Post-pandemic, if you are planning to travel with a vengeance and if you are among those who like to travel to the hills for adventurous treks, which involve a lot of walking and traversing uneven terrains and days out in jungles, being physically fit is imperative.
If you have had no previous experience and you are planning to rough it out in the wild, it’s always advisable to get fitter, so that your struggle to cope does not overwhelm the joys of the adventure itself. Remember, even with exercise and training, challenges will still present themselves, but you will be better prepared.
Walking lunges
As the name suggests, walking lunges are performed by doing a traditional forward lunge and then performing another forward lunge by stepping ahead, placing one leg in front of the other.
Walking lunges are a great way to build lower-body strength and stability. A lot of your core (front and back) are involved in keeping you upright during the movement. They also build tremendous single-leg stability, which has great general carryover.
Walking lunges with added resistance mimics traversing with backpacks and luggage over uneven and difficult terrain. To make this exercise more challenging, one can add resistance in the form of a filled-up school bag, dumb-bells, sandbag or a weighted vest.
Horizontal push/pull
The horizontal push-pull exercises are a great way to build real-world strength and stability from standing position. Imagine pushing or pulling a heavy door. Similarly, in nature you may have to navigate heavy branches, rocks and might even find yourself pulling a friend to help them across a ravine or a creek. Standing push-pulls can be trained with cables or with bands. They are not just an upper-body builder but trains the body as a whole, especially anti-rotation.
Farmer walk
Farmer walk is an important exercise, which teaches you to carry heavy loads in the hang position. It has a great carryover in real life, whether you are on a trek or not.
It involves carrying a pair of dumb-bells or kettlebells/ weighted plates by your side. This is a great exercise to build grip and core strength and trains the body to carry heavy equipment over a distance. This exercise can be programmed for time or for distance walked.
The importance of having a strong grip hasn’t been often highlighted, but building a strong grip can help overcome a lot of smaller deficiencies and can compensate for other weaker areas of the body.
Overhead carry
Loaded overhead carry is a specific exercise wherein one needs to carry an object over their head by fully extending their arms. There may be an unforeseen situation where one needs to hold luggage or other sensitive equipment overhead from getting wet or being damaged. So overhead carries with dumb-bells, weighted plates or kettlebell will help create shoulder stability and strength. Specific training like this can also help one to get stronger and build more resilience.
Dead lift
A whole body strength builder, dead lifts teach to lift objects from the ground. The dead lift can build immense strength in the posterior chain of muscles and also your grip. In the outdoors one might need to lift a heavy stone to clear a path, or even gather firewood. Dead lifts teach one to engage the body for lifting or moving heavy things.
Alternatively, single-leg dead lifts are a great variation to build single-leg balance and stability. Single-leg activities mimic everyday movements and hence can be effectively used in an exercise programme.
There are other exercises as well which one can do, but for the sake of brevity, only five drills are mentioned.
Important things to remember before you start out a fitness programme:
• Before starting any physical activity make sure you get clearance from a doctor.
• If you are unsure of the exercises, consult a qualified fitness trainer.
• Practise safe technique before adding weights and reps.
• Use common sense and listen to your body.
The author is a Kolkata-based kettlebell expert and coach