8 Week Training Plan for Hiking – Build Strength for Carrying Kids on Your Back

It’s mid-March so naturally I am having that “oh sh@#!” moment because our first big hiking trip is less than 8 weeks away. Our first hiking trip of the season will be backpacking in Great Sand Dunes National Park. As I type that, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. We will be backpacking for the first time as a family, which means we will be carrying all of our camping supplies in our backpack, and likely carrying at least one (increasingly heavy) kid on our backs as well….IN SAND! Needless to say, it’s time to start some physical training! Training for longer hikes with a kid carrier is similar to training for a backpacking trip. Once you get a baby or toddler in your carrier and load it with everything you need for a day hike, it can start pushing 50 pounds in weight. Yikes! That’s more than I used to carry backpacking. So, unless you live somewhere where you are hiking consistently year around, the first trip of the year can kick your butt. To help, I’m sharing the training plan for hiking season that I will be following over the next eight weeks. I hope you join me, so you can feel prepared (and strong!) come hiking season!

Disclaimer: I am not a training professional. I am sharing what has worked for me to build strength and endurance to carry heavy kids on my back on longer hikes. With all physical exercise, be sure to consult your doctor or a professional before implementing a new fitness routine and always listen to your body, take it slow, and modify as needed.

TIPS FOR CREATING YOUR TRAINING PLAN FOR HIKING SEASON

While I am not a professional, I do enjoy planning and organizing workout routines! I have trained for a marathon, half marathons, and multi-day backpacking trips. I even used to plan lunchtime workouts with a group back in my corporate days. The process of race training is similar for training to get in shape for carrying kids on your back on long hikes—I need a plan that builds on my fitness level, has plenty of variety to keep me engaged, and pushes me out of my comfort zone just enough so that come race day/hike day/backpacking trip I am feeling confident!

I like all kind of fitness, with the exception of running. So you will see that I put running as a cardio option but it’s not my choice. You can call me a fitness class junkie as I’ve done most types of fitness classes: Beachbody, Pure Barre, Shred15, CrossFit, Orange Theory, and Peloton (currently) to name a few. For this training plan, I chose a variety of workouts that you can do at home and easily Google for instructional videos and form. The most important aspect for hiking training is to ensure you have both cardio and strength days in your training plan. When creating a training plan for hiking season, here are some aspects that I consider:

CARDIO

• Cardio is important—especially with the high elevation of many of our Colorado hikes. I need my lungs to be strong. I need to build cardio endurance to sustain long days on the trail. For my cardio, I primarily do Peloton PowerZone training because it allows me to challenge myself at my exact fitness level.

Lower body strength

• Strength training is important too. It’s not all about cardio, because I need to have strong legs to get me up the mountain and to carry the heavy load of kids or backpack on my back. Remember that 50 pounds I mentioned. That takes strength!
• With strength training, start small and increase weight slowly over time. I have a notes section in my training plan so I can keep track of the weights and repetitions. Go slow with doing the exercises! It’s better to focus on proper form than to race through weight workouts.

UPPER BODY strength

• Shoulders and back muscles play a big role in carrying backpacks and kid carriers, so I need to focus on upper body as well.

HIPS

• Kid carriers put a lot of strain on hips, so I need to incorporate workouts that improve hip stability (and hip stretching!).

STRETCHING

• Speaking of stretching, I incorporate stretching into my routine every day so that I don’t injure myself while I’m training, and so that I am more agile and less prone to injuries on the trail. In my workout plan, you will see a 5-minute stretch built in each day. I do not love stretching so that is the bare minimum but if you are someone who enjoys it, the more the better! I choose a 5-minute post-ride stretch from Peloton after my cardio days and do the stretching cool downs built into the weight days. If you are looking for a 5-minute stretch routine, you can find many on YouTube like this one.

CORE

• The core is crucial in maintaining balance on unstable terrain on hiking trails, (as well as to help offset that toddler who wants to lean and bounce around in the carrier!!). A strong core also helps with lower back strength and minimizing lower back pain while hiking, so I incorporate core into my routine every day. I pick a Peloton 5-minute core workout—there are tons of options! But you can also search YouTube for a 5-minute core video like this one.

PLAN

• Exercising takes time. This one is the hardest for me as I am a working mom pulled in many different directions, so I have to schedule time in advance in my day. I am more successful when I put it in my calendar and honor that important time. I sit down every Sunday and look at what I will be doing (and how much time it will take) and put it in my calendar.

ACCOUNTABILITY

• I do better when I am accountable to someone (thanks for being my accountability partners since I am sharing this with you!). I have printables below so that you can print off a training schedule and put it somewhere you can see it every day.

REST

• Weekends are rest days, but we usually have one active day. I typically don’t “work out” on weekends as we have family activities planned, so I treat these as my active rest days. We are still active on these days, but more kid-level active versus “training.” If we do a longer hike on a weekend, I will use Monday as a true rest day as rest is important.
• In addition to rest days, physical rest in the form of sleep is crucial. You will have a lot more success in sticking to your fitness plan if you have at least 8 hours of sleep each night.

