Navigating AMC's Spring Selection on Their Website
With the ski season drawing to a close in the Northeast, it's time to start thinking about the upcoming outdoor activities. Spring is the perfect time to plan and condition for backpacking trips, paddling routes, and climbing excursions.
The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) offers a wealth of resources to help you prepare for these adventures. AMC chapters provide local volunteer-led trips and workshops for outdoor skills preparation, and their destinations offer incredible outdoor recreation opportunities in beautiful locations. Custom outdoor adventures can be designed with the help of AMC's staff, and their Outdoor Skills books are a great resource for learning outdoor skills.
Sarah Geiwitz, AMC's Senior Outdoor Guide, advises that spring is a good time for preparing for outdoor adventures ahead. However, she cautions that the unideal hiking conditions in the Northeast during this season, such as snow, ice, and mud, can make outdoor activities challenging.
To effectively prepare at home during the off-season, focus on workouts that build strength, endurance, cardiovascular fitness, and balance, mimicking the physical demands of hiking, paddling, and climbing.
Leg strength and endurance are essential for hiking and climbing. Exercises like squats, lunges, step-ups (onto a sturdy chair or step), and calf raises build glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves to power uphill walking and climbing.
Cardiovascular fitness is crucial for any outdoor activity. Activities such as trail running, hiking on uneven terrain, or stair climbing improve your aerobic capacity and simulate uphill movement. If outdoors is limited, treadmill incline walking or stair-stepping machines work well.
Core and stabilizer muscles are important for balance on uneven ground and paddling stability. Planks, side planks, Russian twists, and bird-dogs strengthen these muscle groups.
Upper body strength is key for climbing and paddling. Pull-ups, push-ups, dumbbell rows, and resistance band exercises enhance arm, shoulder, and back strength.
Pack weight training is also important. Gradually add weight to your backpack during hikes or step-ups to simulate carrying gear.
Interval training and altitude preparation can also be beneficial. Include intervals like sprints or stair climbs to boost cardiovascular efficiency and oxygen use, especially important for high-altitude climbing.
A sample approach to your home workout schedule might be four days of aerobic training (hiking, trail running, stair stepping, or treadmill incline walks with weighted pack) and two days of strength training (combining lower body, upper body, and core exercises). At least one recovery day is recommended.
Roughly four months of consistent training is recommended to build necessary endurance and strength before the season. Walking or running on varied terrain improves balance and teaches terrain reading, valuable for both hiking and climbing. Practicing scrambles indoors or at climbing gyms can simulate climbing techniques.
Visiting an AMC destination can provide the best of the outdoors in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, and their Adventure Travel program offers excursions across the globe. AMC's Guided Adventures are available year-round, offering all-inclusive programs covering various outdoor skills.
Building up fitness during the off-season can make returning to warm-weather outdoor activities easier. So, get started on your training today and enjoy a safe and successful outdoor season ahead!
However, it's important to remember that hiking on muddy trails during spring can cause erosion and damage the surrounding environment. Always follow leave no trace principles and choose trails that are suitable for the current weather conditions.
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The upcoming outdoor activities such as backpacking trips, paddling routes, and climbing excursions can be prepared for with the help of Appalachian Mountain Club's resources, like local trips, workshops, custom outdoor adventures, and Outdoor Skills books. At home during the off-season, focus on workouts that improve leg strength, cardiovascular fitness, core strength, and upper body strength, essential for hiking, climbing, paddling, and other outdoor sports.
