Physical Preparations

Being physically prepared for thru-hiking is something I’m really concerned about, and this article addressed my concerns and made some great points. I know that being mentally prepared for the long journey is key to finishing, but I know that if I’m struggling physically, I’ll be more moody and more easy to break mentally.

Today I started on the road to fitness that I’ve attempted a hundred times before but this time with a new ultimate goal in mind; to be in shape so that I can thru-hike the AT without absolutely hating my body for being weak. Granted I didn’t do much besides a little jogging and stair climbing, yet I still felt like I was making progress.

That being said, I need to come up with a routine that I can adjust based on how I’m progressing. For now, I think I’ll start with:

• 2 miles of walking/jogging/running,
• Climbing the Empire State Building (on the stair-master),

• 30 squats,

• 30 sit-ups,

• 20 push-ups

I’m really out of shape, so I probably won’t do this much at first, but I hope to work up to it and then surpass these limits. I hope to go at least 3 times a week from now until we leave in February.