Transform your hike into a cross-training workout for cycling
Cycling isn’t the most social sport. Solitary hours on the bike can be an indulgence against the contrast of family or work obligations. Personalized training efforts that can’t be replicated on group rides - but that’s not to say there’s no way to get your training in other ways - and as the weather turns, many people look to hike rather than bike their way through colder weather. In this feature, we give our top tips in turning your walk into a real workout.
Muddy boots, knee-high socks and triple checking the map. Hiking can seem worlds apart from what you want to accomplish on the bike, but a well structured walk can be a solid substitute for medium to low intensity endurance sessions, and help you reset mentally before getting back on the bike - because let’s face it - cycling is tough.
A solid hike can work alongside a mapped cycling programme whilst giving you as a rider some time away from the bike with friends and family, and generally doing something different to spinning solo on the road. To get the most out of your hike, you’ll need your heart rate monitor and a means to gauge the reading easily. Once you’ve got your route worked out, it’s time to set off.
As with any activity - ease into it so as to reduce risk of injury, and prime your body for the exertion. Typically, it takes around 15-20 minutes at an easy pace to find your stride. When changing workout type, it’s always worthwhile to use this warm up time to really listen to your body. As you use different muscles, make a mental note of how they feel, how they work cohesively, and which ones are firing well - it’s this physical awareness that when finely tuned will indicate your form and help you get more personalised with your training.
Once you can feel you’re getting up to speed, and you’ve checked off the mental tick list - abs, glutes, hammies, calves and quads, you can think about putting in some efforts. For hikes that follow flatter or more rolling terrain, it’s best to segment hiking efforts into bigger chunks - roughly around 20 minutes. This duration or “interval” is ideal practice for the sorts of efforts that commonly crop up in races or rides. Moments when you have to sustain effort, stay with the group, and be efficient over longer periods.
On your hike, you’ll feel the effort deeper in your muscles, and whilst you shouldn’t be building lactate, your heart rate should lift, and you should be aware of it doing so - bringing you up to a tempo effort on the power spectrum.
Hiking more rugged and rougher terrain? You may wish to map your effort to a section of terrain that will present a bigger challenge. Steep climbs and scrambling sections give you an opportunity to condense that effort and go deeper - but be careful of reaching too deep, and avoid the temptation to blitz others on the trail - you might get ahead on the day, but it's unlikely you’ll be racing them on your sportive.
After a focused and disciplined interval - you can settle back into your relaxed pace, once more focussing on the muscles as you slowly taper off your exertion and drop back into active recovery. This is time for you - the benefit of hiking in breaking up a routine is that it gives you a change of scene, offers you different stimulation and presents you with an opportunity to decompress, appreciate your surroundings and reflect on your progress.
Before you jump back in the car and get through the front door, be sure to finish your hike with a stretch. When engaging new muscles, you need to make sure you’re giving them the best possible chance to adapt and recover. It will also help lengthen core cycling muscles and improve your flexibility.
With proper planning, a hike can integrate seamlessly into your training whilst giving you some breathing space to properly enjoy time on the bike and all that it entails. With the reduced intensity, hiking lends itself to more social training, meaning you can combine your personal development with the people you enjoy being around.