whats a good pre workout for the trail?

[Son Driven]

Nothing in the gym will place the lateral stresses on your knees and ankles like the AT does. Hiking where you can place lateral stresses on your knees and ankles is your best training. Depending on where you live, and what trails are available to you. Living in Minneapolis, there are several trails to choose from, and I hiked many of them, however in preparation for the AT, I should have placed 35 pounds on my back & climbed up and down the rocky uneven river bank all day, because that more represents the AT then hiking several miles across relatively flat terrain. But more then the physical aspect, is the mental. Start pruning out modern comforts, get rid of the TV and the radio, and place yourself in relative isolation. Sleep on the hardest floor you can find with the heat turned down, or hang up your hammock somewhere.

[Son Driven]

Pre workout? Well, you can do some cardiovascular. But the best work out is the mental part. Once you get on the trail, that is what keeps you going day after day, in which the conditioning follows.

Amen! AT is a body soul & spirit experience. I saw plenty of athletic bodies on the AT that did not finish. You need to also prepare your soul, and spirit. In the end it is the soul & spirit that pushes you through to the end.

[Josh Calhoun]

Honestly, drink every beer and eat every piece of greasy food you can get your hands on. the trail will put you into shape. don't worry to much about it

[Mags]

Honestly, drink every beer and eat every piece of greasy food you can get your hands on. the trail will put you into shape. don't worry to much about it

When 3 out of 4 people quit along the way for various reasons, is that really wise advice?

Is there any reason to not be in moderate shape before starting a hike?

I know being at a healthy weight, being active and eating sensibly is probably over rated off-trail anyway.

Being serious, the trail is a mental challenge. Absolutely.

I would argue that the mental challenge is much more difficult in the first few weeks because you neglected to get in moderate shape to start a 2000+ mile challenge.

Personally if I quit a job, had to balance my finances, possibly negotiate with my family and so on to be able hike for several months, I'd do everything I can to not be in the 75% that drops out.

On WB we generally hear from the people who did make the journey. The people who did not make the journey are more silent. They may have a different take then "just wing it" looking back on it.

Just my .05 worth.

[grumps]

On WB we generally hear from the people who did make the journey. The people who did not make the journey are more silent. They may have a different take then "just wing it" looking back on it.

Just my .05 worth.[/QUOTE]


VERY WELL SAID !! Although not a thru-hiker (yet)(planned for 2018). I think that sometimes we can learn as much from seeing the reasons for those that dropped out as we can from the ones that finished. Don't take that as taking anything away from the ones that do finish for it is surely a monumental accomplishment.

That said maybe some of those that were not able to finish will start a serious thread for the various reasons and how they might have done something differently.

[jdc5294]

When 3 out of 4 people quit along the way for various reasons, is that really wise advice?

3 out of 4 people quit because 3 out of 4 people aren't doing it for the right reasons. I obviously can't speak for everyone, but many of the people I saw quit were doing it so they could say they hiked the Appalachian Trail. That's fine, but if that's the only reason you're doing it there's a decent chance you won't make it. Everyone's reasoning for doing it is different, and there's no right set of motivations, but doing exclusively for bragging rights or as a check mark on a bucket list is a one way ticket to taking a bus home three weeks in.

[Son Driven]

Personally I do not believe in setting to many bench marks. Prior to my Hike I set only two objectives. one to get to Harpers Ferry by 7/4, I would go to Katahdin, and hike back to Harpers Ferry if I did not make the 7/4 date. And to make it to Baxter Park before it closes mid October. I made it to Harpers Ferry 6/25. However, after having to get off the trail for the third time with poison ivy at Swatara Gap, I recalculated, and figured I probably could stay NOBO, however, I had used up my contingent time. And in fear that if I had another episode of illness or injury, I made the decision to make use of the time the Dr. told me I need to be off the trail and traveled to Katahdin. I was still running into several NOBO in Hanover, NH with terror in there eyes as they were running short on time. I ended up finishing on 10/7, and would have made Katahdin, without doing the flip flop, however I enjoyed the liberty of being leasuraly in ME, my favorite section of the trail.

[sbeatrice13]

Hiking every weekend 8-10 miles, will start carrying some weight in the pack soon.

[Mags]

3 out of 4 people quit because 3 out of 4 people aren't doing it for the right reasons.

Could you please list those right reasons? I'm intrigued.

[Son Driven]

Could you please list those right reasons? I'm intrigued.

