Backpacking Fitness

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.

Your feet carry you every step of the way, so don’t neglect them in your training. This workout hits every major muscle group while building foot strength, which improves mobility and balance and safeguards against common injuries. Complete this circuit once a week along with a cardio and strength regimen, and allow yourself at least six weeks to train before a big hike.

Whether it’s a moderate overnight load or 45 pounds of expedition gear, the moment you put on a pack your body must acclimate to additional pressure on your joints, muscles, and spine. Add these exercises to your workout routine to feel like a champ no matter how much you're carrying.

Escape the gym with these movement-based routines designed to take your workout outdoors.

Before you hit the trail, try these exercises to build leg strength and stamina.

Does “go big or go home” hold up on a dawn-to-dusk mission?

Stay ready for the trails with these simple exercises you can do at home.

Up your fitness the easy way with these simple exercises.

Go from couch potato to trail monster with these simple tips from a personal trainer.

A strong body helps you get out into nature, but a well-trained mind makes the time count. Use these three exercises to derive more rejuvenation from your next hike.

Can our writer get in the best hiking shape of his life—without doing a single hike over 10 miles?

You train your legs for the trail, right? Now do the same for your upper body and make your days on the water easier. Bonus: These exercises work the same muscles that help you carry a heavy pack.

Less oxygen? No problem. Crush your alpine goals—whether ski-touring in winter or hiking in summer—with these tips from Peter Hackett, MD, founder of the Institute for Altitude Medicine.

Use pressure-point stretching, known as myofascial release, to loosen key hiking muscles and boost recovery.

Strengthen your legs for early-season hikes, which often involve postholing in lingering snow up high and crossing run-off swollen rivers down low.

From your muscles to your meal planning, all it takes is a little fitness to make your hikes longer, better, and more fun than ever.

The trails are still covered in snow, but it’s not too late to start getting ready for your first thru-hike.

Strengthen your hips to avoid pesky knee pain on the trail.

Want to achieve your fourth-season dreams? Lay the groundwork with these exercises.

Whether you need to carry a full load of winter gear or just an extra camp chair, train your muscles to take the weight with these three exercises.

Hike farther, faster, and pain-free with these training tips and exercise.

Get those noodles ready for hoisting heavy packs, hauling your body over boulders, and poling through tough terrain.

Push through big climbs and banish quad burn by increasing your lactate threshold.

Weather trapped you inside? Limber up and quiet your mind with these easy poses.

Strengthen joints and banish sprains for good.

Few devour distance like Joe “Stringbean” McConaughy, who holds the overall speed record on the Appalachian Trail. Here are his tips for wringing more miles out of the day.

Build up your abs for better balance and all-day comfort on the trail.

Skip the dumbbells and the gym membership. This year, whip yourself into shape with nothing more than your backpack.

Train like a pro to perform like one. Bryan Pope of Earth Native Wilderness School recommends these exercises with high reps and low weight to build the strength and endurance of a mountain guide.

OK, so you blew off your preseason training plan. Now what? Start the season right with this 10-minute-a-day workout, and you’ll be ready for the trail in no time.

Start spring in better shape than ever by working on your weaknesses.

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.

Humans did it for thousands of years. But is barefoot walking right for you? The experts sound off.

Are you dealing with aches and pains? The problem could be right on your feet.

With a high school reunion coming and a gut to lose, our writer tries to remake himself on the trail.

Free-the-heel fans call it the most elegant way to get down a mountain. Can our man learn to turn?

Forget CrossFit. Forget hot yoga, Soulcycle, Soloflex, and your Body Pump class. There is no better short-duration, full-body workout than postholing. With a pack on. While snowshoeing. Uphill.

If you’re after the perfect balance between speed and savoring the sights, sounds, and Christmas-tree smells of the winter world, then go straight for the middle way with cross-country skiing.

Slice across a white tapestry of untouched snow via backcountry skiing and experience the mountains’ grandeur in a new way.

Cross log bridges and other tricky terrain with the grace of a ballerina.

Get fit for your next adventure even while you're stuck in town with these tips from a pro trainer.

Cross-training at the gym got you in a monotonous slump? Give these 10 summer sports a try for a fun way to boost your backpacking game.

[Sponsored] The steeper the climb, the higher the peak, the more accomplished you feel.

Are outdoors workouts the key to fun fitness for hikers? Our man tries a new fitness philosophy in an effort to ditch the gym forever.

Busting common myths about stretching, caffeine, and more.

Yeah, yeah, any workout is good fitness. But we think you'll agree: Hiking is just BETTER.

Upgrade your fitness by tackling one of these tough, close-to-home training hikes.

Don’t let mud season slow you down. Ultrarunner Jerry Armstrong shares his tips for staying out no matter the weather.  

Limber up with these ten essential stretches for hikers.

Prepare for the long haul with advice from Appalachian Trail speed record-holder Jennifer Pharr Davis.