Backpacking Fitness

Ramp up your speed for hiking, trail running, and reaching the views faster with this all-in-one cardio and stabilizing workout.

Mental toughness is more than just pushing through pain to reach the summit. It’s also about learning to walk the tightrope between confidence and humility.

How to best care for your body to keep doing the outdoor activities you love

Your big adventures are right around the corner. Is your cardiovascular strength up to snuff?

Erratic, joy-filled exercise could make you a fitter—and happier—athlete.

Are you in good shape but still struggling with steep hikes? The culprit could be how you're breathing.

Record-setting thru-hiker Jeff Garmire suffered for years before discovering he had exercise-induced asthma—but the struggle taught him a thing or two about sticking with it.

Does your back feel beaten-up after a long day toting a pack? These simple tactics from trainer and guide Jason Antin can help fight the pain.

Learn how to battle the aches and pains of hiking with an expert's tips for staying healthy.

A slow walk through the woods has psychological and physiological benefits—and it could teach you a few things about hiking, too.

Yes, there's a better way to put one foot in front of the other. Improve your stride, trek farther, and end leg and back pain with our guide to the new science of healthy hiking.

Want to ensure a fun, productive, and injury-free spring? Try these drills, which you may already know from your high-school sports days.

Hiking is hard, but it shouldn’t be painful. Focus on the fun by achieving all-around fitness and preventing common aches.

Prepare your mind and body ready to fend for yourself in the backcountry.

Here’s how to prep your body for linking big days.

You don't need to white-knuckle your way through your dream high-altitude trip. Here's how you can feel your best.

Stop picking between your fitness and your free time. These aerobic conditioning workouts are just as effective and take less than an hour.

Feeling achy and serotonin-depleted after a couple months on the trail? This gym workout will help you out.

Do these exercises regularly to widen your range of motion to feel your best on the trail and avoid injuries.

You don't have to spend hours and hours on the trail to get prepared for your next big hike. It's more efficient to train with a loaded pack.

Check out Lee Welton's author page.

If your feet ever become numb while hiking, don't worry. This common hiking ailment has a few potential causes and easy fixes.

Hiking big miles every day can make your legs tired and crispy. Not if you've prepared. Here's how to develop invincible trail legs.

No, you don't have to hang up your pack for good. Recovery is possible, but here's what you have to prioritize before hitting the trails.

Kickstarting a workout habit starts with reexamining your motivations.

From weight changes to growing feet, hiking 2,000 miles can have a big impact on you physically.

Those familiar aches that arise from hauling a heavy pack can force you into bad posture and take all the fun out of hiking. Fight load fatigue by strengthening the muscles that surround your spine, hips, and shoulders

Feeling calf pain with every step? Take these measures so you can crush hills without crushing your calves.

Hiking isn’t just walking in the woods. It requires strength and balance. Here’s how to get ready for trekking, from easy day hikes to the longest thru-hikes in the world.

Squats and step-ups aren't targeting your entire gluteus. These three exercises are your key to complete glute strength.

Fend off aches and pains with these hiker-specific exercises.

Check out BACKPACKER Editors & Contributors's author page.

Go further, ride better, and have more fun by using science to optimize your cold-weather fueling strategy.

All you need is a pair of dumbbells to prepare your quads, glutes, hamstrings, back, shoulders, and core for ski touring this winter.

Whether you want to hike 25 miles in a day or simply focus on the scenery and not your sore legs, getting fit before you hit the trail will improve your every step. We asked the pros how to get healthy—and stay that way.

All calories are not created equal. Learn the right way to fuel your big-mile ambitions.

Reality check: Hitting the gym is the quickest way to hike farther, easier, faster, and pain-free. Get into a routine—or take yours to the next level—with these smart workouts for three different levels.

To reach the best places in the backcountry, you have to rely on your own two feet.

Oxygen feeds your muscles. Manage your heart rate and breathing and you can hike (almost) forever.

Recruit your arms to overcome terrain challenges or just give the legs a break.

The muscles of your torso and back work hard to carry the load comfortably mile after mile.

Training the calves can reap huge benefits for knee and ankle health. These three calf exercises will help keep your lower body injury-free.

Gauge your cardiovascular fitness to hone in on your training goals.

It’s not all in the legs. Strengthen your upper body to boost your balance and better control your poles and pack on rough terrain.

This tempo workout strengthens your tendons and ligaments while creating long-lasting muscle endurance for injury-free hiking in season.

An expert personal trainer shares tips on a post-hike recovery regimen that'll keep your trail legs strong.

Get a headstart with these workouts that hit every major muscle group.

Hiking isn’t just for the young. Take care of yourself and your body, and you can spend the rest of your life on the trail. It helps to have a plan: Avoid injuries and stay strong with this age-group-by-age-group guide to trail fitness.

Use these proven exercises to get in the best hiking shape of your life.

Hike your way through your golden years with these specially-crafted fitness tips.

Everyday activities can put a strain on the complex muscles in your shoulder. Give them the care they need with these postures.

Hikers are all about leg strength, but don’t forget about training your arms and shoulders in order to avoid aches on the trail.

Barre, the strength training regimen derived from ballet, could be your key to improved stability and injury prevention on the trail.

Build strength for loaded backpacking hill climbs and descents.

Ending a long trek takes its toll on your mental and physical health. Here's how to ease back into your home routine.

It takes more than a pedicure to truly care for your feet. Here’s how to find more stability in yoga—and in life—by giving your feet some TLC.

Lingering COVID symptoms—such as fatigue and shortness of breath—can make it hard to hit the trails, even months after getting sick.

Low impact does not mean low intensity. Try these exercises to stop huffing and puffing on the trail.

Learn to identify, treat, and avoid shin splints for happier hiking.

Prep your trail legs with this hiking-specific training plan.

Your body may have changed during a year of staying home. And even if your physical fitness has remained constant, your neurological connections may have weakened from a lack of stimuli. It’s time to shake off the sluggishness with this workout designed to get your body moving. Include it in your exercise routine every other week.

Your legs are only as strong as your hips when it comes to your comfort on the trails and your form on the slopes.

Turn the relaxation up with these activities to help you make the most of downtime in camp.

Deliberate exercise can help you recover from an injury faster and come back stronger than ever once you’re healed.

Prep your joints for long miles and big descents with these injury-prevention workouts.

Hike faster, stronger, and farther with our favorite leg workouts.

So you’re not into hiking-specific workouts. How much do your other activities really help when it comes time to hit the trail?

Ease your muscles after a long day of hiking with these simple yoga poses.

Your hips keep you hiking. Treat them right with this workout.

Spending too much time in a seated position (hello, desk job) can tighten your hip flexors and lengthen your glutes, robbing them of their power. A weak butt is bad for your performance on the trail and even worse for your ankles, knees, and back. Do this ass-kicking workout from Pete McCall once a week, along with your cardio and strength routine, to train all three glute muscles.

Finding time to train is hard. Get trail-ready while you go about your day with these do-anywhere exercises.

How focused exercise helped one hiker return to the trails without going under the knife.

Hiking muscles feeling rusty? Give them the love they deserve.

Preparing for the Big E took every ounce of dedication I had—but the lessons I learned didn’t stop there.

Recover better with these tips to use a foam roller and give your muscles some TLC.

Suffering a major injury can keep us from fully committing to the things we enjoy. Taking the time to care for yourself pays off.

Gymnasts can land backflips on balance beams four inches wide. Their secret: training barefoot.

Go further—and hurt less—with the right preparation for a big trip.