Snowshoeing can be a very exhausting activity, especially if you have not prepared for the strain it can put on your cardio, and muscular system from time to time. That is why here we will be discussing how you can get in shape for the up-and-coming snowshoe season. As well as different ideas that you can implemented into your daily, or weekly routine to make preparing for the snowshoes season less of a drag…
Because for many including myself it can be quite a battle trying to stay on a fitness routine that feels bland and is no fun. Not to mention going to the gym everyday can begin to feel like groundhog’s day… That is why we will be going over different ideas and activities that you as the prepper can consider in order to prepare you for the snowshoeing season.
Now, depending on the exact snowshoeing style you intend to be doing you may need to modify, or select specific activities that will align with your intended snowshoe excursions. For example, say theoretically, you intend to be running in your snowshoes (running, yes thats a thing… they even make snowshoes specifically designed for it). Well, my recommendation would be spend a lot of time jogging or running during the off-season, as this will build up the endurance and stamina required in order to do it in the snow. But also be creative with it, throw on a pair of ankle weights to simulate the added weight of the snowshoes and boots you will be wearing…
But the overall idea is to come up with a fitness routine that will help you prepare for the snowshoe season, and doesn’t feel boring or demotivating to do every day, or every week…
Ok, not the greatest example but you kind of get the idea I hope. Anyway, lets get on to it.
How You Can Get In Shape For The Snowshoeing Season
The way I see it is I could either give you a fitness routine that consists of mostly leg exercises that you could do with the local gym, or I can walk you through the different aspects to consider when preparing for snowshoeing season, as well as ideas that you could simply implement into your daily, or weekly routine in order to help prepare you for the upcoming snow.
Now, with everything fitness you need to begin preparing beforehand. By this I do not mean a month before. I mean 3 to 6 months before. The longer you have to prepare, as well as the consistency you have during that preparation period, the more prepared you will be. But the wonderful thing about snowshoeing is it doesn’t require a whole lot in order to prepare, at least for most. Typically just getting out on a routinely basis and hiking as many miles are you intend to be doing on your snowshoes can drastically help, when it comes time that the snow hits the ground, and the snowshoes are on.
Anyway, I want to walk you through the stages you should consider as you go through your preparation process the following stages are:
- Understand Your Physical Expectations
- Create A Fitness Plan That Aligns With Your Physical Expectations
- Establish A Well Rounded Routine
Now lets dive deeper into each. If you’re just looking for exercise ideas go ahead and skip ahead. But I honestly see this section as building a foundation, or creating a map to set yourself up for success. Anyway.
1st) Understanding Your Physical Expectations
The wonderful thing about snowshoeing is most who can hike can snowshoe. Though snowshoeing does exert a little bit more energy, it isn’t considered as a high-intensity sport, at least for those who snowshoe for recreational purposes.
First you need to figure out what a snowshoe trip will look like for you and your group. This will help you estimate kind of what your body needs to be able to endure in order to make your trip in a timely and consistent manner.
For example, if you intend to be doing a lot of winter backpacking for multiple days at a time. With the intentions of hiking anywhere between 5 to 10 miles plus per day.Then the overall preparation that needs to be done in order to achieve such a large adventure may take a considerable amount of effort when compared to just a simple outing on the snowshoes for a couple miles.
But also, this is very dependent on body type as well as previous, and current activity levels. As someone you spend most of their free time running marathons and training for marathons is going to have a much easier time preparing for such a treacherous snowshoeing trip than someone who hasn’t had a lot of free time, but rather was required to spent most of their time at work in the office…
The reason for these examples is I want you to examine yourself, as well as those in your group who will be attending snowshoeing outings and decide kind of what the overall goal is in terms of what you want to be able to do, and the distance you intend to be traveling in your snowshoes.
It could be a good idea to make plans early on, way before the snowshoe season even gets near, as to the trips you will take, the distances those trips will be, as well as estimated snow conditions and so forth.
The goal here is to get an idea as to what you, and your crew will be doing in terms of snowshoe travel. Once you have a good idea, and know what to expect when you head out on the snowshoes you can then begin to start preparing, and you have a better idea as to what your body needs to be able to cope with in terms of cardio and muscular demands.
2nd) Create A Fitness Plan That Aligns With Your Physical Expectations
Like we discussed above in the examples you need to judge based on what you’re able to do right now fitness-wise against what you intended to do. I know that sounds a little strange and somewhat difficult to do if you haven’t participated in snowshoeing or hiking.If you haven’t been out hiking recently, are you simply just haven’t tracked for distance you’ve hiked. I strongly recommend you go out and hit the trail with the intentions of monitoring your heart rate as well as your overall physical being.
This test would best be done if you already had an ideas as to how far you will be snowshoeing on a regular basis. And given that snowshoeing typically is slightly more difficult than hiking you’ll be able to get a decent estimate us to how close you are to meeting your fitness needs in order to achieve what you have planned when the snow falls.
