Up, over down

For a natural full-body workout without the gym fees, it’s time to take to the hills.

In Britain, walking briskly up, over, down and across hills is practically a national institution. The activity merited an entry in the Oxford English Dictionary, which describes hillwalking as “the pastime of walking in hilly country.” But any hillwalker will tell you that practising this custom is also one of the best forms of whole-body exercise available.

If you’d like a break from running, general walking, cycling or using the treadmill or stepper, hillwalking can be a fresh alternative for you to consider. All you need is a hill or hills, and some decent footwear to make it all work.

Hillwalking vs regular walking

Those who walk for fitness might question the notion of walking on hills: Isn’t walking over flat or gentle terrain enough? Experiencing one session of hillwalking will make the difference plain. The cardiovascular and muscular work expended when hillwalking is much greater than that required for regular walking.

Hillwalking, to a far greater degree than flat-walking, builds and strengthens the ankles, calves, knees, thighs and hips. In fact, hillwalking is a natural progression from plain old walking to a more challenging form of exercise. It’s a way to make the workout more difficult without increasing the risk of injury.

The hillwalker has full control over exercise intensity by altering walking speed and/or the choice of steepness of grade, but with a much decreased potential for damage and setbacks of shin splints or runner’s knee, as compared with running.

Nuts and bolts

First, select your footwear. Your choice of shoes will depend on how seriously you plan on getting into hillwalking, and whether you’ll be performing it on urban hills or in the wilderness. If you’ll be walking on streets and sidewalks, regular walking shoes or cross-trainers will work. If you’ll be hillwalking off-road on trails or dirt tracks, you’ll want to consider some light hiking boots with good tread. There are many hybrids available which are like running shoes but with soles more akin to those of hiking boots. You’ll find various types of these on the market, from hi-top to low-top. Some specialist models are made for alpine runners – those who take to mountain trails, usually unburdened by packs and equipment, and run rather than hike the trails.

Next, choose your hill or hilly country. It might be a single hill with a climb of about 1000 feet, or a smaller hill which you’d climb twice or more times for each workout, or a series of smaller hills or rolling countryside where you’ll be walking up and down in shorter intervals. A good aspect of using a single good-sized hill for hillwalking is the steady demand you can place on your cardiovascular system while climbing without pausing. If you have a hill with an increase in elevation of 1000 feet and climb to the top in less than 30 minutes you’ll have an excellent workout.

If you’re a regular walker, for your first few hillwalking workouts you may wish to avoid pushing too hard. Ideally you will not pause at any point on your ascent in order to ensure a steady, regular demand on the body. After you’ve been up and down your hill or hills several times over a number of sessions, you’ll get a feel for your fitness level and how fast you can make the climb. At least initially, for regular exercise, smooth and steady might be better than short quick bursts interspersed with slowdowns.

Downhill considerations

Some off-road hillwalkers walk uphill and jog downhill, a choice which can bring the exerciser back into higher-impact exercise. The downhill jogging might not be a major concern on a trail which has a somewhat forgiving surface; but if you’re a city hillwalker, jogging downhill on pavement or concrete will wear on your joints and skeletal system. Especially when new to hillwalking, it’s better to step carefully and steadily on the downhill portion of your workout. There is much exercise here for the legs while giving your cardiovascular system a break. In fact, you’ll find descending your hill a welcome, endorphin-rushing breezy reward after the rigours of your climb. It’s the ultimate cool-down. There are still strengthening benefits to be had on the downhill, so don’t dally and take it too easy when descending.

Accessories and variations

A common practice while hillwalking is to use two poles, as cross-country skiers and snow-shoers do when hiking into an area. The method is the same (and like that used when working out on a cross-country ski machine), only that you’ll be walking on solid ground.

The use of poles when hillwalking will dramatically cut back on the load borne by the legs, by sharing it with the upper body. You’ll find it far easier to climb with four “legs” than two, and you can use the poles on the downhill run to absorb some of the shock otherwise imparted to the body.

When trying to decide whether or not to use poles, consider that they reduce knee load and add upper body work to hillwalking. On the other hand, using poles robs the legs of some valuable exercise. The decision depends on your individual goals, injury history and current condition. For variation, you can employ poles only on alternate days. You’ll notice a huge difference between using poles and going without them.

You can also experiment with hillwalking with a single pole, using one from a matched pair or just a simple hiking staff. With just one extra “leg,” your legs will still get a good amount of work, and switching hands with the pole periodically during the workout helps to even out the upper body work.

Whether you go pole-less, single-poled or double-poled, these are just variations on the main theme and all offer excellent exercise. You can just view them as options to avoid burnout or staleness.

Selecting poles

Though ski poles or a homemade walking staff work for hillwalking, there are offerings made specifically for hillwalking and trekking which you can explore. Most of these poles are adjustable.

For sizing, manufacturers recommend that when you grasp the pole with the tip planted on the ground, your forearm should angle slightly above the level or horizontal. Also suggested is adjusting the poles shorter for going uphill, and longer for going downhill. Here’s a sampling of what’s currently available (and very highly rated in customer reviews):

Mountainsmith FXpedition Monopod. This is a single aluminium four-section adjustable trekking pole. Adjustment is made via an external lever lock system. The pole has a wrist strap, a heavy rubber tip. The removable handle cap above the foam grip conceals a handy camera mount.

Leki Cristallo Trekking Poles. Similar to ski poles, these adjust via external lever locks. Made of aluminium, the poles have carbide Flextips, baskets, and breathable wrist straps. One pair weighs in at about a 450 grams.

Black Diamond Distance Z Trekking Poles are aluminium and non-adjustable, offered in four sizes. They have interchangeable rubber or carbide tips, foam grips, wrist straps and stopper baskets.

There are also more expensive options available made of carbon. Please note that some poles include a shock absorbing feature. Because the action of the shock absorber dissipates some of the force imparted by the walker to the pole and so lessens that transmitted to the earth with each ground-strike of the tip, some of the user’s energy output when going uphill will be bled off and wasted – perhaps not a desirable result for the regular hillwalker.

Urban and rural or wilderness hillwalkers alike should keep personal safety uppermost in their mind and consider walking with a buddy or two.

It’s time to head for the hills.