If you’re new to hiking and aren’t sure how to train for it, you don’t need to start with long hikes or difficult workouts.
A good beginner hiking training plan should gradually build your walking endurance, leg strength, and ability to handle hills without doing too much too soon.
This 4-week hiking training plan for beginners combines walking, strength training, hills or stairs, and progressively longer hikes. The goal is to give you a solid starting point for getting in better hiking shape and feeling more prepared on the trail.
If you’re currently inactive, have been away from exercise for a while, or are preparing for a particularly challenging hike, you may want to spend longer than four weeks building your fitness.
What Fitness Do You Need for Hiking?
You don’t need to be an experienced athlete to start hiking.
However, hiking can be considerably more demanding than walking on flat ground. Trails may include steep climbs, long descents, rocks, roots, uneven surfaces, and several hours of continuous movement.
Your hiking training should develop a few key areas:
- Walking and cardiovascular endurance
- Leg and hip strength
- Single-leg stability
- Core strength
- Ability to climb hills or stairs
- Control while descending
- Time on your feet
You don’t need to train all of these every day. A few consistent workouts each week can make a significant difference.
How Often Should Beginners Train for Hiking?
For this four-week plan, you’ll train approximately four days each week.
Most weeks include:
- 2 strength workouts
- 1 shorter walking or hill workout
- 1 longer walk or hike
- Rest or easy activity between harder sessions
One possible schedule is:
Monday — Strength
Tuesday — Walk
Wednesday — Rest
Thursday — Strength
Friday — Rest or easy walk
Saturday — Longer walk or hike
Sunday — Rest
You can move the days around to fit your schedule. Try to avoid stacking all of your harder workouts together.
Beginner Strength Workout for Hiking
You don’t need complicated exercises to start building hiking strength.
These five exercises cover many of the basic movement patterns you’ll use on the trail.
1. Step-Ups
Use a sturdy step or low bench. Place your entire foot on the step and push through that leg to stand up.
Start with body weight and use a lower step if needed.
2–3 sets of 8–10 repetitions per leg
2. Squats
Stand with your feet in a comfortable position and lower your hips while keeping your feet planted.
You can begin with body-weight squats or squat to a chair if you’re new to the movement.
2–3 sets of 8–12 repetitions
3. Reverse Lunges
Step one foot backward and lower your body toward the floor. Push through your front leg to return to standing.
Hold onto something for balance if necessary.
2–3 sets of 6–10 repetitions per leg
4. Glute Bridges
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Push through your feet and lift your hips, then lower with control.
2–3 sets of 10–15 repetitions
5. Dead Bugs
Lie on your back with your arms extended toward the ceiling and your hips and knees bent. Slowly lower the opposite arm and leg while keeping your trunk controlled.
2–3 sets of 6–10 repetitions per side
Use this workout for the strength days throughout the four-week plan. As it becomes easier, gradually add repetitions, resistance, or a slightly more challenging variation.
Week 1: Build a Consistent Routine
The first week is about establishing a starting point rather than seeing how hard you can train.
Week 1 Schedule
Day 1: Strength
Complete the beginner hiking strength workout.
Day 2: 25–30 Minute Walk
Walk at a comfortable but purposeful pace. You should feel like you’re exercising without struggling to maintain the pace.
Day 3: Rest
Take the day off or do some easy walking.
Day 4: Strength
Repeat the beginner strength workout.
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: 45–60 Minute Walk or Easy Hike
If possible, walk outside and include some gentle hills. If you’re completely new to hiking, relatively flat terrain is fine.
Day 7: Rest
At the end of Week 1, you should feel like you could have done a little more. There’s no need to exhaust yourself during the first week.
Week 2: Introduce Hills
During Week 2, continue building strength while adding some climbing.
Week 2 Schedule
Day 1: Strength
Complete the same strength workout. If Week 1 felt manageable, add a few repetitions or light resistance.
Day 2: 30–40 Minutes With Hills
Walk a route that includes some hills.
If you live somewhere flat, use:
- An incline treadmill
- Stairs
- A stair machine
- Repeated step-ups
You don’t need to climb continuously for 40 minutes. Alternate climbing with easier walking.
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Strength
Complete your second strength workout.
Day 5: Rest or Easy Walk
Day 6: 60–75 Minute Walk or Hike
Choose a route with some elevation if available.
Don’t worry about your speed. Focus on steadily increasing your time on your feet.
Day 7: Rest
Week 3: Build Hiking Endurance
By Week 3, you’ll begin spending more time walking and hiking.
Week 3 Schedule
Day 1: Strength
Continue progressing the exercises gradually.
You might add light dumbbells to your squats, step-ups, or lunges if you’re comfortable with the movements.
Day 2: 35–45 Minutes of Hills or Stairs
Include several sustained climbing efforts while keeping the overall workout manageable.
Walk easily between harder sections when needed.
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Strength
Complete your second strength workout.
Day 5: Rest or 20–30 Minute Easy Walk
Day 6: 75–90 Minute Hike
Look for a trail that includes some hills and varied terrain.
This is a good opportunity to practice wearing the shoes, socks, and daypack you expect to use when hiking.
Day 7: Rest
If 90 minutes is a significant jump from what you’re accustomed to, keep the hike shorter. Progression doesn’t need to happen on an exact schedule.
