Anyone climb/run/hike with a weighted pack?

[mcmanusj]

Curious to hear others' input on this. For the last several weeks I've been bringing my 35L pack loaded with 40lbs when I walk the dog, go on shorter hikes, or workout at Red Rocks. This is my first real time trying it out and I'm curious to hear from anyone else that trains like this.

Have you noticed that you're substantially faster when out for a day hike on a 14er? Do you have better endurance or tire less quickly?

[LadyClimber]

Yes, as part of a larger fitness program I do hike with a weighted pack. Preferably finding some hills too. It's the best way to simulate mountaineering, without the mountain. It doesn't seem to matter how much I lift weight, run or hike, putting on a heavy pack needed for mountaineering is rough. So yes, I'd say I notice a difference when I'm regularly training with a weighted pack. That being said, most of the scrambling/climbing I do in Colorado doesn't require much more than a day pack, but it's still good training! Steve House's Training for the New Alpinisim is a great resource for training.

[Turtle Boy]

[quote="Training for the New Alpinisim is a great resource for training.[/quote]

+1 on this book.

I was just reading a section on this exact topic today. The point was training at heavy weight (heavier than what you ordinarily use) can make you strong and slow. Their point was it's better to pack train at the pack weight you will be using most often and work to increase speed (gradually). This was the Tony Yaniro section.

I've done the former and can attest to the truth in that premise. Now I'm training at day pack weights with occasional backpacking weight when that's the trip goal. I don't have a conclusion yet but it makes perfect sense in hindsight.

[Bill Cummings]

The best information I've seen on using supplemental weights (weight vest, loaded backpack, ankle weights, etc.) suggests it's okay to do but to treat it more as resistance training than as long-distance cardio training. Probably best to aim for fairly short distances, only occasionally, working up to a fairly heavy load, rather than going for long distances. The long distances and too-frequent use seem to be associated with knee & back problems, stress fractures, etc.

[a day in the life]

hiked missouri with 20lbs of extra water in my pack last year, and dumped near the summit. I think there's training value there, plan to do occasionally in the future, maybe once a month after the spring ski season is over.

[mcmanusj]

Bill, might you happen to have a link to the research suggesting supplemental weights are best used as a resistance training method? That's the type of info I'm looking for.

[RobertKay]

I used to use the Stairmaster for an hour with an 80 pound pack followed by 10 or 15 minutes with no pack. I really felt that it made me strong but slow and no longer do that. I also feel that weight-free and fast on the machine does more for my cardio. I think the extra weight means your leg strength is the limiting factor vs your cardio capacity without the weight.

I suspect the best method would be a combo of both methods but with a bias towards the weight free training but I must confess the heavy pack was so miserable I can't make myself do it any more.

[dereferenced]

I think the extra weight means your leg strength is the limiting factor vs your cardio capacity without the weight.

I've been hiking bear peak a lot this winter, I usually aim for a heart rate around 140, but can get to 160 if I push it. I just tried the hike with a 45 pound pack and, even though my legs felt stressed, I couldn't get my heart rate above 125. The same thing happens when I try to hike with double boots.

I don't know, those numbers might improve with more pack training, but I tend to agree with Robert -- training without weight usually lets you exercise harder and get in better shape.

[justiner]

Train with specific goals in mind.

* If you're goal is to thru hike the CT, you would want to hike up stuff with a weighted pack.

* If you're goal is to run a road marathon, don't primarily hike up stuff with a weighted pack.

Easy, right? Makes sense.

So, hiking 14ers. If you hike with a lot of stuff, I guess you could hike with a weighted pack, and that would help. It's unclear if it'll make you go significantly faster, but it will make you more used to the load, and you'll most likely feel less fatigued because of that. That equates to a more enjoyable time out in the mountains and more beer stashed in the pack for me, once we meet up on the summit.

If you really want to hike with a heavy pack faster, you would also want to hike faster when you're out on your training hikes, or the effect of your training is going to be reduced for the goal you have.

As a caveat: I would certainly suggest experimenting yourself with what seems to work for you as an individual, when it comes to getting the wanted outcome of all the hard work and valuable time you put into something. We all respond differently, and training is nothing but doing an experiment on one.

Someone brought up Steve's excellent book. One of the problems of mountaineering he needed to solve is The Approach: if you can't make the sometimes multi-day/multi-week trek into the base of the mountain, you're just not going to even start the climb. The workouts with the rocks in the pack and all that are to target that specific goal. There's other exercises that work on climbing up as quickly and as efficiently as possible, since speed = safety in the mountains. Steve's other technique when it comes to the hard, technical climbs is also to be as ridiculously light when it comes to gear as possible and bring only the essentials: a sleeping bag to share, minimal gear/gear made of lightweight materials (titanium pitons!), just enough food, just enough fuel for the stove, etc.

My other suggestion, other than, "see what works for you", is also something from Steve's book: work on an aerobic base, and everything else you can work on, can be built on top of that. That just means consistent runs (I'd suggest runs, but whatever is specific to your goal - I think "runs" for, "hiking" works well personally) at way less than your aerobic threshold. Going back to weighted packs up steep grades: that's a good way to go anaerobic - I know I go anaerobic often just hiking up steep trails, like Bear Peak and I'm in pretty OK shape. In that case, adding more weight isn't going to work on your base. If you don't have this base, doing anaerobic work for the majority of your training is less than ideal.

[ezabielski]

Honestly I can't stand carrying extra weight for "training." I'd rather hike as much as possible in my free time and enjoy it rather than carry a literal burden because I felt like it might make me slightly faster on a 14er later.

Also, the secret to going up mountains faster is to carry less weight when you're on the mountain!

[DoctorBreaks]

Honestly I can't stand carrying extra weight for "training." I'd rather hike as much as possible in my free time and enjoy it rather than carry a literal burden because I felt like it might make me slightly faster on a 14er later.

Also, the secret to going up mountains faster is to carry less weight when you're on the mountain!

YES. I can't STAND carrying weight. It's why I invest my money in the lightest gear I can find. Every few oz add up to save a good amount of weight. The gains in speed and endurance I have experienced from last June til now are crazy when I think back to how horrible I was on my first hike. All I do is just go every weekend and sometimes a weekday if I can get one off. IMO I think frequency of doing the activity you wish to get better/faster at is the best way to get better or faster.

[justiner]

Yes: consistency in anything you do seems to be generally the best way to learn a new skill, or develop fitness. In my own training, I try to have fewer days off - but much less mileage a day and make the training far less strenuous (because, you gotta!). That leads to less injuries overall and again, develops a base of fitness and even a baseline of what you're comfortable with doing.

If you wanna hike with a weighted pack - 50lbs, say - I would almost suggest not doing that every time you go out, but maybe once a week. Think of it as your "hard day", where you WILL go anaerobic, work on strength in your legs, and getting your core engaged. If you do it every time you go out, you'll just tired yourself out, and perhaps hurt your back. I'm in the, "I loathe heavy loads" camp, fer sure