View Full Version : Back-strengthening exercises for hiking
Gorgiewave
07-26-2012, 10:14
Hi all,
I was wondering what type of exercises (as in gym-type exercises) I can do to strengthen my back for hiking. I know about sit-ups, but I only feel anything in my lower back. Push-ups seems to affect mostly the lower back as well. What I can do to strengthen the rest of my back?
fredmugs
07-26-2012, 11:21
I don't think situps will stregthen your lower back. Deadlifts will. Seated rows and pull downs will help with the upper back.
Tom Murphy
07-26-2012, 11:45
Squats and dead lifts are number one for lower back. Sit-ups are NFG.
Pull-ups, chin-ups, and seated rows are great for the upper back.
Shrugs target the traps.
http://www.exrx.net/Lists/MMale.html
Click on the muscle group and follow through to the exercises.
Miami Joe
07-26-2012, 12:01
A trip to the chiropractor before (and after) a long hike isn't a bad idea, especially if your back isn't used to carrying around 30 pounds of weight all day every day.
bwburgin1015
07-26-2012, 14:45
There's a good article on Backpacker magazines website that has some good exercises.
I've been using a day pack with weight plates and water. I gradually add more weight to it as i feel stronger up to 10-12 miles a day. Give it try... a little time consuming but it puts me outside on the trails nearby. Good luck with your training.:)
Pedaling Fool
07-26-2012, 18:24
Dead lifts will definitely strengthen the lower back http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp0PshFhSf8
Squats also excellent, but don't just do the normal back squat, always include some front squats, it's a completely different exercise and don't expect to lift as much weight at first http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVNblYv02z0
These exercises (Clean & Jerk and The Snatch) will also work the lowerback, but they're also good for developing power and overall body strenght and conditioning. Whereas the above will get you strong, but you're missing out if you don't work on power.
Clean and Jerk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQAEu8FOCHY&feature=related
The Snatch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfLV0MnRVZM
don't forget you use different leg muscles on uphills than you use on the downhills. I actually don't find weightlifting as a great training method for backpacking on the AT. You do 3 or 4 sets of 10-15 reps in the gym with weights of whatever exercise (dead lifts, squats, leg extensions, etc), you risk back injuries.... you may increase leg strength, but not endurance. I've found the best workout for hills is do hill repeats with a weighted pack, or if you don't have hills, find a high rise building with staircases, and do repeat staircases with a weight vest or backpack. I use a 23 story beach condo here only 2 blocks from my house, and use a 30 lb Golds gym weight vest I bought at Walmart. I do the stairs every other day, and gradually increase the weight in the vest and the number of times up and down the stairs. Inside the concrete staircase the temperature gets up in the 90s. So you work up a good sweat also, and you build aerobic endurance climbing and going downhill. When you get to New England on the AT, there are some very steep uphills and downhills, kind of like rock staircases; and I found the downhills many times more difficult than the uphills.
best of luck !
Sarcasm the elf
07-26-2012, 19:04
Look into yoga if you are trying to strengthen your core and back. I've been taking it a couple of months and am amazed at how effective it is.
Siestita
07-26-2012, 20:53
Try the exercises in the book written by Alexander Melleby who was "National Director of the YMCA's Healthy Back Program". Long out of print, that book is still available cheaply from Amazon's used book affiliates:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Ys-Way-Healthy-Back/dp/0832901474
While experiencing low back pain simply as part of my normal, sedentary life (not backpacking), I encountered that book by chance years ago and then taught myself to do its exercises. The book is designed to get people who are having back problems to gradually and painlessly take up exercises that stretch and strengthen their abdominal, back, and neck muscles. It takes time to do those exercises (about 20 minutes for me to do about 1/2 of the recommended routine) but they can be very effective as means of both eliminating back pain and preventing its recurrence. Lately I only do the exercises when (1) I start to develop back pain at home, or (2) when I'm preparing to take a backpacking trip, or (3) when back pain develops on the trail.
Earlier this month I spent two weeks enjoyably backpacking in Virginia's Grayson Highlands/Mount Roger National Recreation Area. On several occasions I began to develop back pain on the trail, but I was able to nip it in the bud simply by taking a break, laying down right there, and devoting 15 minutes doing some of the "Y's Way to a Healthy Back" exercises.
Siestita
07-26-2012, 21:00
"I don't think situps will strengthen your lower back." No, but situps will strengthen your abdominal muscles, which play a critical role supporting the back. In many people, weak abs contribute to development of back problems.
Look into yoga if you are trying to strengthen your core and back. I've been taking it a couple of months and am amazed at how effective it is.
+1. A thorough yoga regimen is excellent for your core, for your whole body. Pilates, too. I do a weight circuit that includes the following back-related exercises:
1. Long pull - it's a seated row, of sorts, with weight resistance, good for lats, which is the main group exercised, and for core, especially low back. I do this exercise while leaning back at about 30 degrees from vertical, which engages the core. This is a machine exercise - most gyms have it.
