:
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=84072
There is NO SINGLE EXERCISE that can produce true fitness. Broad, general fitness requires a broad based methodical approach.
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/duty_calls.png
Someone's always wrong on the Internet, especially when someone's trolling. Go to bed instead and get some sleep.
Report to Springer Mountain or Katahdin with a reasonable pack weight according to your own schedule, make sure you're prepared to deal with Mother Nature's schedule, feed your appetite and be patient so you won't get in too much of a hurry, hurt yourself or freeze to death. If you follow my advice and you keep walking, you stand a good chance of success.
If you don't want to be a girlie man, get off the damn bike and get to the gym and move some iron.God, I love the internet! Wish they had it when I was young. All we had back then was MAD Magazine.
take-a-knee
01-09-2010, 21:52
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/duty_calls.png
You spend WAAAY more time on the net than I do. You working nights these days? I didn't know it was bedtime.
take-a-knee
01-09-2010, 21:55
God, I love the internet! Wish they had it when I was young. All we had back then was MAD Magazine.
Yeah, but you ain't young anymore Frosty, you're a frickin' old man now, and gettin' older every day. You'll be discovering that hip extension failure phenomenon soon enough...if you live that long.
You spend WAAAY more time on the net than I do. You working nights these days? I didn't know it was bedtime.
I live in Boulder, CO. Perhaps one of the most online connected groups of people outside of Silicon Valley. Easier than phone calls for coordinating trips and a social life. Speaking of which, I also suspect I spend WAAAY more time outside than you, too if we are going to use hyperbole and capital letters. ;)
Anyway, my comic was poking fun at the male appendage measuring contest you and the chap from the UK are having. You two and Shades of Gray obviously missed the point.
All of you. Shut up. We get the point. :sun
futureatwalker
01-10-2010, 04:22
Remember, long-distance runners LIVE with overuse injuries, especially those who eat a high-carb diet. What happens when the knee cartilage is gone? You sure as hell won't be running then. .
I've heard this view about knee-injuries as well. It appears to be true for some sports, but it turns out the long-distance runners actually have less knee detioriation than people who aren't long-distance runners.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/phys-ed-can-running-actually-help-your-knees/?scp=3&sq=does%20running%20cause%20knee%20injury&st=cse
So, for a reason that may not be well understood, long-distance running is actually good for your knees.
Yeah, but you ain't young anymore Frosty, you're a frickin' old man now, and gettin' older every day. You'll be discovering that hip extension failure phenomenon soon enough...if you live that long.It's good to be alive and I hope to enjoy life while I am. As the Reader's Digest says: "Laughter, the Best Medicine." Beats the hell of out dry rot of the soul.
I wouldn't worry what you weigh or what kind of preperation to do. Just go hike. Eat all you can whenever you can.:sun
Powder River
01-13-2010, 15:01
There was a guy who hiked the trail when I did who was about your size. He ran into serious nutritional problems, because he simply couldn't eat enough. He was constantly out of energy, and suffering from lack of calories.
My suggestion is be prepared to have to eat WAY more than other hikers. This includes carrying more weight in food, and spending more time eating each night. When you are in town, eat double. My friend found several tricks, including carrying a big bottle of olive oil, which has lots of calories.
You'll be fine.
Last year I started my thru hike at 30 lbs overweight with two bad knees and my only training was drinking beer, eating fatty foods, and stressing about my job and money.
I went out there and walked...and I made it.
It sounds like it also may have saved your life:D
WOW..you are pretty skinny and if you don't put on some weight you will end up really losing too much,
Here's what I suggest.. several times a week..
eat biscuits and gravey and mounds of pancakes and saussage
Hit the buffet ever night. Get plenty of cheeseburgers and fries.
Other than that you are in excellent shape and set to go. While on the hike, you will want to stop at every restaurant you can. Espcecially, get to Smoke Mountain Diner in Hot Springs, Weizies (can't spell it sorry!) in Wayesnborough, VA--all you can eat pancake special!, get to every food magic spot, and just keep eating. You don't have a pound to lose!This to me is horrible advice. You are assuming he will waste away on the trail. It is possible he will stay around the same weight and may even become more muscular, as long as he makes sure he eats well while underway. Suggesting he shovel in massive amounts of saturated fats and sodium may if anything wind up being detrimental not only to his health, which is most important, but also to his success.
I'd watch riding bikes before a long hike. You use different muscles and I know a 20 yr guy on his thru hike in '07 who blew out his knee on day six because of it. I'd stop six months before and switch to walking.I don't see how you can possibly surmise this. This is total speculation. Who knows what other preexisting injury may have been present, or wether he took a mistep, etc...leading to this catastrophic injury.:rolleyes:.
