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FastHiker
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Once I was able to start exercising and hiking again I decided to deviate from what had always gotten me into great shape in the past (i.e. an old ski machine) and see if there wasn’t something that might be better and more fun.
Over the past few months I went to the gym at work and tried several machines. I tried to stick with each machine for 1 to 2 months. Here’s what I finally concluded:
Weight Machines
I like working out with the weights. It doesn’t take much time and it is good for overall health.. While I think it’s a good idea to work out for the purpose of general health, for me at least they seem pretty useless as far as hiking is concerned. They would probably be useful if I were planning to go backpacking with a monstrously heavy pack up the side of a mountain.
Treadmill
I loved working out on the treadmill, especially with the incline set to 12% or higher. Alas, I didn’t find the treadmill to be very useful for hiking either. It’s basically a cardio machine and doesn’t seem to do much for the legs.
Recumbent Stationary Bike
Maybe I’ll have to buy one of these. At higher resistances, I like the recumbent over the regular bike. You are pushing with your back against the seat so you don’t have to hold on to keep from being pushed off the seat.
The bike is great for the quads. While I don’t consider the quads to be nearly as important as the hamstrings, I think the stationary bike compliments the ski machine nicely.
Ski Machine
I tried to get away from the ski machine but eventually came back to it. I tried an elliptic trainer for a while but didn’t like it as much. The ski machine targets the hamstrings and not much else, at least not that I’ve ever noticed.
Conclusion
Ski machine alone gets me into great shape for long hikes.
Bike alone gets me into good shape for fairly short hikes.
Ski machine plus the bike gets me into even better shape but it’s hard to do both. The ski machine is at home and the bike is at work. Using the ski machine second just doesn’t work. The ski machine is much harder than the bike. If I don’t have enough energy for both I want to skip the bike, which isn’t really that important anyway.
Unless I buy a good stationary bike this means driving home, working out on the ski machine for 30 to 90 minutes, driving back to work, working out on the bike for 30 minutes, and then driving home again.
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Total Posts: 256 | Joined Nov. 2004 | Posted on: 9:01 am on Mar. 13, 2009 | IP
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4wheelbob
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Your assessment of the treadmill is right on the money. Not that I have to worry about quads or hammies much, but a lot of your uphill power derives from the combination of calves, hammies and quads.
Have you tried a stair stepper? with most the tension can be adjusted to simulate any grade. Moving the feet around can redirect the emphasis from one set of muscles to another.
I'd recommend a good hearty tricep press but it won't do as much for you as it does me! See you out there soon!
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4wheelbob
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Total Posts: 67 | Joined July 2006 | Posted on: 8:33 am on April 1, 2009 | IP
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Bay Area Hiker Discussion Board
Getting into shape
