[usedgear]

I joined a Gym last year but I didn't go often. I prefer running outside, even in the rain, to the treadmill. I went back there out of curiosity on the suggestion of a good climber I talked to last week. So over the weekend I watched some of the people working out. To me it was a confusing place. Wish one of you you had been there.. I don't think bench pressing is going to help much on Mt. Hood. I can see how squats ( knee bends with weights on your shoulder ) can have tremendous benefit, but after I saw a UW football player do kneebends with 500 pounds 6 times, I said, well for some reason if he's ever chasing me --maybe because I am wearing a Oregon T shirt, I will make sure we are on Mailbox Peak and not a football field. I think maybe doing 20 repititions with your body weight might be a good goal. The only other exercises I liked are the so called joint rehabilitation exercises--knee extensions, and so forth. And of course situps. And then there's my favorite measure of a person's strength to weight ratio -- Pullups. I think Pullups are important for hikers and climbers because of all the rope work we do. The rest of the exercises? Its nice to have bulging muscles, but muscles weigh a lot. I dont want to carry 20 pounds of biceps and 15 pounds of pectorals up a mountain..I'd rather leave them in the parking lot. Anybody got any suggestions on how else I can make use of this place?

[Burke M]

Unless youre pretty hardcore about pumping iron and committed for a pretty long time youre not gonna have to worry about bulking up, its a very slow process and requires an absurd amount of attention to detail. Regarding your question though I think it depends where you are currently and what you want. Anything that adds to general fitness is going to help you but there is a point where you will plateau and gains will be minimal. To hike well you must hike is true but there are many of things that you can work on when youre not hiking that will benefit you in adding to endurance as well as recovery after a an intense effort. This site has some interesting information that may give you some ideas http://www.bodyresults.com/

[iron]

it's pretty easy to get strength but not bulk with gym workouts. the stronger your body is in general, the easier hiking is. even if you think the upper body muscles don't do much for you, they do. i used to have a lot more upper body strength. 2+ years ago, i stopped lifting (mainly b/c of lingering pain from an accident). now, i miss that muscle and i can definitely feel it while hiking.

[Backpacker Joe]

Think about it. Lifting weight is much like hiking which is working out the same muscles in a slightly different manor. The end is the same, a more dense muscular system. If you lift regularly your muscles will be more dense and therefore stronger and you will feel the effects of hiking less so.

[Bedivere]

Working out at a gym can be very beneficial for any activity. The workouts need to be tailored to your goals though. The football player was likely attempting to build maximum strength and "explosiveness," not necessarily endurance. Endurance comes from being stronger, but you can train for endurance in a way that's different than training purely for strength and the end results will be different. It comes down to whether you're focusing on fast-twitch or slow-twitch muscle response. Fast-twitch muscles are what power lifters and sprinters and football linemen rely on. Slow-twitch muscles are what endurance athletes rely on. Either way, you'll still get stronger but you may not end up as a power lifter, whereas the power lifter may not be able to run as far as you can. It also makes no sense to work one or just a few particular muscle groups. Your body is a system and while you may use a particular group of muscles more for one activity or another, you still need the other muscles around it to be strong also. Just because my quadriceps and glutes are sore after a day of skiing doesn't mean I shouldn't also be working my hamstrings, calves, etc. If I was going to join a gym and start working out I'd focus on exercises with more repetitions at lower weights. For hiking and skiing I'd be working my legs and core more thoroughly but I wouldn't neglect upper body and arms, just might not do as many or as much for them.

[onemoremile]

I'll say all additional strength should make it easier to hike/climb. There are all kinds of combinations for strength, size, and endurance. I really don't think you have to worry about building up much size from working out unless you start building up your meals---like eating an additional chicken or eight a day.

[johnsonjj22]

Check out "The Outdoor Athlete" for activity specific training plans. A gym would be nice to use for free weights, but a lot of the 'weight' you'd need can be hacked together or picked up cheap. I personally won't ever again pay for a gym membership. Gym's today are designed for people who pay for a year and go for three months. Yes, there are exceptions, ie. the peacocks who strut around grunting under their 200lb bench press, but for people who want to use their strength the typical gym is not really the place to do that. /rant Anyway, you might PM BarefootJake, he's a certified personal trainer and could probably give you more advice than any of us.

[ericande]

I go to the gym a lot and have before getting into backpacking/climbing. While the best exercise is always doing more climbing and hiking the gym can be a great benefit. Rather than focus on one thing just try to use it as way to get better overall fitness. If you prefer to only go a couple times a week just focus on the big compound movements, deadlifts, squats, bench, chin/pullups, military press, rows. If your gym offers a stairmaster (escalator style one,) that can be a great way to build up your hiking endurance when you don't have the time or weather to get outside. Between work and school I don't have the time to get out for long hikes so I have to rely on the stairmaster a lot to train for Rainier and other big goals this summer.

