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desertgirl
Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 3350 Location: Chandler, AZ
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Posted: 11/16/2007, 11:25 am Post subject: Re: hiking speed |
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sidhayes wrote: |
To train for speed: on treadmills or out of doors-20 seconds as fast as you can walk, perferably on a mild incline( 3-6%), and 20 seconds very slow. Repeat this 10 times and 2-3 times a week. The 20/20 plan is the very best to increase ones speed FAST. |
Thanks Sid -- _________________ Photos: http://www.pbase.com/desertgirl/galleries
Life is but a dream ...there is no end to what you can dream! |
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wanderingsoul
Joined: 19 Jul 2004 Posts: 2285 Location: Gilbert AZ
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Posted: 11/16/2007, 9:00 pm Post subject: |
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Ambika...Longer Legs??? There's always the Rack
But I think that would hurt and I don't think it works anyway _________________ Wanderingsoul (Michelle)
Positive Thinking Is the Spark that Makes Dreams Happen~~~Unknown |
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k9hiker
Joined: 09 Jan 2003 Posts: 390 Location: NW Phoenix
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Posted: 11/22/2007, 12:47 am Post subject: |
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Interesting thought. Good luck with it.
When I was training for the 7 summit challenge I worked out the numbers and I had a pace in mind that I felt I needed to keep in order to finish by a certain time. This made me push myself a little faster than normal on the easy sections so I would have a little bit of cushion on the tough sections.
Anyway, what I'm driving at is that, for me, increasing pace was a matter of conditioning so when I was able to go faster I could. I also limited my stops as much as possible.
I was also almost exclusively hiking trails with a good deal of elevation gain, you know, preparing for the 7 summits. Anyway, this gave me more strength and greater lung capacity so the flat sections were cake and the up hill went faster too. Now, I have bad knees so the down hills were more of my worry for speed issues but I found if I really pushed it on the flats and the hills I could take it easy on the downhills, giving my knees a break as much as possible and my pace was still good.
Hope that helps. _________________ Jamie
Canine Hiking Club of AZ
www.mydog8az.com |
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Al_HikesAZ
Joined: 21 Jun 2005 Posts: 263 Location: Scottsdale, AZ
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Posted: 11/22/2007, 12:09 pm Post subject: |
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Two Things:
1) Sid's recommendation is excellent. I use a variation. On a stationary bike I pedal as fast as possible for one minute, recover for a minute, and repeat 3 times. This shows gives me some readings of my conditioning by looking at my speeds and degradation. Then I'll do weights for 10 minutes, repeat the biking, repeat weights etc.
2) Wandering Soul's joking actually hides a kernel of truth. If you work on stretching and flexibility you will stride a little farther. Work with a trainer to find out which stretches you need. If I can keep my hamstrings and back loose, I can go farther, faster. I do hurdler's stretches and some martial arts stretches for training, before hikes and on breaks during hikes. _________________ Anyone can make a hike harder. The skill comes in making it easier. Dosatéhigo nasádo |
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desertgirl
Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 3350 Location: Chandler, AZ
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Posted: 11/22/2007, 12:20 pm Post subject: Makes it more fun |
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I tried what Sid recommended on my elliptical & it definitely makes it more fun. Decided an active Thanksgiving day parade watching was in order. _________________ Photos: http://www.pbase.com/desertgirl/galleries
Life is but a dream ...there is no end to what you can dream! |
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azbackpackr Hi Tech Wizardess
Joined: 31 Dec 2005 Posts: 3639 Location: Needles CA
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Posted: 6/1/2008, 5:10 am Post subject: |
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OK, I've been thinking about this thread for awhile, and wanted to respond, but first I had to lose some of my body weight to test a friend's theory. Yes, my body weight. I was not very fat, mind you. In fact, most people would say that for my age, I was skinny. But in fact, I had gained about 25 lbs. over a period of 10 years or so. I have now lost 10 of those lbs. (110 up to 135 and back down to 125.)
I had been told by a very skinny hiking friend of mine, you may know him as "Cameron," that if he himself gained only 5 lbs. of body weight it slowed him down a lot. 9 years ago when I first started hiking with him he was pretty fast, and at the time he was about 64 years old. He said then if he lost that 5 lbs. his hiking speed would naturally pick up right away.
Well, for a long time I didn't have the gumption to go on a diet and lose that weight. I tried exercising a lot, but that didn't help much for the weight problem. Exercise alone doesn't lose weight for me, I just eat more to compensate! So I have to watch my eating habits. More salads for both lunch and dinner, no chips and dips, etc., etc. You know the drill.
