By Cary Davis, PTA & Certified Personal Trainer
Strength training for hikers at home is one of the best ways to prepare for steep climbs, long descents, uneven terrain, and carrying a backpack. And you don’t need a gym or a lot of equipment to do it.
With a few well-chosen exercises, you can build stronger legs, improve balance and stability, and prepare your body for the repeated climbing and descending that comes with hiking and backpacking.
Whether you’re training for weekend hikes, a backpacking trip, or a multi-day trek, adding strength training to your week can help you feel stronger and better prepared when you hit the trail.
Why Is Strength Training Important for Hikers?
Hiking requires endurance, but endurance is only part of what your body needs on the trail.
Every step requires you to support your weight on one leg. Climbing requires your legs and hips to repeatedly move you uphill, while descending requires your muscles to control your body as you step down.
Add a backpack, uneven terrain, rocks, roots, or several hours on your feet, and those demands become even greater.
That’s why a good hiking training program should include strength work in addition to walking, hiking, hills, stairs, and other cardiovascular training.
For hikers, it’s especially useful to develop:
- Single-leg strength and stability
- Quad and glute strength
- Hip stability
- Hamstring strength
- Calf and ankle strength
- Core stability
- Control during downhill movements
You don’t need to train with extremely heavy weights to get these benefits. Your strength training simply needs to be consistent and gradually become more challenging as you get stronger.
How Often Should Hikers Strength Train?
For most hikers, two strength workouts per week is a good place to start.
If you already have a solid fitness base or you’re preparing for a particularly demanding trip, you may eventually benefit from three strength sessions per week.
Your overall training schedule matters too.
If you’re also doing longer hikes, hill workouts, running, or other demanding activities, you don’t necessarily need three hard strength workouts on top of everything else. Your strength training should support your hiking rather than leave your legs constantly exhausted.
For many people, 30–45 minutes of strength training two or three times per week is plenty.
What Equipment Do You Need for Hiking Strength Training at Home?
You can start with very little equipment.
Bodyweight exercises work well when you’re beginning, particularly exercises such as split squats, step-ups, step-downs, calf raises, and core exercises.
As you become stronger, adding resistance makes it easier to continue progressing.
Useful equipment for home hiking workouts can include:
- Dumbbells
- Resistance bands
- A sturdy step or bench
- A backpack
- Stairs
You don’t need all of these. Use what you have available and build from there.
6 Best Strength Exercises for Hikers at Home
These six exercises train many of the movements and muscle groups you rely on while hiking.
1. Split Squats
Split squats are one of my favorite strength exercises for hikers because they build strength one leg at a time.
They primarily train the quads and glutes while also requiring balance and stability.
Stand in a staggered stance with one foot in front of the other. Lower your body toward the floor while keeping your front foot planted. Push through the front leg to return to standing.
Start with bodyweight. As you get stronger, hold dumbbells or wear a weighted backpack.
Try 2–3 sets of 8–12 repetitions per leg.
2. Step-Downs
Step-downs are especially useful for preparing for downhill hiking.
Descending requires your quadriceps to control your body as you lower yourself from one step to the next. Step-downs allow you to practice this controlled lowering movement.
Stand on a sturdy step with one foot near the edge. Slowly bend your standing leg and lower the opposite heel toward the floor. Return to the starting position with control.
Start with a relatively low step. Increase the height or add resistance as your strength and control improve.
Try 2–3 sets of 8–12 repetitions per leg.
3. Single-Leg Romanian Deadlifts
Single-leg Romanian deadlifts train your glutes and hamstrings while challenging balance and hip stability.
Stand on one leg with a slight bend in your knee. Hinge forward from your hip while extending the opposite leg behind you. Keep your back relatively neutral and return to standing by driving through the hip of your supporting leg.
If balance is difficult, lightly hold onto a wall or chair while learning the movement.
Once you’re comfortable, add a dumbbell or other resistance.
Try 2–3 sets of 8–10 repetitions per leg.
4. Lateral Band Walks
Lateral band walks strengthen the muscles around your hips and add some side-to-side work to your training.
Most hiking takes place in a forward direction, but trails aren’t perfectly flat or predictable. Rocks, roots, uneven ground, and changing terrain require your hips and legs to stabilize your body in multiple directions.
Place a resistance band above your knees or around your ankles. Slightly bend your knees and take controlled steps to the side while maintaining tension on the band.
Try 2–3 sets of 10–15 steps in each direction.
5. Step-Ups
Step-ups are an excellent exercise for hikers because the movement closely resembles stepping uphill.
They train your quads and glutes while also developing single-leg strength.
Place one foot on a sturdy step or bench. Push through that leg to bring yourself onto the step. Lower yourself back down with control.
