The Ultimate Guide to Strength Training for Hiking (+Training Plan)

Whether you’re training for a long-distance trek or just want to make the most of your Saturday morning hikes, strength training for hiking can help.

Any mountain-based fitness activity like hiking, backpacking, or rucking requires a high level of strength and endurance. Like any athletic endeavor, strength and endurance can be improved through training.

Though hiking may seem like a leisure activity, it can also be dangerous. Wildlife, inclement weather, steep terrain, and natural obstacles can turn easy day hikes into life-or-death situations. Strength training can save your life if you have to climb to safety. Or, worse, carry an injured friend or pet.

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Strength Training for Hiking

The good news is strength training can benefit any athlete in any sport, including hiking. You may not think of hikers as traditional athletes. However, hiking requires a high degree of athletic ability. You need endurance to make it to the peak of the mountain. Strength to carry a heavy backpack. Speed to make it to waypoints before dark. Balance and agility to navigate uneven terrain. Hiking is no joke. That’s why every hiker should increase their strength.

Weight training makes us more vital for the things we love to do. It can reduce the risk of injury and strengthen our tendons, bones, and joints, allowing us to do what we love for the long haul.

What Are The Best Strength Training Exercises for Hikers?

Hiking and backpacking tax the entire body. Any strength training program for hikers should incorporate full-body movements focusing on leg and back strength.

Exercises for hikers should also mimic the single-leg movements of hiking. Single-leg power is more critical in hiking steep inclines than in other sports. Core and lower back strength can help prevent common injuries.

Lower body movements should focus on the quads, glutes, calves, and hamstrings to prevent muscular imbalances.

The 5 Exercises for Hikers to Build Your Routine Around

It can help to establish a handful of movements to build your routine around. Start with the five movements below. Then, add one or two exercises for the lower body, upper body, and core strength.

Walking Lunges

The walking lunge is one of the best exercises for hikers. Walking lunges develop single-leg strength while stabilizing the rest of the body, much like hiking up a mountain.

Walking lunges are an excellent exercise for increasing lower-body muscular endurance. Using your body weight, carrying dumbbells, or carrying a barbell across your upper back, you can walk and lunge until you simply can’t anymore. Each time you perform the exercise, try to take a few more steps on each leg than you did the previous week.

FAQs

How long should I rest between sets?

Start resting for 1-2 minutes between sets. You can increase rest time as you increase weight throughout the training plan.

When should I increase the weight?

For the best results, try to increase the weight you use each time you perform the workout. For timed exercises, try to increase the time by a few seconds for each workout.

If you don’t feel ready to increase the weight, try increasing the reps for each workout by one each week. For example, if you did 10 goblet squats on week 1, shoot for 11 on week 2 with the same weight.

Can I substitute the exercises in the training plan for a different exercise?

Of course! Substitute whatever exercise you need to.

Why is the rep range mostly 10-12? Shouldn’t I be doing lower reps and heavier weights?

This is a beginner training plan. 10-12 reps is an excellent mix for hikers because it’s at the high end of strength training/lower end for muscular endurance training. If you are more advanced, feel free to change the rep scheme to 3-5 or 6-8 to allow for increased load.

How often should I take rest days?

This is a three-day-per-week program. You should take at least one day off between each weight training day. The days you aren’t weight training are good days to work on cardiovascular endurance and aerobic capacity. This article focuses on building strength, but cardio training is necessary for hikers.

If you enjoyed our guide to strength training for hiking, you’ll love our other adventure sport guides, like our beginner’s guide to mountain bike strength training! Subscribe to the Outdoor Muscle Newsletter below for the latest guides, articles, and videos covering everything outdoor fitness.

Buck is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), Personal Trainer (NSCA-CPT), & UESCA Run Coach. He is the founder of Outdoor Muscle, a veteran-owned company dedicated to providing endurance athletes and adventure seekers the resources they need to achieve their fitness goals.

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