Week 4: Get More Trail-Specific
During the final week, your training becomes a little more similar to an actual hike.
This doesn’t mean you suddenly need to tackle a difficult mountain.
The goal is simply to put together the strength and endurance you’ve been developing.
Week 4 Schedule
Day 1: Strength
Complete your normal strength workout.
If you’ve been using only body weight, consider adding light resistance to some exercises if you’re ready.
Day 2: 40–50 Minutes of Hills or Stairs
Include climbing and, if possible, some controlled downhill walking.
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Strength
Complete a slightly lighter strength workout if you’re planning a longer hike on the weekend.
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: 90 Minutes to 2 Hours of Hiking
Choose a beginner-friendly trail with some elevation and uneven terrain.
Bring your daypack and the gear you would normally carry on a hike.
Practice:
- Pacing yourself
- Drinking regularly
- Eating a snack during the hike
- Using your backpack
- Walking uphill without starting too fast
- Controlling your pace on descents
Day 7: Rest
Your final hike doesn’t need to be your hardest hike ever. It should simply give you a chance to put your training into practice.
How Hard Should Hiking Training Feel?
Beginner hiking training shouldn’t leave you exhausted after every workout.
Most of your walking and hiking should be at an effort you can sustain for an extended period.
Hills will naturally make you breathe harder. Slow down when necessary rather than feeling like you need to maintain the same pace you use on flat ground.
Strength workouts should feel challenging, particularly toward the end of each set, but you should still be able to perform the exercises with good control.
How to Train for Hiking When You Don’t Have Hills
Living somewhere flat doesn’t mean you can’t prepare for hiking.
You can build climbing fitness using:
- Incline treadmill walking
- Stairs
- Stair machines
- Step-ups
- Walking longer distances
- Strength training
If you have access to even one small hill, you can also walk up and down it several times instead of searching for one long climb.
As your hiking trip gets closer, getting onto actual trails when possible can help you become more comfortable with uneven terrain and descending.
Should Beginners Train With a Backpack?
If you’re preparing for normal day hiking, you don’t need to train with a heavy backpack.
But it is useful to become comfortable wearing the daypack you’ll actually use.
Start with the things you would normally carry, such as water, a layer, snacks, and basic hiking gear.
There’s no reason to make your pack artificially heavy just to make the workout harder.
If you’re preparing for backpacking rather than day hiking, carrying a heavier pack becomes more important and should be progressed gradually as part of your backpacking training.
What Should a Beginner Bring on a Training Hike?
Your training hikes are a good opportunity to learn what works for you before attempting longer trails.
Depending on the hike, you may want to carry:
- Water
- Snacks
- Extra clothing or layers
- Sun protection
- Basic first-aid supplies
- Navigation
- Appropriate footwear
What you need will depend on the location, weather, distance, and trail conditions.
As your hikes become longer or more remote, preparation becomes increasingly important.
What If the Plan Progresses Too Quickly?
Repeat a week.
There’s nothing wrong with spending two weeks at the same level before progressing.
A four-week hiking training plan is a framework, not a deadline.
If increasing your walking duration and adding hills at the same time feels like too much, increase only one variable.
For example, keep the duration the same while introducing hills. Then increase the duration once that feels manageable.
Is Four Weeks Enough to Get in Shape for Hiking?
Four weeks can be enough to improve your fitness and establish a solid hiking routine, particularly if you already have some basic fitness.
It isn’t enough to prepare everyone for every hike.
If you’re planning a longer, steeper, higher-altitude, or multi-day adventure, you’ll likely benefit from a longer training period.
The difficulty of the hike matters.
A three-mile beginner trail and a 12-mile mountain hike with significant elevation gain shouldn’t have the same training plan.
How to Progress After the Four Weeks
Finishing this plan doesn’t mean your hiking training is finished.
From here, gradually continue increasing the difficulty of your training based on the hikes you want to do.
You can progress by:
- Hiking longer
- Adding more elevation
- Choosing more varied terrain
- Increasing strength-training resistance
- Spending more time on your feet
- Carrying your normal hiking pack
- Training for a specific trail or trip
You don’t need to increase everything at once.
Pick one or two areas to progress and give your body time to adapt.
If you’re ready for a longer program, my 12-Week Hiking Training Plan provides a more gradual progression for building hiking strength and endurance.
Preparing for Your First Hike
For your first few hikes, choose trails that match your current ability rather than choosing a difficult hike because you just completed four weeks of training.
Check the trail distance, elevation gain, terrain, weather, and current trail conditions before heading out.
Start conservatively.
You can always progress to longer and more challenging hikes as your experience and fitness improve.
Build From Beginner Hikes to Bigger Adventures
One of the best things about hiking is that there’s always somewhere new to go.
Your first goal might simply be completing a local trail comfortably. Later, you may want to hike longer distances, try backpacking, or prepare for a multi-day trek.
The same basic principles continue to apply: build strength, improve your endurance, spend time hiking, and gradually make your training more specific to the adventure you’re preparing for.
If you’re training for a particular hike, backpacking trip, or trek and want a program designed around your current fitness, available training time, and planned adventure, learn more about Online Hiking Training & Coaching with Aspire for Adventure.