Let’s chat about getting fit for hiking!
Last week, I had a question from somebody looking to join my Guatemala trip in November:
“Can I get fit enough to do this hike in 12 weeks?”
The answer is absolutely! You don’t need to spend hours in the gym, a little consistency each week can make a huge difference to how you feel on the trail.
There are 5 physical systems that will determine how strong and fit you’ll feel on a multi-day hike:
1: Aerobic capacity (50% of training time)
- What is it? Aerobic capacity is your body’s ability to use oxygen efficiently to produce energy during sustained exercise, like walking, hiking or climbing hills.
- Why does it matter for hiking? Improving your aerobic fitness helps your heart and lungs work more efficiently, allowing you to walk further, tackle hills like a champ, recover more quickly, and enjoy the hike without constantly feeling out of breath.
- How do you improve it? Zone 2 training, which could be rowing, swimming, walking, running, or cycling at a low intensity for a long period of time. 60 minutes in zone two, and you should still be able to hold a conversation, but probably not sing a song!
- Mistakes people make: Pushing too hard, zone 2 training should feel easy-ish
2: Leg & glute strength (20% of training time)
- What is it? The ability of the muscles in your hips, thighs and lower legs to support your body, generate power for climbing, and provide stability and control while hiking over varied terrain.
- How do you improve it? Exercises like step-ups, squats, lunges and hill walking while trying to simulate the kind of terrain you might see on your planned multi day hike.
- Mistakes people make: Only training for ascents and ending up with inefficient downhill movement, remember that on any hike there will be ups AND downs!
3: Core stability (15% of training time)
- What is it: Core stability keeps movement efficient and transfer force through your body, making each movement safter and controlled.
- How do you improve it? Exercises such as planks, side planks, and mountain climbers 2-3time a week.
- Mistakes people make: A common core stability mistake is focusing only on abs or doing exercises with poor technique, rather than consistently training deep core muscles that improve balance, posture and stability for hiking.
4: Ankle mobility and balance (10 % of training time)
- What is it: Having good ankle mobility helps keeps you balanced and stable on loose, uneven terrain
- How do you improve it? By practising exercises like single leg hops, calf raises, single-leg stands, ankle circles and walking on uneven terrain
- Mistakes people make: Only focusing on static position exercises when we need to work on dynamic balance which is the ability to stay stable while you’re in motion, the aim is to be able to find stability in motion
5: Anaerobic capacity (5% of training time))
- What is it: Anaerobic training improves your ability to handle short bursts of intense effort, such as steep climbs, stairs or challenging sections of trail where your body needs quick power
- How do you improve it? You can improve anaerobic fitness by adding short bursts of higher-intensity effort, such as hill sprints, stair climbs or interval training, followed by recovery periods.
- Mistakes people make: A common mistake is doing too much high-intensity training and not enough endurance work, when anaerobic sessions should simply complement, not replace the steady aerobic training that’s most important for hiking.
Which of the 5 systems do you know you need to work on?
Leave a comment and let me know! You can check out all my 2026/2027 hiking trips here.
Thank-you for reading,
Emma x