New to the site and forums. Training for AT Hike thru.

luckdragon987
luckdragon987 Posts: 12
in Introduce Yourself
Hello All,

I am hoping that I can find a little motivation here :). I am beginning training to get ready for an appalachian trail hike thru. I hope to do the complete AT in 2017. I am figuring I should be able to get in shape for it by then (I hope). I live in Florida so I must intensify workouts to simulate the hills and elevation of the Appalachian Trail as we have no hills. Lol. I am just hoping to lose a little weight, tone up, and greatly increase my endurance. I am starting with Power 90, then P90X, and then I will probably throw in insanity with P90X. I am also going to be "tread mill hiking" with pack and gear. Yay.

Hope to talk to you guys soon,

Replies

  • wannaBrunnner81
    wannaBrunnner81 Posts: 107 Member
    I live in Montana, and am training for several huge hikes this summer, 20+ mile single day trips, and an attempt to summit the highest peak here (12,799 ft). I would be more than happy to help you meet your hiking goals.
  • luckdragon987
    luckdragon987 Posts: 12
    I have only done short hikes before. Nothing I needed to train for. However I have always dreamed of doing the Appalachian Trail. I have obtained the OK from the wife and now must train and save money. I welcome any advice on training for long hikes. I can't actually hike any hills or mountains as I live in the flattest state in the union. LoL. However I did go buy a treadmill with a huge incline.
  • wannaBrunnner81
    wannaBrunnner81 Posts: 107 Member
    Start by putting miles on your feet, either on the "dreadmill" or outside. One problem you will run into isnt so much the inability to walk hills locally, but most of what you are going to do will be at sea level, and your body will not be acclimated to the various elevations of the AT. So the only way around that is to just start walking, then start running/jogging, get your lungs in good shape, and get your legs used to putting on lots and lots of miles a day.
  • luckdragon987
    luckdragon987 Posts: 12
    Awesome. Ya, I plan on starting at a couple of hours a day right now on the "dreadmill" lol. I am going to do 2 summer hikes in the lower part of AT to check out the differences in elevations before I try the thru hike in 3 years. I have given myself plenty of time to train I believe. Shouldn't be a problem to get conditioned. I sent you a friend request as well, hope you don't mind. Thanks for the tips so far.

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