Safe training weight

[Pika]

Good point!

I consider going to the gym and maintaining a solid strength base an investment in the future rather than misuse.

Maybe I will be eating my words and changing my tune in twenty years.

[DarrenM]

Mainly through 50 years of not worrying about it

This is why I do worry about it and the point of the thread. I've trained all my life for one thing or another and have generally tried to look after myself so I can continue doing the things I love when I'm 60 and beyond.

The whole point of this thread is basically about how to keep the body ready for the inevitable decline and I don't subscribe to the attitude of don't train to continue hiking. People always seem to get lost on the original topic question.

I know people at 30 years of age who will never be able to hike an average trail due to lack of training, and I also know a guy who is mid 70's who cycle tours across entire States, hikes off track in Tassie for weeks on end carrying the same weight I do, and puts the average bushwalkers to shame. Actually I know a couple and one who continues beating people half his age at rogaining events. Why? Because they have always looked after themselves and taken training seriously.

Simply saying wait until you're 60 and you'll see doesn't change a thing. Genetics may stop one person, but not the next.

What do expect will happen if you stopped training for something the next time you wanted your body to perform? This thread isn't about taking performance enhancing drugs.....it's about giving good measured training tips for those concerned about continuing to hike. Cartilage will always be degenerating at 60, so strengthening everything around it will definitely help full stop.

[neilmny]

I am with DarrenM.

.........I often wonder how the people who are concerned about what they will be like at 60 came to the conclusion the human body is so fragile?..........

I am 60 and I believe fitter and healthier than I've ever been.
It took a major heart attack to get me here but since then my diet, exercise and whole approach to life has improved substantially.
I walk 1 to 2 hours in the Dandenongs almost every day for training these days, even at night and most of the time carry a 10 to 12kg back pack.
I would never go to a gym but that's just me. It's funny but these days unless I'm walking real hills I don't feel like I'm exercising.
Don't fear 60 (or any age for that matter) it's just a number.

[JohnStrider]

I like to consider myself reasonably fit, but after giving up football to concentrate on my studies, I decided to take up hiking as an alternative form of fitness. At the same time I have also bought a gym membership to strengthen my back and legs for all the hiking I am planning on doing.

From my early experience nothing beats putting a pack on with 10-15 kilos worth of weight and walking around for a few hours. But at the same time I believe strength training goes a long way to strengthening my muscles and joints for all the pressure they are going to be under when hiking.

[loganator]

24kg can be quite manageable with the right conditioning. I'm 6ft 2 and weigh just over 70kg. I'm not muscly and could be described as pretty scrawny looking. When I started hiking with larger weights, the old man and I would fill up a 20l jerrycan each and put it inside our backpacks then go hiking up waterfall gully to Mt Lofty. It's about 4.5km one way however your gaining a few hundred meters in elevation. The first time it took us 3hours to get to the top and we were buggered. It took me 2 years before i attempted it again. After about 4 more shots I have it under an hour with 25kg (20 for water, 4.5 pack and first aid kit). I did this as my training for the el camino de Santiago in which i carried about 16kgs. 16 was pretty hard. i was carrying a lot of stuff i didn't need. After that expedition i tried to condition myself and when i got back to work i'd take a few mill balls and chuck them in my pack alongside the jerrycan and hike around the airport in the middle of the desert in 40+ degrees with no drinking water. The pack weighed 55kg, the distance is 6.8k the time was 1hr 30 to begin with. i have it down to an 1hr 10 now. The reason for no drinking water was, well, I like the motivation to get back to camp. It also allows me to recognize the signs of dehydration. If something did go wrong I'd ditch the pack and drink out of the Jerry can. I have never had to this yet. Only attempt this in a safe environment.

What I suggest is you do plenty of abominable exercises every night or second night. (every night is easier to remember), a little cycling or swimming And hiking. I prefer short distance and heavy packs due to time constraints. However you may be different. But I wouldn't train with less then 20kg if i were you. A Jerry can is the best tool. If it gets to much you can always empty it. You can't just leave your tent and other equipment on the middle of the path, but water you can.