I recommend you go check out my recent post on, How hard is snowshoeing when compared to hiking. This will give you a better idea as to how the two compare so that you’ll be able to make an estimate as to how close you are to reaching your goals by the snowshoe season. “You may already be there!”.
Now, based on how close you are to your overall goal you need to prepare accordingly. This can be as simple as walking your dog around the neighborhood two times instead of once, where is hardest hitting the gym everyday (30 mins on the treadmill, 30 min lifting weights, & 15 mins stretching…) it all just depends on you and your personal needs to achieve the fitness range you need to be in, in order to do what you have planned in your snowshoes.
All the following activities will help aid you in the process of preparing for the snowshoe season.
Fitness Activities
- Swimming
- Mountain Biking
- Road Biking
- Hiking
- Running
- Gym
- CrossFit
Whatever activity It is that stands out to you, and will also help you prepare for the snowshoe season I suggest you begin implementing into your schedule on a routinely basis. The Activity does not necessarily need to be on the list about, though the about list is some of the recommended activities I suggest most to participate in during the off season, your choice doesn’t need to be on it. Now, I definitely don’t mean you should participate in all the activities listed about, but rather select 1 or 2 and run with it.
But it is always a good idea to know what you need to focus on during each exercise period, that is why I have created a post that demonstrates the muscles you will use when you snowshoe, as well as at what point each muscle will be firing the most. This information is extremely good to know, especially when you are in the process of preparing for the activity of snowshoeing! You can get access to that post here, Its titled “Learn What Muscles You’ll Use When Snowshoeing”.
From my past experience of snowshoeing there a 4 major aspects you need to focus on in terms of fitness when it comes to preparing for the snowshoe season. Those include:
- Cardio
- Endurance
- Mild Strength Training
- Mild Balance Training
Which most of the activities above will provide you with the necessary exposure to each.
Now, Their are a few tricks I use personally, as well I have picked up from other fitness gurus over the years that you could use in order to simulate (In a way) what it will be like to have your snowshoes and gear on. Now keep in mind the ideas that follow are not going to mess well with all activities, but they do with some.
Tips To Simulate Snowshoeing Attributes
- Use Ankle Weights
- Hold Weight When Running Or Hiking (Dumbbells, Rocks…)
- Wear A Weighted Backpack
- Hike With Poles
- Wear An Old Pair Of Snowshoes (You Don’t Care About)
Now The Key at this point is to establish a solid routine you can stick to.
3rd) Establish A Well Rounded Routine
When some people hear the term fitness routine, or exercise routine they get that dreaded feeling of having to go to the gym everyday and feeling discomfort. Now, not all of us feel that way, but I know a large majority do including myself. I mean, there are some days I prefer to have my teeth pulled rather than show up at the gym for an hour long session of pain….
But the good thing about snowshoeing is it typically doesn’t require crazy amounts of muscle, or endurance to the point you could run halfway around the world and still have enough energy to get back…
Rather it is an activity that you can participate in just like walking or simply riding a bike. At least for the majority it is this way, for some they may be required to join a gym and push themselves to the limit. For those of you I applaud!
Anyway, a good fitness routine is desperately needed in most cases. This can as simple as going on a hike once a week to your favorite waterfall, or as crazy as spending four hours every other day at the gym pumping iron and getting buff…
Either way you should be setting up a solid fitness routine that you can stick to, as well as prepares you for what you are expecting of yourself when snowshoe season hits. Now I know this is easier said than done as it will require a bit of testing in order to start to see some gains as well as progress.
Now, I know I’m making this sound super complex and like you need to track everything, but for most just setting up a day out of every week to go biking with your friends for a couple hours can be enough to prepare you for the snowshoe season. It’s more about being consistent with your activity levels, then it is about a hard treacherous exercise everyday.
It’s not going to be that way for everybody, but for most activity of that nature likely will be enough to prepare you. The most important part is that you set yourself up a routine that you can stick to. If you need to start out easy, and slowly progress the demand you put on your body.
Conclusion
The wonderful thing about snowshoeing is it is an activity that can be participated in by many, and it doesn’t require a whole lot more than simply walking or hiking on a regular basis. Now, this greatly depends on what you intend to do with your snowshoes, as simply walking and or hiking every once and a while will not suffice for those who are looking to go on a tretures snowshoeing / backpacking adventure.
But for the majority of us snowshoers, simply maintaining a consistently active lifestyle is likely enough. But again it all depends on you and your snowshoeing goals for when the season hits… Goodness, you may even use snowshoeing as a way to maintain your current activity levels during the off season of those summer sports you participate in! Whatever your reasoning for snowshoeing, preparation never hurts in the end.
I hope this article provided you with some value, and I wish you a great experience both preparing for the snowshoeing season, as well as on your snowshoe adventures! Before you go, be sure to check out the Outdoor Luxuriez Snowshoeing Lounge for more information regarding snowshoeing!
This Is Colt Signing Off!