Training

Must you exercise only in cracks of time? What if you don’t live near a hiking trail?

Sunshine and SeeHawk could only climb their nearest mountain half a day per week, so they made the most of it by carrying dried beans, canned food, and water on their backs.

Cross-Training

During Sunshine’s work weeks, she jogged 3-4 miles almost every day, climbed stairs, enjoyed ocean sports, and did yoga 2x per week.

SeeHawk also climbed stairs and did yoga, but his aerobic workout of choice was bouncing on a Rebounder mini-trampoline. Not just bounced. He bounced wearing a small log across his shoulders, rotating 3 iron balls in each hand, chanting, and/or doing “fire breaths.”

SeeHawk loved that his “mini-tramp” could fit easily into any small room. By moving it around, he could squeeze in bouncing sessions for 15-minutes before work, after work, during computer breaks, and regardless of whether it was raining, snowing, or pitch dark outside. He could even collapse the mini-tramp and take on an airplane, or cram it into the car for a weekend vacation.

More recently, SeeHawk has taken up “Iceman breathing.” If he had known this particular technique before he went thru-hiking, he would definitely have added it to his training regimen.

Proprioception

Some vertically challenged hikers might wish to improve their sense of balance. Sunshine never considered this before tacking the CDT, and it showed. She did not know the word proprioception, but she experienced needing more when she found she could only cross some logs by touching a protruding blade of grass.

If Sunshine trained for the CDT again, she would practice standing on one foot, balancing upon thick foam, or using a balance board. Better yet, with her eyes closed, turning her head and reaching out her arms.

Here’s another idea. Would you like gain better balance in your sleep? Try wearing toe separator socks. If all night drives you crazy just wear them during dinner, to loosen and spread your toes for better sensitivity and stabilization.

Training for Speed

Sunshine and SeeHawk were not aiming to break any speed records, so they did not need to go to extremes. If you are hoping to finish America’s Triple Crown, you might want to start by learning from the master, Andrew Skurka.