Danielsen
07-19-2010, 00:39
To boil it all down, we are all trying to stay out of a nursing home hopefully. Some just live in denial, some just try not to think about it. I ask you, did anyone ever get placed into a nursing home because their 10k time got too slow? Remember, long-distance runners LIVE with overuse injuries, especially those who eat a high-carb diet. What happens when the knee cartilage is gone? You sure as hell won't be running then. Did anyone ever get placed in a nursing home because they can't extend their hip joint? IE, rise from a chair. In case you didn't know, inability to do exactly that is what keeps nursing homes full.
Are we to presume that all those in nursing homes are former long-distance runners? :p
Something tells me most of those hips and knees deteriorated without the help of ultramarathons.
Cycle, run, lift weights, throw balls, or swim laps; do what fulfills you and throw some hiking in there too, just as long as you get what you want out of it. Ease into new things and injuries etc. are unlikely. Every type of excersize has its own set of particular benefits and potential drawbacks (most related to not diversifying your activities, i.e. loss of bone density in cycling or swimming). You live once, so get out there and do stuff.
Those who compel you to worry about your manliness are usually hawking pills. ;)
For the record, I find that my favorite kind of hiking (the steep kind) engages exactly the same muscle groups as I use when powering up hills or sprinting on my road bike. Also, I'm too cheap to get myself some decent cycling shoes, so putting in long miles in my floppy-soled sneakers builds stability into my calves for dealing with tricky terrain with a load on my back. I backpack in the same sneakers I ride in and have never had a joint injury.
Cookerhiker
07-19-2010, 11:11
All I can add is my own admittedly anectotal experience. I've found cycling very beneficial for aerobic conditioning. When I lived in Western MD, my primary aerobic workout April-midNovember was cycling the Great Allegheny Passage on a steady uphill. Not too steep but definitely hilly enough to make a difference.
In late summer '08, I did a 3 day backpack in the Whites. My only aerobic conditioning for the preceding 5 months was cycling aside from a 3 day backpack in Dolly Sods. I hiked from Rt. 16 up the Boot Spur Trail to the Presidential ridgeline and did quite well - you can ask Hikerhead! We also hiked into the Franconias and Bonds.
Weights? My chiropractor who treated me for a herniated disk told me to go very easy on the weights not just because of the disk but in general given my type of body. But in early '08, I overdid it with free weights and spent 4 months in physical therapy and accupuncture for shoulder impingement syndrome. OK - my fault, I misused the weights but I'm very careful now.
Finally, I worked out at a local fitness center on rainy days and during the winter. Most of my time was on the elliptical or stair climber. I made a friend, an older guy, who was strong as an ox with bulging muscles. He'd work 2 hours on weights and maybe 20 minutes on an easy pace treadmill. I marveled at his strength and he marveled at how easily I powered past him on the bike trail. I was too polite to suggest he ease up on the weights (I guess he didn't need to) and spend more time on aerobic equipment at a more challenging pace. You can argue 'till you're blue in the face about what type of exercise is better but there's no doubt to me that he would have enjoyed his bike riding more if he spent more time on aerobic fitness.
garlic08
07-19-2010, 13:28
...You can argue 'till you're blue in the face about what type of exercise is better but there's no doubt to me that he would have enjoyed his bike riding more if he spent more time on aerobic fitness.
I support cycling, too. It's always worked great for me. Can hardly beat it for low impact exercise, just plain fun, and even decent transportation. The hiker who blew out a knee on a bike may have tried too hard too fast, had the incorrect seat height, or just may not have been made for cycling. Not everyone is.
I also cycle in floppy trail runners. (I often ride to trailheads for a hike.) I never though about that contributing to ankle strength--good point.
I support cycling, too. It's always worked great for me. Can hardly beat it for low impact exercise, just plain fun, and even decent transportation. The hiker who blew out a knee on a bike may have tried too hard too fast, had the incorrect seat height, or just may not have been made for cycling. Not everyone is.
I also cycle in floppy trail runners. (I often ride to trailheads for a hike.) I never though about that contributing to ankle strength--good point.Garlic08, I don't know if you are referring to Blissful's post, but that is the post I questioned, as she is stating a hiker who trained to hike the AT by bike riding solely for his training beforehand wound up having his knee give out while hiking the AT, and they are saying that the cause of his knee giving out is solely because he trained for hiking by bike riding. If you are referring to something else, then sorry.
Garlic08, I don't know if you are referring to Blissful's post, but that is the post I questioned, as she is stating a hiker who trained to hike the AT by bike riding solely for his training beforehand wound up having his knee give out while hiking the AT, and they are saying that the cause of his knee giving out is solely because he trained for hiking by bike riding. If you are referring to something else, then sorry.And actually I don't think Blissful is saying he solely trained for his hike by bike riding (my mistake) but because "you use different muscles" by training to hike by bike riding was what caused his knee to blowout.:-?