2. Lat flies - the opposite of butterflies, which focus on the pecs, this exercise focuses on the lats. You start with each hand holding a dumb bell, arms arced such that the hands meet a foot and a half or so in front of the body, then swing the arms up and back, moving level with the shoulders, to the point where their range of motion ends. I do this standing, leaning forward at about 30 degrees from vertical, again engaging the core muscles as well, especially low back. It is a superb exercise.
3. Rotating shrugs. Excellent for the upper back and shoulders. Rotating is preferable to simple shrugs, as it more thoroughly engages the various muscles of that part of the body.
4. Chin up. Great for upper back. Use a supporting machine, which lowers the weight you have to lift, if needed. This is very helpful for when you need to scramble up ledges and rock faces.
5. Dead lift, as others have mentioned. You're lifting both the weight of your upper body and whatever weight your hands hold in either dumb bells or barbells here. Great exercise, but mind your form - if you don't do it right, you can easily injure yourself.
Key: good idea to consult your physician and a trainer at the gym before you do a weight training program, and during. Also, very important, I find: listen to your body. If you are sluggish on a given day, or feel relatively weak, be patient. Work yourself hard, of course, but let you body tell you its limits, too. You want to avoid serious injury, which can happen more easily than you might think when doing weights. The occasional extra day off from weights is just fine - it's a long haul commitment, not a quick fix.
Finally, if you have it available to you, counterbalance weight training with a good long swim once or twice weekly. Like yoga, it's superb for all muscle groups, especially the core, and has the very nice benefit of involving no weight bearing or impact. Very restorative when combined with weight training and other exercise.
daddytwosticks
07-27-2012, 07:22
I build-up those muscles by bending over backwards dozens of times a day for every member on my family...:)
Farmers walks
Take leaftye very seriously! This may be the best answer you got.
http://strength-basics.blogspot.com/2009/06/farmers-walks.html
One more exercise: Dips - works lats as well as pecs and triceps. You usually can find a supported chin/dip machine in a good-sized gym, if you need this to start with.
I've been using a day pack with weight plates and water. I gradually add more weight to it as i feel stronger up to 10-12 miles a day. Give it try... a little time consuming but it puts me outside on the trails nearby. Good luck with your training.:)
This is a great idea....for just around the house/yard on a daily basis.
Pedaling Fool
07-27-2012, 10:32
don't forget you use different leg muscles on uphills than you use on the downhills. I actually don't find weightlifting as a great training method for backpacking on the AT.
This post reminded me to emphasis that strength training is something one does to build a stronger body. I’m not saying it’s to prepare one to become a better hiker, or even to prepare one for a hike. Rather, it’s something you do with the goal of building a stronger body for life, which can help during a hike, since the most common injuries almost always involve some type of connective tissue. That’s the real benefit of strength training. In other words, fighting the effects of ageing is why I lift weights, but I also benefit in all the other activities I participate in, including hiking. Look at all the old people around you and you’ll see people being broken down by gravity. I know I will not have to worry about broken hips as I age. That’s the real reason to lift heavy objects.
You do 3 or 4 sets of 10-15 reps in the gym with weights of whatever exercise (dead lifts, squats, leg extensions, etc), you risk back injuries.... you may increase leg strength, but not endurance.First off, that’s a traditional number of sets/reps, but it’s not how I, or many others workout. Weight training is not that regimented, there’s a lot of flexibility in how you do the exercises; I usually do a lot more than that.
Also, why would you be at risk for back injuries? I’d say because you over-did-it. Simple solution: don’t-over-do-it. One risks injury from any physical activity, including hiking. The idea behind exercise is to build a stronger body in order to prevent injury and it also helps in recovery time when you do injure yourself; injury is inevitable, but strength training can only help in recovery.
Drybones
07-27-2012, 14:44
The best way to get in shape for anything is by doing it. If you cant do actual hiking try the stair stepper, with pack weight. Tread mill, elevated and wearing a pack would be good. I was in great physical condition the first time I hiked but only 8 miles put a hurt'n on me. I was not accustomed to a pack and used muscles I never used before.
The best way to get in shape for anything is by doing it. If you cant do actual hiking try the stair stepper, with pack weight. Tread mill, elevated and wearing a pack would be good. I was in great physical condition the first time I hiked but only 8 miles put a hurt'n on me. I was not accustomed to a pack and used muscles I never used before.
This, for sure, is true. I took 7 weeks off this past winter from hiking and hit the gym hard. My first hike back was an easy one, 4 miles or so and maybe 1000' elevation gain, and it put a whuppin on me, even though I had hiked a lot in the previous year and a half, many harder hikes It didn't take long, though, for me to get my trail legs. A month of weekends, with more gym during the week, and I was popping along down the trail.
greginmi
07-28-2012, 06:54
Anything that works your core is going to be great.
I like to do front and side planks (keep your body flat while resting on our toes and elbows) and work with kettlebells.
I also start wearing my pack on the treadmill starting in February or March (I live in Michigan so we really don't hit the trails until May-June timeframe).
Regards,
Greg