energy saving tip?

[Paradox]

Many good suggestions here, but I want to second the "rest step". I heard of it for the first time from the guides on Rainier and it was definately an energy saver.

there are 200 different species of lichens between Adirondack Loj and the summit of Mt. Algonquin. Slowing down and learning to see them is the path to enlichenment

Just may be the most awful pun ever posted on this board. I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy!

 

[Tom Rankin]

Arm swinging add 2-3% to your pulse.

Hmmm, this reference:

http://www.jssm.org/vol7/n1/5/v7n1-5text.php

would seem to be at odds with your statement. A snippet:

"In contrast, Jacobson et al., 2000 reported that hiking poles during inclined walking with a 15 kg load carriage does not alter the associated energy cost (EC) despite the added weight."

But I'm sure you could quote a reference as well.

Also, you said don't use poles unless you need to, but sometimes you need them right now! I'm keeping my pole(s)!

 

[Tom Rankin]

Leaf it to you doctors to branch out into all of these puns. I'm lichen it! But I'm not sure we've gotten to the root of the issue yet. I think we've just mossed over it. Neil, keep planting these little seeds of joy on this board!

 

[Neil]

Seeds of joy? That should be censored.

 

[Little Rickie]

Fan of big greasy breakfasts here. "Oh boy, I'm hiking. That means I can have bacon and sausage with breakfast for a change." Once I hit the trail, it's complex carbs.

Is that the only thing you eat for breakfast?

I didn't say no grease, but too much has me running into the bushes a few hours later.

 

[Little Rickie]

Hmmm, this reference:

http://www.jssm.org/vol7/n1/5/v7n1-5text.php

would seem to be at odds with your statement. A snippet:

But I'm sure you could quote a reference as well.

No intentions of getting caught up in that cycle.

I based my statment on personal experience. I use a heart rate monitor when I exercise and when I use poles or swing my arms my pulse goes up 2-3 %.

When I swing my arms in more exaggeratedly my pulse % can go even higher. When I'm on the treadmill I'll do this to pump up my pulse and/or exercise my arms and shoulders just so using poles on the trail can be easier.

[/QUOTE]

Also, you said don't use poles unless you need to, but sometimes you need them right now! I'm keeping my pole(s)!

As you should.

Perhaps you interpreted my statment to mean not to use poles at all, like not to bring them along, which is not my intent. I love my poles going down hills and in situations where balance is tricky. Then make a huge difference. I just don't use my poles on the trail all the time.

 

[Suebiscuit]

So after 50, the heroin makes you drowsy (it's been a whole week now, so I have lots of data) so crack or crystal meth would be a better choice to get the engine revving. But seriously, lots of good advice here, though I personally think 'carbo loading' can do more harm than good - our older livers don't process the carbs as well, so can become sluggish if overtaxed... But everyone's metabolism is different - I tend to stay away from pasta and sugars as they really slow me down. I'm in with the eggs and bacon and nuts...

 

[mookie]

plenty of em on here!

I'm in with the eggs and bacon and nuts...

plenty of nuts round these parts

 

[bikehikeskifish]

The more muscles you recruit for use, the higher the heart rate. More muscles means more oxygen, more oxygen means pump blood faster.

Notice that if you do one-arm bicep curls, you will eventually achieve a lactic acid burn, yet your HR will not increase that substantially. You have, however, hit the lactate threshold for that muscle.

My lactate threshold for cycling is in the 162-165 (88%) range for a theoretical max of 220 - my age (43) of 177. I've seen 185 recently enough to know it's actually higher than the theoretical max, plus the HRM lags behind so by the time you're blown up, you're coming down already and it never records the real maximum.

My lactate threshold for skate skiing, which recruits many more muscles than cycling, is closer to 180 (97%) - I can climb for a while at that rate. As it is close to the max (185 was seen while skate skiing,. but was not sustainable for long, and I have also seen it at the top of a long steep hill while cycling) it can be determined that I am using almost all of the available muscles.

Tim

 

[Adk_dib]

No arm swinging? Sounds like a "Sienfeld-ism"
I can see it now, everyone walking down the trail with their arms hanging at their sides.

I think I will keep my hiking stick, great for balance coming down rocks. Although walking up the lake road to Sawteeth I may keep the arm swing to a minimum.

 

[rocket21]

I'm 50 *.5, but my knees/back feel considerably older. Among the things that have helped me with energy on hikes are a) trying to do something around 2,000 vertical feet (somewhat continuous, not a string of ups and downs) once per week, b) stretching, as has been echoed here, c) trying to have better posture when not hiking, so that tendons and stuff aren't as angry once they start getting used on a hike, and d) not eating McDonalds/Wendy's/Burger King. D was hard to do, but by not eating that junk at all, I've noticed my energy levels increase. I do miss the fries, though...

