Advice for the out-of-shape hiker

This weekend, I went hiking in the Columbia gorge. Even fairly fit people find some of these hikes to be a bit strenuous -- at least, I noticed even athletic people were breathing heavily. Also, the faces of the people going up the hill (okay, cliff) were invariably serious and fairly quiet. People coming down again were smiling and chattering.

Taking lots of small breaks gives you a lot of time to think about things. In particular, I found myself thinking of ways to deal with the issues of being an out-of-shape hiker going up a hill with fit companions.

Some ideas:

1. Nag your friends to keep up. If you do this right, with a finely tuned combination of seriousness and sarcasm, they won't feel guilty about forging ahead while you catch your breath. It's awful to be the one holding the group up.

2. When going up the trail, get behind a slow poke. You're not going to get there faster by pushing yourself. (Unless it's a realllly small hill.) Out-of-shape hikers are usually much worse at pacing themselves than in-shape hikers.

I'd like to hike behind these guys
Photo credit: aussiegal

3. Bring a camera. That way, it's not a break, "I'm just stopping a moment to take this shot." (The drawback here is that if you're panting really hard, your hands might shake. Blame any blurry photos on very minor earthquakes.)

(You get extra points for unusual shots, such as shooting a waterfall from above.)

3a. In particular, take pictures that show how steep the path was. This tends to impress the sedentary folk back home. Tales about hiking are like tales about the fish that got away. No one tends to believe you without evidence.



4. Don't stress. Everybody has somebody faster than they are. In particular, it's pretty likely that your husband/wife/partner will have different views in regards to fast/slow. (It's a written-in-stone rule of the universe that couples will disagree in some fundamental area of life, such as hot/cold, budget/splurge, tastes great/less filling.)

5. Enjoy yourself. Hiking provides its own rewards.

6. Also, it's a good idea to develop an interest in botany or geology. Or any other damn thing that gives you a reason to catch your breath.

7. Write a blog post about hiking. That way, you can take a break to scribble notes on the hike, which gives you a chance to catch your breath.


Serious note: After the hike, when I got to the bottom again, I saw an ambulance and paramedics. In this case, they were there because of injuries caused by rock falls, but it is true that not everyone who goes up these hills is in shape to do so. In a way, exercise-induced asthma can be quite helpful -- long before my heart gets overworked, I have to stop to breathe. Be careful.

Are there any other out-of-shape hikers who have some hard-won advice they could share? Or any in-fit hikers who could share what it's like to be a fit hiker with a slug companion? When it comes to this topic, I have a lot to learn.

Whatever you do, don't stop!

[By Merry]
Ever read fairy tales? They're not politically correct, and they can be gruesome, but they can also provide useful metaphors. Like the one about the girl who put on these red shoes that made her dance and then she found out she couldn’t ever stop dancing.


If you've been exercising at all, you're wearing those shoes.

Once you start exercising, don’t stop
Paul Williams of the University of California at Berkeley showed that "interrupting an exercise program can cause you to gain weight that won't come off easily even after you resume training" (Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, February 2008). In other words, if you slack off on the exercising for awhile, you can’t just go back to the same old routine and expect to shed the pounds.

Weight Gained When You Stop Exercising May Be Hard to Lose
Williams divided his research subjects into low and high mileage groups. According to Williams, the people in the lower mileage groups were not able to lose the weight gained during time off if they just resumed the same exercise regimen. People who started running again after a break didn't lose weight until their mileage "exceeded 20 miles per week in men, and 10 miles per week in women."

Dr. Mirkin, in his wonderful ezine, says that "This study explains why exercise programs designed to prevent obesity may fall short if the exercise is irregular, seasonal, or often interrupted. "

Merry says "Now they tell us."

You're not in a position to cry "stop the treadmill, I wanna get off!"
Ideally this would have been useful information in November, not in March. If you've been pampering your inner slug this winter, then you might find yourself facing a bit of a challenge when you try to shed those pounds you gained from hibernating through the cold months.

(Do you like the way I say "you" instead of "we" in that last paragraph? This is a kind of distancing technique that people use when they don't want to face their own reflection in the mirror. Who knew that diction could be used as a form of self-evasion?)

This study worries me, because it's so easy for me to slack off during the winter and get back into the habit come springtime. I think that I'm not alone in this slacktitude, either. Amy, from the Runner's Lounge, gave a list of advice from an expert beginner. I prefer to think of myself as a re-beginner, but I am expert at starting over.

Of course, I realize you've all been very good this winter, and run 20 or 40 miles a week, so you don't need to worry about this study at all -- unless you have to stop running for some reason. Anyone, no matter how fit, can twist an ankle or injure a knee. If you find yourself in that situation, then you might want to intensify the workout once you get back on track.

Question for you: how many miles do you run a week? I'm curious.

(To read more details about Williams' study, check out Dr. Mirkin's ezine.)