Wednesday 16 May 2012

Backpack training at gym

I officially started my backpack sessions this morning....I actually felt quite good, but did lose about 5l worth of sweat!  And the temperatures outside are just getting lower and lower each morning...really took loads of mental strength to get my butt there!

I googled and did a bit of research on 'backpack' training and as per usual loads of conflicting advice!  Anyway, I feel that I know my body and am comfortable with how my training is going so I take a bit of advice from here and a bit from there...

So for the first day, I loaded my pack with a whole lot of books off my bookshelf..admittedly I did leave 2 books behind in the car at gym...it was feeling a tad too heavy!

 
I started off on 12.5% incline, speed at 4.5km/h.  I walked this way for about 25min, then upped the incline to 14% for another 20min.  I then dropped my incline to 13.5% and at 4.3km/h for around 15min, followed by 13% at 4.5km/h to finish off for about 20min!  A total of 80min - 1 hour 20 minutes.

I could definitely feel the weight of the pack in my thigh and butt muscles, but I am confident that I can load my pack a bit more for next time!
I am also adding wrist weights/dumbbells from tomorrow.

I'm planning a day hike on Saturday at the Hennops River Trail, I think it's about 12km or so, a really nice hike close to Joburg!

Watch this space...


2 comments:

  1. My pack is now at 25lbs, seems heavy when handle but ok on my back. I actually jogged with it this morning and wasn't too bad. Also I have wore it doing stairmaster, stairstepper, spin class and my regular weight training. I hope to increase it all the way to 35 within the next month.
    last year when I was in Ecuador I fell like the training I did for that specific trip was weak. My legs were very sore everyday. I remember thinking this is like doing a regular spin class to failure but through 10 hours in a row. Certainly not the best feeling. Now my goal is to come back thinking: My training was weak. It fell like a spin class to failure but through 5 hours only.

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  2. Wow that certainly does sound tough and sore..and I agree, better to train really really hard and not be so sore when you over there! My pack is around 12-15kg now (I think about 30-35lbs) and it does also feel really heavy to haul up but ok once on my back...my shoulders feel it afterwards though, gotta toughen up the skin there to handle a bra strap as well as a pack strap pushing on it!
    We leave in 17 days!!!! WOW!!

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