Cardio exercises have wonderful benefits for the body, but if they are the only workouts you practice then you are limiting yourself. They do not help to really build and grow muscles. That is the job of strength workouts.
Hiking is one of the most popular cardio exercises and also a great one to mix some strength training routines into to get the combined benefits of cardio and strength training routines.
4 ways that you can add strength training routines to your hike to improve results.
1. Do pushups or shoulder presses at each trail marker
When hiking, you will most likely be looking out for trail markers so that you do not lose your way and know how far you have come. Take the chance then to do 10 pushups or shoulder presses that both work your upper body, as well as increase the strength of your core.
Use your backpack or a rock to do the military shoulder presses, that improve your shoulders and increase your triceps. The pushups also strengthen your triceps and improves your chest as well.
2. Carry rocks
To strengthen your gluteus muscles and improve the shape of your butt, carry a heavy rock in a goblet squat position and perform 10 squats, making sure that you do not drop the rock on your toes. You can pick up the stone of that size that you can easily handled.
3. Squat at each trail marker
You can alternate squats with pushups or shoulder presses at each trail marker, where you perform 20 deep squats with you wearing, your backpack and other equipment. Stay in the deep squat position when done after that take 20 steps forward as well, in deep squat walks.
Your hamstrings, glutes and quadriceps will be thoroughly worked at each step, strengthening them and adding definition to your butt.Your spine and knees will also be protected if you can keep your back erect and your legs wide open.
4. Deep lunges
Do most of the walk in your hike into lunges. This helps to engage your glutes, hamstrings and calves, building them as they work. Just make sure your back is straight and that your forward leg is straight as well.
If you cannot do deep lunges most of the time, just do 10 deep lunges at every trail marker.
Image courtesy of: prevention.com, images.shape.mdpcdn.com.