So I lost 10 lbs. and have kept it off for 3 months. I haven't been hiking as frequently as I normally do, because I am not only working overtime, I am working Saturdays right now. AND I am doing online school as well. So I have not been exercising every day. In fact, often the only exercise I get other than a hike on Sunday is riding my bike 4 blocks to work and back. I ride it fast to get out of breath, but that's not really much exercise.
ANYWAY, I have now been able to test Cameron's advice. And I can tell you that losing only 10 lbs. has made a HUGE difference in my hiking. I no longer feel that logy, sluggish, slow feeling. I no longer feel my body is weighting me down. I feel very light on my feet like I used to. I no longer have to stop to catch my breath very often. I am much fleeter of foot, like I was 10 years ago when I was hiking a lot and weighed less. And yet everything tells me I should be way out of shape right now due to all the overtime and school, but I'm not!
Some of you are probably not overweight at all and the other people's suggestions will probably help. But for me, I know I am naturally a pretty fast hiker, and I wasn't sure why that ability had gone away. Now I know--I was too fat! Now I want to lose another 10 or 15 lbs. and see what that will do for me!
All that being said, there is no real reason to rush on every hike you do. I just like to be ABLE to hike fast and far if I want to. I agree with Abe and others who said it's nice to stop and smell the flowers, enjoy the view, watch for wildlife, etc. However, often I am training for an upcoming backpacking trip. I want to push myself to see what I can do. I also enjoy that euphoric feeling I get when I'm fit and fast and pushing it. I think it is the same as that phenomenon called "runner's high." And on the drive home it stays with me, I feel really relaxed and still have that euphoria.
No Hooli, I'm not smoking any of the funny tobacco. At least, not recently! |
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evenstar
Joined: 03 Jan 2003 Posts: 5548 Location: SCW by way of CA
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Posted: 6/1/2008, 5:34 am Post subject: |
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Hey, back in the day when I was doing half a dozen 10K's a year and the SF Marathon in 1984 I weighed 155 pounds. I could do 10k's in under 46 minutes and did the marathon in 3:37:08. Now 20 pounds heavier and would be lucky to do a one hour 10K! And i don't smoke that funny tobacco either......makes me cough to much! _________________ John Richardson and Richie Rich, El Perro de Playero
http://members.tripod.com/~evenstar/index.html
http://www.arizonahikers.com
When the Man waked up he said, "What is Wild Dog doing here?" And the Woman said, "His name is not Wild Dog anymore, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always. Take him with you when you go hunting."
--Rudyard Kipling, from Just So Stories, 1902 |
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ck1
Joined: 04 Jan 2003 Posts: 1331 Location: Mesa
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oliverr99
Joined: 04 Jul 2006 Posts: 632 Location: Glendale
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Posted: 6/1/2008, 9:40 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for those reads! I need to build endurance. _________________ Anne
"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened" -- Dr. Seuss |
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azbackpackr Hi Tech Wizardess
Joined: 31 Dec 2005 Posts: 3639 Location: Needles CA
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Posted: 6/1/2008, 12:25 pm Post subject: |
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All that is great, but if you are lugging around 20 or more extra pounds, what I'm saying is, all things being equal, if you lose the weight you will speed up, whether you do the gym exercises or not.
I hiked and biked way more miles per month last year, and never felt very fit because of the extra pounds. I was always getting out of breath, and I actually FELT heavy, as if I were lugging this weight around with me. Pain in the butt, literally. I stand by what I said. |
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RC
Joined: 07 Jun 2005 Posts: 109 Location: Irwin, PA
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Posted: 6/1/2008, 8:45 pm Post subject: |
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azbackpackr wrote: |
All that is great, but if you are lugging around 20 or more extra pounds, what I'm saying is, all things being equal, if you lose the weight you will speed up, whether you do the gym exercises or not. |
I agree 100% - I lost over 20 lbs last year and have been able to keep it off. The result on my last 'big' hike was amazing. I trained less, but felt better. I was worried b/c of the lack of training, but pleasantly surprised. Even the typical muscle soreness was way less than before. If you feel a little out of shape or heavy, trim some wt, do everything else the same & there will be a difference.
If you do that + increase training, I think the results would be even better. _________________ "When a man is tired of Arizona, he is tired of life"
Forget the box, just think outside! |
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azbackpackr Hi Tech Wizardess
Joined: 31 Dec 2005 Posts: 3639 Location: Needles CA
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Posted: 6/2/2008, 3:45 am Post subject: |
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Yeah, if I had the time! |
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