Try not to rely heavily on the trailing leg to push yourself upward.
Start with bodyweight and gradually add dumbbells or a weighted backpack as you get stronger.
Try 2–3 sets of 8–12 repetitions per leg.
6. Core Stability Exercises
Your core helps keep your trunk stable while you’re walking over uneven terrain and carrying a backpack.
You don’t need hundreds of crunches. Instead, include exercises that require you to maintain control while your arms or legs move.
Good options include:
- Dead bugs
- Bird dogs
- Planks
- Side planks
- Pallof presses
- Loaded carries
Choose one or two core exercises for each strength workout.
2-Day Strength Training Plan for Hikers at Home
You can use these exercises to create a simple two-day hiking strength program.
Day 1: Strength and Stability
- Split Squat — 3 sets of 8 reps per leg
- Step-Down — 3 sets of 8–10 reps per leg
- Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift — 3 sets of 8 reps per leg
- Lateral Band Walk — 2–3 sets of 10–15 steps each direction
- Dead Bug — 3 sets of 8 reps per side
- Calf Raise — 3 sets of 12–15 reps
Day 2: Strength and Hiking Endurance
- Step-Up — 3 sets of 10 reps per leg
- Reverse Lunge — 3 sets of 8–10 reps per leg
- Glute Bridge or Hip Thrust — 3 sets of 10–15 reps
- Single-Leg Calf Raise — 3 sets of 10–15 reps per leg
- Bird Dog or Pallof Press — 3 sets per side
- Backpack Carry — 5–10 minutes
Adjust the exercises, sets, and repetitions based on your current fitness level.
If you’re completely new to strength training, starting with two sets instead of three is perfectly reasonable.
How to Progress Your Hiking Strength Training
Your body adapts to training, so eventually the same workout will stop being as challenging.
That’s when it’s time to progress.
You can make your hiking strength workouts more difficult by:
- Adding weight
- Adding repetitions
- Adding another set
- Increasing the height of your step-ups or step-downs
- Slowing down the lowering portion of an exercise
- Progressing to a more challenging exercise variation
- Adding weight to a backpack
You don’t need to change everything at once. Small increases over time are enough to keep making progress.
Don’t Forget to Train for the Actual Hike
Strength training is important, but it shouldn’t be the only thing you do to prepare for hiking.
You also need time on your feet.
As your trip gets closer, gradually include more walking, hiking, hills, stairs, or other terrain-specific training.
If you’ll be carrying a backpack on your trip, gradually practice hiking or walking with a pack as well. Start lighter than your expected trip weight and build up over time.
If your hike involves significant elevation gain, include hills or stairs in your training rather than relying only on flat walking.
Common Strength Training Mistakes Hikers Make
Only Doing Cardio
Walking, hiking, running, and other cardiovascular activities are important for building endurance, but they don’t replace strength training.
A well-rounded hiking training plan should include both.
Doing Random Workouts Every Week
You don’t need a completely different workout every time you train.
Repeating key exercises allows you to improve your technique, increase resistance, and see whether you’re getting stronger.
Skipping Single-Leg Exercises
Hiking requires you to repeatedly support and move your body with one leg at a time.
Split squats, lunges, step-ups, step-downs, and single-leg deadlifts can all be valuable additions to your hiking strength training.
Training Hard Right Before a Big Hike
Trying to cram several hard workouts into the week before a trip isn’t going to make up for missed training.
Build your strength gradually over the weeks and months leading up to your hike. As your trip approaches, the goal is to arrive feeling prepared rather than exhausted from training.
How to Strength Train for a Specific Hiking Trip
The best hiking training plan depends on where you’re going.
Preparing for a local day hike is very different from preparing for a week on the Camino de Santiago, Tour du Mont Blanc, a trek in Nepal, Kilimanjaro, or a backpacking trip with significant elevation gain and loss.
When I build a hiking training program, some of the things I consider include:
- How many miles you’ll hike each day
- Total elevation gain and loss
- Number of consecutive hiking days
- Terrain
- Backpack weight
- Your current fitness level
- Your hiking experience
- How much time you have before the trip
- Equipment and training options you have available
That’s where a general list of hiking exercises becomes a training plan built around the adventure you’re actually preparing for.
Get Stronger for Your Next Hiking Adventure
You don’t need a gym to become a stronger hiker.
Two or three well-planned strength workouts each week, combined with gradually increasing your hiking and endurance training, can go a long way toward preparing you for the trail.
Start where you are, build gradually, and make your training more specific as your hike gets closer.
If you’re preparing for a hiking, backpacking, or trekking adventure and would like a training program built around your trip and your current fitness level, learn more about Online Hiking Training & Coaching with Aspire for Adventure.