hey I'm Sam a physical therapist here with REI co-op and with the help of Anna
we're gonna run through some exercises cross-training for backpacking is really
important to try and help prevent injury and power you up the mouth
we're backpacking we're gonna work on jump squats hip roll step up heel down
single leg deadlift squat curl overhead press lift side plank with hip dip
during this video we'll do a quick demo of each exercise and lay out a basic
training plan for you remember before you start any exercise to consult your
doctor or physical therapist if needed jump squat with this exercise we're
gonna build explosive power through those quads those glutes and those
calves as you raise up into that jump so heinous getting ready and that squat
she's making sure again knees aren't diving together and really trying to
land softly great keeping that back straight throughout the movement try to
do 15 to 20 if you can to make it a bit easier and it's just gonna go up onto
her toes and extend through those ankles
hip roll
so we really want to prep those hips before we get started on some of these
other more intense exercises and the hips are going to be important to really
control the way that that knees moving and preventing all of this diving in so
really trying to get that full rotation shooting for 15 reps each side going
through that one time if that feels a little too hard you can put your back
foot down and turn that way really still feeling that work happening in that hip
or grab onto something nearby you may be a countertop or a chair to stabilize
yourself and just using the chair as much as you need it step up
this exercise is a great way to build that power and strength of those glutes
and quads to really power you up the mountain and take on those teep inclines
so here we have an adjusting into a nice balanced position on top of the step and
as you can see as she's driving her weight up she's not wobbling through
that knee or really leaning forward through it try to do 15 take a little
break and then 15 on the other side some ways to make it easier just getting a
lower step or you know if you're training for backpacking throwing on
some wheat and your backpack and using that as you step up heel down
this exercise is a great way to work on that control as you descend down the
mountain so Zanna comes on to the step here she's gonna think about keeping her
weight back and tapping that heel staying nice and balanced not letting
that knee go too far forward or wobbling at all and you can see when she does
these that her back is staying nice and straight and not rounding she's only
gonna do a few for us but try to do 15 each side taking a short break in
between them if you want to make it a little bit harder for yourself you can
grab your backpack throw some weight at it and do these a little bit easier you
can find a shorter step or if you would like you could come down just to the
ground and then think about tapping your heel in front of you good single leg
deadlift
to really focus on balance as well as building up the endurance of your hip
muscles the single leg deadlift is a great way to work on that knee control
as you're working on dynamic balance here and you can see as Anna goes over
she's keeping that back nice and flat not letting those hips wobble or her
knee vary too much try to do about 15 to 20 each side per set a nice way to make
it easier is to go into this kickstand position and Anna's still focusing most
of her effort on that front leg and if you're really looking for a challenge
you can go into a full extended position really working on endurance of those
back muscles squat curl overhead press
to really work on boosting that cardio with the squat as well as if you're
lugging around a heavy backpack the squat curl overhead press exercise
really focuses on keeping ass nice stable base through your core and your
lower body while you're pushing that weight overhead and you can see here
that Anna's not arching her back she's really trying to make sure that she's
staying nice and tall as she pushes overhead she's only gonna do a few for
us but see if you can do about 15 to 20 and if you feel like the weights are a
bit much you can go ahead and go into a squat with an overhead reach so still
working on building the endurance of those shoulder muscles lift as you do
the lift remember to really turn through your trunk and not your arms to minimize
the loading on your shoulders and then as you come through really extending on
your toe to work on that glute versus arching through your back Anna's only
going to do a few for us but try to do 15 each side for one set and then to
make it a little bit harder you can of course move away from your anchor point
to make that band tighter or you can move towards it and make it a little bit
lighter shoot for a band that's about medium resistance side plank with hip
dip the side plank itself is a great exercise to really hone in on these
glutes as well as these oblique muscles while working on that shoulder endurance
the added hip tip that Anna's going to be showing you really emphasizes some of
these hip abductors to really help us with endurance and controlling the
motion at our knee so she's doing a great job here of staying nice and flat
through the motion and not over arching her back try to do 12 to 15 if you can
to make up one set if the hip tip seems a little too challenging just go ahead
and get into that side plank position and see if you can hold for a count of
maybe 20 to 30 seconds really focusing on keeping that hip nice and tight
now that you've gone through that once take a little break maybe a couple
minutes and see if you can go back through that two to three more times
when fitting this into your weekly schedule try to do it two to three times
combining it with some cardio or longer hikes with your pack on maybe and then
some rest days when you're thinking about starting this before season try to
do it six to eight weeks beforehand and increase that resistance as you feel fit
here's a reminder of the exercise list again with the number of suggested
repetitions we've got a lot of other backpacking videos for you to check out
if you want some more information nice work