Gaining Muscle Mass for Increased Hiking Stamina
Simply saying “I want to go hiking” does not mean that you can just get up and be ready in a snap. It doesn’t work like that. I thought I could, much to my regret. Not only did I not even finish halfway through the hike, the next day my whole body simply knotted up and I couldn’t move an inch to save my sorry life. I learned the hard way from that experience.
I found out that in order to go hiking and be successful at it, I had to get my body ready. As I had never bothered with exercise nor hiking in my life, I had to work extra hard to gain what muscle mass I had to in order to succeed. I had read recommendation for muscle gaining secrets.I had to in order to succeed, if only for a little bit. It does not help that there is about 30 pounds worth of back pack strapped to my back to help complicate matters.
It all starts really slow, there is no other way. You just have to make sure that your body learns to move differently. Once or twice a week, start off without a back pack first and then start hiking. When you get tired, rest. There is always another day. As the days and the weeks progresses, you body should now have a bit of the stamina that it needs to take longer hikes and this is what you should do. Steadily increase the length of hikes until you are comfortable with reaching 9 miles (15 km).
When you reach that point, start using the backpack with about 10 pounds of weight. Again, gradually increase the weight until you reach the 30 pound maximum weight allowable. At this stage, daily hikes should be easier and it gets more exciting. With gradually increasing your distance and weight, you should be able to achieve what you have always dreamed of. But remember the hiking rule: Go Slow! There’s really no need to rush, that’s why it’s called hiking!
This article is guest contribution from: buildingbodymuscle.com