[BaNosser]

I have a workout room in my basement... elliptical, bike trainer, dumbells up to 50 lbs & two wt benches one for presses one with leg extension, core ball.... lifting wts is very beneficial to maintaining ones overall health and it most certainly does not have to be about pushing big wts to build big muscles... I quit that many yrs ao... Instead decrease the amount you're lifting and increase the reps.. For most of the main muscle groups I'm doing 3 sets of 20 reps... for my quad extentions its 25 reps.. for my calves it's 60 reps with a dumbell in each hand.. I guess my lunges and squats (dumbell in ea hand) are 15 reps ea.. Going to a lower wt more reps also helped me thru a persistent tendinitis problem I had in one shoulder.. that and I started eating Glucosamine.. it is completely gone. This works well for me when my exercise is relegated to inside.. I would always suggest consulting a licensed trainer to see what he felt would be best for your goals..

[usedgear]

When we were kids, coaches used to warn us to stay away from gyms. They told us we would become unflexible and rigid. Gyms weren't really around--except for the YMCA. So we worked out using the body as our resistance. Pushups, pullups and , well for legs, we would push my brother's VW up and down the street. We used to say," Curls are for Girls." Then it turned out weightlifting was actually the ultimate athletic enhancer. Wow I must be getting older and quieter. I don't rue the fact, but there sure is lot of socializing going on at gyms. . Its all good clean healthy stuff. I sure wish we had gyms back when I was yoiunger and outgoing..Kind of reminds me of the college library, where everyone went to see or be seen. Its all happy stuff.

[Sultan Guy]

I love working out with weights and have been doing sofor many years. I go to the gym two times and occasionally three times each week. Always weekdays and I skip July and August altogether. Also run the other 2-3 weekdays but outside unless rain is sideways and cold. A combination of upper body, lower body, and core work will make your weekend hikes much easier and more enjoyable. Most of what I do is free weights. You will be able to hike further with less effort, or do what I do sometimes and pound out that 12-14 hour BIG day. Turning 49 next month and in great shape. Regular DAILY exercise is the key!

[Man-inna-hillz]

In my experience, a well-balanced weight and strength conditioning program is an asset to most outdoor activities. In particular, an emphasis on the abdominal core helps for balance, the lower back, equilibrium when carrying heavier backpacks, and all around mobility around different types of terrain. I have found that variation on plank style exercises give the best results for core strength. Pilates is an excellent program. I try to mix up a lot of different exercise types that address endurance,strength conditioning and also flexibility. Calesthenics, high rep-low weight weight training (I take a goofy class with a bunch of middle aged women set to bad Lady Gaga remixes, but it works), Pilates, Yoga, swimming, running and biking.

[straydog]

Resistance training (weights) will help you be a better hiker if it is the right kind of training. There are many ways to train with weights and few of them result in 'bulking up', which is very hard to do. A well-rounded circuit training program that focuses on core strength and balance works great for hiking/climbing when used in combination with cardio work. If done right, it will improve your balance when on uneven ground and carrying loads, it will reduce injuries, strengthen ligaments and the muscles that help keep joints aligned, and even help strengthen bones. Being a 'gym rat' for over 25 years, it has helped keep me healthy on the trail. I head to the gym 3 nights a week for an hour of weights and work on a stepmill (escalator style) at home 5 mornings a week. That combination has worked well for me, but everyone is a little different. The biggest challenge when using a gym/weights is developing a well-rounded program. I see a lot of people gravitating to doing the things they're good at and like, and not the things they need to do. Remember that almost every muscle you use for motion has an opposing muscle and both must be in balance to work well.

[JennieEl]

As most have said, a good all-around workout is going to be valuable to your hiking. Bulk isn't the issue. Strength and some flexibility are important. Don't just focus on the muscles you think you'll be using, either. You don't know what sort of situation you may end up in. I never planned to lift my full pack over my head in a very constrained space while standing (and trying to balance) at a very steep angle on soft dirt, but that's what happened to me last year (I stuffed into a moat after an uncontrolled glissade. The space was quite narrow.) I have also discovered, to my surprise, that strength is as important to my balance as proprioception. I don't need bulging muscle to keep my balance, but if the muscles involved are weak I wobble a lot more and have trouble catching myself if something rolls under my foot, and am just more likely to flail and stumble my way up the trail. If you have some uncertainty figuring out what specifically would be a useful workout I would recommend watching the trainers for a while. Find one whose style of teaching would suit you, then talk to him/her about the kinds of things you want to train for. A knowledgeable trainer will be able to help you work out a good variety of general and targeted exercises (and variety is important, both to keep up your interest and to avoid getting your body into a rut, which reduces the value of the workout). This is what I did about a year ago, and I am very pleased with the results (I'd be more pleased if I could get my butt in there more regularly, but I'm working on that. The gym may be useful, but I don't exactly love going.)

[Bandanabraids]

Crossfit! I joined my local crossfit gym (Crossfit Marysville) in January and in one month I've lost 6 pounds and 3% body fat. I love it! The workouts are designed to create muscle confusion so you're not always working the same thing all the time. And, you end up doing things that you thought you'd never do again after elementary school (like climbing a rope). They use a combination of olympic lifting and also using your own body weight (like pull-ups) and everything can be scaled to fit you. The idea is to do as much as you can as fast and hard as you can in a short amount of time...and then your workout is done for the day. The movements they teach are more in-tune with the way the body works and therefore would benefit you in everyday life and hiking.