"I am walking off the war" Earl Shaffer's reply. Those of us in transition, needing to be away from everyone and everything to reflect and meditate. My mother died 2005, my mother 2010, my wife of 31 years divorced me, and loss of employment. I had plenty of things to work out in my own mind. Whenever I read my bible, or prayed a conversation about the AT that I heard on the radio kept coming into my mind. One day I wrote down all the reasons to hike the AT and all the reasons not to. The benefits of the hike out weighed the reasons not to hike.

[Ender]

I think we should all consider that the right reasons for "me" aren't necessarily the right reasons for "you". Everyone has different things that drive them. One of the most successful hikers out there that I personally know (there are other successful hikers that I don't know personally, of course, but this guy I've personally met) does long trails, very long trails, specifically just to say he's done them. That method wouldn't be enough to drive me, but it's enough for him, and he's now hiked way, way way way waywayway more than I have.

Everyone is different. There is truly no right or wrong way to hike, as long as you aren't hurting anyone else. Pick your own path and walk it, and let other people walk theirs.

[jdc5294]

does long trails, very long trails, specifically just to say he's done them

This is exactly the reason I would say isn't the "right" reason, or the reason that would cause most people to drop out a couple weeks in. Just goes to show that it's different person to person. My cousin is a graduate of BUD/S, and he's also someone who's done a thru-hike (Ship Rat, '09). He told me everyone who goes into that because they want to say they've done it drops out the second day. But again, everyone is different.

[Malto]

This is exactly the reason I would say isn't the "right" reason, or the reason that would cause most people to drop out a couple weeks in. Just goes to show that it's different person to person. My cousin is a graduate of BUD/S, and he's also someone who's done a thru-hike (Ship Rat, '09). He told me everyone who goes into that because they want to say they've done it drops out the second day. But again, everyone is different.

I think we need a Whiteblaze pre-hike screening panel. The panel could investigate whether prospective thru-hikers are doing for the "right reasons".

I suspect that a large percentage of folks that run marathons, at least the first one, did it for the same wrong reason, to see if they could, ie say that they did.

[MuddyWaters]

Only 1 reason is needed.....you want to.

When you dont want to anymore, then its time to stop.

[jdc5294]

to see if they could, ie say that they did.

I feel like those are 2 very different reasons, the first being totally legitimate. The second not so much, but Ender has met someone who that works for as well so I dunno.

[English Stu]

Some hike to remember and some hike to forget.

[Pedaling Fool]

Just more reasons not to focus on pre-hike workouts, as opposed to staying fit for life. No matter how well you physically prepared yourself or how fit you became on the trail if you don't maintain it afterwards you will be one of them flabby hikers at Trail Days.

I do believe, based on observation, that people either underestimate or simply are not honest with themselves on how much they sit around. And that is exactly why you see a lot of flabby hikers at the get-togethers. I say "flabby", because many young hikers are not necessarily "fat", but you can see in their lack of muscle tone that they are virtually just as unhealthy as someone who is obese; their saving grace being that they can turn it around quicker if they act, but without action they will see first hand just how fast time flies and it's gone for good.

http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/pag...f-sitting/750/

[Pedaling Fool]

Just more reasons not to focus on pre-hike workouts, as opposed to staying fit for life. No matter how well you physically prepared yourself or how fit you became on the trail if you don't maintain it afterwards you will be one of them flabby hikers at Trail Days.

I do believe, based on observation, that people either underestimate or simply are not honest with themselves on how much they sit around. And that is exactly why you see a lot of flabby hikers at the get-togethers. I say "flabby", because many young hikers are not necessarily "fat", but you can see in their lack of muscle tone that they are virtually just as unhealthy as someone who is obese; their saving grace being that they can turn it around quicker if they act, but without action they will see first hand just how fast time flies and it's gone for good.

http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/pag...f-sitting/750/

I used the word "flabby" above but I just read this article and it kind of summed up what I was thinking of and used a better term; "Skinny-Fat"... http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs...lebrities.html


Title:

Lindsey Vonn: It's Sexy to Be Strong Instead of 'Skinny-Fat'



Excerpt:


Skiing star Lindsey Vonn epitomized red carpet perfection, but the 29-year-old bombshell doesn't always feel perfect.
In an interview with Self magazine, Vonn confessed to occasional feelings of insecurity.

"It was hard to go to the Met Ball with people who eat lettuce and Diet Coke for dinner," Vonn said, speaking of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Benefit annual gala, which is attended by the elites of the fashion and entertainment industries.
"It's difficult to be at events with a room full of women who weigh half as much as you do. That's always tough."

[wornoutboots]

Walk everywhere. Take an empty bp to the grocery store

[aficion]

Buy every book ever written by someone who attempted to thru hike. Put them in a backpack and walk around all day. During your rest stops read them. Repeat until all books have been read. After this you will either be ready for your attempt, or decide it is not for you.