Snowshoeing advice needed!

kjllose

Anyone out there snow shoe? I asked for some for Christmas and "Santa" brought them. My problem is this, it bothers my right hip when I use them:sad: My question is, " How long does it take to become used to them? And should I be doing a gradually increasing time in them. Because I want to just go out and do the hour I used to do walking but this is nothing like walking was. Do you do a warm up routine before you walk in them? Any help with these questions would be great:bigsmile:

kjllose

Anyone out there snow shoe? I asked for some for Christmas and "Santa" brought them. My problem is this, it bothers my right hip when I use them:sad: My question is, " How long does it take to become used to them? And should I be doing a gradually increasing time in them. Because I want to just go out and do the hour I used to do walking but this is nothing like walking was. Do you do a warm up routine before you walk in them? Any help with these questions would be great:bigsmile:

Cowboy

Hello,
I have done a lot of snowshoeing, both on gentle landscapes and over mountains. It does take a little bit of time to get used to the different gait needed. Try to do some stretches before you go and and make sure that your legs and hips stay warm...cold muscles tend to cramp and get sore.
I would just gradually increase for awhile. If you are hurting from the beginning, make sure you have 1. The right flotation rating for you. 2. Good bindings...for just pleasure snowshoeing on gentle landscapes fully articulated bindings work very well, but if you're used to the old fashioned kind, they can take a bit of practice to get used to to keep you from crossover problems. You don't say which kind you have, but if your foot can rotate, they are fully articulated. Once you get used to them, you'll love them, but again, they require balance and muscle control in areas where you don't usually use muscles.
My advice is to: Fully stretch and warm up, walk just until you are uncomfortable and maybe a minute longer to build stamina, and then stop. Next time a bit longer...before you know if you will find yourself headin' for the hills! and not even realizing how far you've walked because it is so beautiful. Good luck and let us all know how you are progressing. Anything else I can help with, just ask.
Cowboy

kjllose

The snow shoes lets your foot go up and down but they don't swivel (is that what you mean) Thanks for the help. I guess I need to be more patient.

Cowboy

HI,
You have a nice basic hinge then, what kind of bindings? You sound a lot like me when I started, it was so much fun, I way overdid and was sore for days! Good luck!
Cowboy

kjllose

They are just the llbean basic snowshoes so i would say plastic and nylon with fast release tabs? I didn't want to go high tech until I knew I was going to actually be able to do it without problems. I have given myself a couple of days off and am going to try again for maybe ten to twenty minutes on gentle terrain.

Cowboy

Hi
LLBean makes pretty good snowshoes. Let me know how it goes for you.
Cowboy