Hiking is an enjoyable venture that doesn’t cost much money. Hiking has become very popular among people, and most of them carry hiking passionately to achieve their fitness goals. Indeed, hiking the mountains or inclined surfaces, in general, is a very good exercise for the legs and lower belly. It provides strength and, at the same time, helps in fat loss from various muscle groups.
How To Strengthen Knees For Hiking? Legs are mostly involved in the hiking, from running the smooth terrains to climbing the mountains. When hiking, too much stress can take a toll on the knees, and they may start to hurt. It mostly happens when you are a beginner at hiking or if you have not to warm yourself up before going on the hiking terrain.
Knee pain can become serious if not taken care of immediately. It can cause sore joints, and you may not be able to walk for several days. That is why you should try to strengthen your knees before going out for your hiking venture.
How To Strengthen Knees For Hiking?
So, how to strengthen your knees for hiking? Knee strains or leg strains can be reduced if you do some exercises. You can do these exercises as a warmup or a full routine so that your muscles build a form and can perform better on the terrains.
Exercise To Strengthen Knees For Hiking
Hiking is not a bad activity for people with knee pain. Rather it is a good activity that strengthens your knees and legs. Hiking is the best lower body workout. Knee injuries mainly occur among people who are not that much active normally or are beginners who go for long route hikes. How to strengthen knees for hiking?
Here are some simple exercises that will improve your knee strength if done correctly and consistently, and you will fly like a free bird on hiking terrains.
Climb Stairs
The simplest and easiest way to strengthen knees is to climb stairs. It is a good exercise if you are at a beginner level. You can try the stairs at your home and climb them 2-3 times. Then gradually, you can speed up and do more rounds to feel the strength and find agility.
If you feel comfortable enough, find the stairs nearby and rush to climb them. It will make you sweat and create endurance in you in less time.
Walk On Incline Surfaces
Walking on the incline surfaces will also help in strengthen the knee muscles because it is almost as if you are climbing the hiking terrains. You can combine this workout with climbing the stairs, and this will be a perfect routine that you can further continue to do as a warmup exercise.
Try Step-Ups
Step-ups are done to lose fat from the calves and thigh area. It is also an exercise the hikers do when practicing to climb uphill. Step-ups also strengthen the knee muscles and quads.
To perform this exercise, you’ll need a stepper, or you can place one foot on the stair and then jump to place the other foot on the same stair.
When you’re at an intermediate level, you might grab a chair and perform the step-up exercise on it. But, do remember that if you place the feet on higher ground or a base, it will exert more pressure on the knees and vice versa.
Do Leg-Raises
Leg raises are an effective exercise mainly focusing on the thigh and quads area, a muscle group surrounding the knee. By doing this exercise, you will strengthen your knee muscle and will feel less stressed when hiking. The method of doing leg raises is simple:
Start by lying down on the matt or floor. Then, bend one leg while the other leg is left straight. After that, lift the straight leg upwards and then halfway downward. Make sure that the foot doesn’t relax and be on the floor. Repeat for the other leg.
Squats With The Wall
Squats are the most hated yet effective exercises to tone the thigh and lower areas. Simple squats are an excellent way to start your exercise journey with squats. Later versions include doing jumping squats, plea squats, or goblet squats. If you are a beginner, try doing squats with a wall and then, later on, build strength and perform the advanced versions.
For the squats, find an empty wall and stand against it. Bend the knees into a sitting position as if sitting on a chair. Remember to keep your feet apart. Hold up for a few seconds and come back to the original position. Repeat the process for few times and keep increasing the repetitions.
Hamstring Curls With Chair
Hamstrings should be strong if you want your knees to feel less stressed or stay away from the strain. Hamstring curls are like bicep curls but require energy and strength to perform.
To do hamstring curls: take a chair or other support near you; if you don’t have any, you can face the wall and place your hand on the wall. Then, while making your core tighter, bend the knee and lift the leg in a backward position. Gradually, put your heel very close to your butt and hold for seconds before going back to the previous position.
Lung The Legs
Like squats, lunges also face criticism and hate because they make your legs on fire. Many fitness freaks and gurus do lunges as they are excellent thigh and leg shapers. Do not push yourself into a deep lung if you start with lunges because it will hurt your knee. Instead, do a light lung and then slowly build your pace.
The method of doing lunges is to stand still and straight. Eyes should be facing front. Then take a step out at a distance such that the other leg is bent and the knee touches the ground. Don’t worry if it doesn’t touch the floor the first time. Just do a halfway lung and stand back up. Try doing it with another leg in the same way.
Apart from these exercises, you can do donkey kicks, fire hydrants, burpees, and many more exercises that only target the lower body. Also, apart from these exercises, make sure that you buy proper fitting hiking boots and sticks that can help get you the proper support.
Final Thoughts
So, How To Strengthen Knees For Hiking? Hiking is a great activity, but you need to make your body ready. Hiking engages almost all of the body’s muscle groups, so it is important to train them. You can perform various exercises such as climbing the stairs and inclined surfaces and doing cardio exercises such as lunges, squats, and hamstring curls. These exercises are beneficial to provide strength to your knees and keep them in form.
Remember that you should slowly build your pace with these exercises and don’t try to hurry; otherwise, you’ll put your knee under stress. Also, take a rest day and relax the muscles.