 

[Little Rickie]

Just turned 62 last month..... Dick

When I grow up I want to be just like Dick. He's my hero.

 

[Chip]

I'm 50 *.5, but my knees/back feel considerably older. Among the things that have helped me with energy on hikes are a) trying to do something around 2,000 vertical feet (somewhat continuous, not a string of ups and downs) once per week...

I had suggested the short steep hill with the 20 to 40 rounds. The one I use is at our high school. There are several reasons I suggest this including (but not limited to... ) convenience and proximity. I have "real" hikes in the area but they're a bit further away and require a certain level of commitment. With the high school hill I can hike up and down for 20 minutes or 2 hours. I also believe the repetitiveness of the upping and downing is better exercise than one long up and down.

BTW Paradox; While Neil's "enlichenment" was quite clever and deserves recognition, it's still not "There's no plates like chrome for the hollandaise."

 

[Paradox]

Leaf it to you doctors to branch out into all of these puns. I'm lichen it! But I'm not sure we've gotten to the root of the issue yet. I think we've just mossed over it. Neil, keep planting these little seeds of joy on this board!

Please spore us the details.

 

[DrewKnight]

...I also believe the repetitiveness of the upping and downing is better exercise than one long up and down.

Not much question about that, Chip... interval training, with shorter periods of intense exercise followed by short periods of recovery, is generally accepted to be more effective and efficient than going long and hard at building endurance, strength, etc. Also, from my perspective, it just hurts less.

As Tim mentions, there's a much more scientific approach to fitness, lactate threshold training, which popular with ultra-high level athletes (skier Hermann Maier used it to recover from a devastating motorcycle crash a while back -- and returned to win more than he had before his accident). Bicycle Magazine offered a primer on it, and it shows up in all the sport-specific magazines for skiing and mountain biking from time to time. You could easily go way overboard with the science and turn yourself into a lab-rat on a treadmill (Maier submits himself to multiple blood-tests per hour at times)... but it seems to me that the "low and slow" mantra is actually pretty well suited to conditioning for long hikes. Basically, work out a slightly lower intensity for a longer period -- which works well with a lot of the regimens recommended here.

 

[Little Rickie]

interval training, with shorter periods of intense exercise followed by short periods of recovery, is generally accepted to be more effective

My interval training has gone to hell since cable put that pause button on my remote. During commericals I used to sprint to the refrigerator for a new beer, then sprint to the bathroom to let out some beer, finishing with a sprint through the pantry for a snack. Now I hit the pause button and do a slow walk and never miss any of the show. I try to make up for it by staying up later and do more intervals. I really look foward to these long workouts now.

but it seems to me that the "low and slow" mantra is actually pretty well suited to conditioning for long hikes.

I really don't have a choice it's the only thing I can do.

 

[Neil]

Every aging hiker should have either a rocker or a wobble board near his/her TV or wherever they'll use it regularly.

 

[Little Rickie]

Every aging hiker should have either a rocker or a wobble board near his/her TV or wherever they'll use it regularly.

I usually get quite wobble after 12 or so of my intervals. It depends on how tired I am and what I've eaten. Nutrition is very important if I want to make the distance. Chicken wings and pizza seem best suited for this routine.

 

[Bob Kittredge]

Is that the only thing you eat for breakfast?

If I'm breakfasting at Pinkham Notch, it goes like this:

sausages or bacon
pancakes or french toast
scrambled eggs
muffin
yogurt, granola and fruit
skim milk, OJ, coffee

And a half hour later I'm ready to hit the trail.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

It depends a lot on your goals. Interval training is a good way, in general, to build up your intensity levels. It helps a lot in specific situations, like bicycle racing, where surging and attacking and changes in rolling or hilly terrain require changes in your effort level.

Hiking is not a competitive activity (some will disagree with me on this, which is their right, but suffice to say that I go at a "natural pace" for myself, which may or may not match your "natural pace"), so I suspect it is not as relevant. That is, your goals are less specific. Doesn't mean lactate threshold training doesn't apply - it does mean that it's not so likely that shorter, harder intervals do apply. Rather, train using longer, slightly-less-hard intervals ala time trial intervals, at or slightly below that lactate threshold. Sustaining that for 15-20 minutes with recovery, 2-3 times in a 60-90 minute workout should improve your hiking speed, especially on steeper terrain. Be sure you warm up and cool down and stretch too.

Tim
#include <stddisclaimer.h> // I am not a doctor or exercise physiologist