SELF CARE

• Self-care can look different to all of us. For me, when I have increased my physical training, a weekly Epsom salt bath can do wonders! I also recommend foam rolling weekly to help ease soreness.

WATER

• Drink lots of water—I follow the recommendation of half of your body weight in ounces of water per day. And when I say “I follow” I mean, I try for that goal. That’s not a small number for me and I am not a water lover. But when working out consistently, I do find that I drink a lot more water.

YOU’VE GOT THIS!

• Try to avoid an “all or nothing” mentality. If you miss a workout, just pick right back up. The idea is to improve your fitness before hiking season. Every little bit helps!

HOW TO STRUCTURE YOUR TRAINING PLAN FOR HIKING SEASON

There are many ways to incorporate cardio and strength. I have a Peloton bike and the Peloton App for strength, but I will describe the alternative cardio/strength options that can be done without a paid subscription! There are tons of tutorials of the workouts I recommend below. Be sure to watch a video to use proper form, especially when using weights. I’ve listed out recommended workouts so that you have choices.

The easiest way to structure your workout is circuit training so I have added six workouts for each day. I recommend 15 reps (on each side) and do the first two workouts three times, then the next two workouts three times, then the last two workouts three times. Then once you finish all three circuits, go through all six workouts until time is up. What is nice about this is you have the same structure but different workouts, so you do not have to think/plan (once you get the hang of the structure), you just have to look at the workouts for that day and GO! You may not be able to get through the bonus round in the beginning, but as you get stronger you may find you are able to get through it multiple times in the 20 minute block. In the beginning, just focus on the goal of getting through the main set one time.

For example, the 30-minute full body bodyweight workout would look like this:

• 15 mountain climbers on each side (30 total)
• 15 lunges on each side (30 total)
• Repeat 30 mountain climbers + 30 lunges
• Repeat 30 mountain climbers + 30 lunges
• Quick water Break
• 15 jump squats
• 15 step-ups on each side, on stairs or box (30 total)
• Repeat 15 jump squats + 30 step-ups
• Repeat 15 jump squats + 30 step-ups
• Quick water Break
• 15 push ups
• 15 tricep dips
• Repeat 15 pushups + 15 tricep dips
• Repeat 15 pushups + tricep dips
• Quick water break
• Repeat all workouts in one set:
  • 30 mountain climbers
  • 30 lunges
  • 15 jump squats
  • 30 step-ups
  • 15 pushups
  • 15 tricep dips
  • Quick water break
  • Repeat all 6 workouts again until time

MY 8 WEEK TRAINING PLAN FOR HIKING SEASON

I am a schedule person, a list person, a typical Type A person. So, I don’t do well with “exercise more” or even “exercise every day” types of goals. I need a specific plan that I can follow and physically check off once completed. I also need to have a schedule that is predetermined so I do not have to think about what I am going to do; I just need to get up and do it. Below is my 8-week training plan to prepare for hiking season and two printable options—one general plan and one for Peloton subscribers. I hope this plan makes training a little easier for you too!

TRAINING PLAN FOR HIKING – (NON-PELOTON) –  CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD 8 WEEK PLAN

8 Week Training Plan for Hiking Season – Printable

TRAINING PLAN FOR HIKING – (PELOTON) –  CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD 8 WEEK PLAN

8 Week Peloton Training Plan for Hiking Season – Printable

If you are interested in my experience with the Peloton, send me a message! If you already have a Peloton, follow me at #RaisingHikers!  If you are interested in a Peloton bike, you can use the code C9XEFS for $100 off in accessories. I’m a fan.

OTHER TIPS FOR A TRAINING PLAN FOR HIKING SEASON

In addition to this training schedule, I try to incorporate more movement and walking into my day as I gear up for hiking season. I work a sedentary desk job, so these are some tips I try to be intentional about:

• Take the stairs! Anytime it’s an option to take the long way or walk the stairs, I take the stairs!
• Walk when you would normally drive—for me that looks like walking to the bus stop and to school, or walking to get donuts on Sunday morning instead of driving.
• Instead or coffee dates or happy hours with friends, schedule walking dates. Plus, I find it’s much better conversation when walking anyway!
• For date nights, we try to incorporate an activity in addition to dinner–like a long walk or a bike ride!
• Try to keep hiking year around. This one is hard depending on where you live, but we have gotten into winter hiking this year to try to remain active. The hikes are usually at kid pace, so not our summer level of hiking but it definitely helps.
• Add a family walk into your evenings around the neighborhood. This helps “condition” kids for hiking season as well!
• The weeks leading up to your big hike or backpacking trip, carry your pack (or your child) in a carrier on your Saturday “climbs” or anytime you can incorporate walking or hiking with your carrier.

AFTER YOUR 8 WEEK TRAINING PLAN FOR HIKING SEASON

After this 8-week training plan, or once hiking season arrives, I shift my rest days to Sunday and Monday since we usually do our longer day hikes on Saturdays and then Sundays are true rest days since we are driving home from the weekend’s adventure and Mondays are rest + yoga/stretching days.  

Happy training! Be safe, listen to your body, and have fun getting prepared for hiking season and building strength to carry your little hikers on your back!