Below sea level training considerations

My hometown sits auspiciously six feet below sea level (thank you, Army Corps of Engineers), which presents the challenge of training for a hike at a significant altitude like Tahoe (significant to me, anyway). With a little creative thinking, I think I managed to come up with a training plan that will work.

Training is good and you should do it.

There are countless articles and blog posts about the importance of training for a long walk. At the end of the day, something like a long hike, with its repeated changes in altitude, weight on your back, and dubious nutritional choices, means the average hiker owes it to himself to train before reaching the trial head. I say average, because we all see the hikers on YouTube and social media who appear to travel long kilometers without blinking.

But that’s not most of us, so we need to put some thought into this endeavor to avoid injury and ultimately not being able to complete the hike.

My training program consists of weight lifting, cardio, and most importantly, as many practice walks as I can manage.

Weight training is also good and you should do it too.

I have been lifting weights constantly for several years, something that not only helps my body but also my mind. To prepare for the trail, I’m shifting my focus in the gym from muscle growth to muscle development. strength, following the tried and true principle of lower weight/more reps. My current lifting cycle has me working my upper and lower body twice a week.

Additionally, I added a bodyweight strength/flexibility day to my gym routine. Hiking is not a static activity and hiking efficiency benefits from lengthening muscle fibers and strengthening ligaments throughout the range of motion. I’ve been doing this routine for about two months now and can already feel the benefits of having greater flexibility and, just as importantly, greater strength in that range of motion.

But how to train for those pesky hills.

Living at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay poses some specific challenges when trying to train for the mountains. Luckily, they are only 4 hours away from me, and I am bound and determined to take advantage of every opportunity to hike in the Blue Ridge.

But between those blackmails, I needed to find some substitute for the hills here on a coastal plane.

And that’s when it hit me: I live in a five-story building. With steps.

In addition to the stairs in my building, I also plan to use the trails at the local state park to strengthen the small muscles and tendons in my feet and ankles that will be so important in helping me maintain balance and move forward at a steady pace.

What I can’t train for is altitude.

This is the most annoying challenge and has no easy solution. Yeah, sure I could invest in one of those cool masks that fancy athletes wear, but I’ll probably do it to celebrate having six-pack abs (which they never are).

Other than that, I built into my travel itinerary a few days before heading out on the hike to adjust to the altitude in South Lake Tahoe. Obviously, the town isn’t as high as the trail itself, but spending a few days there doing nothing but breathing and drinking water is much better than leaving without giving my body time to adjust.

Altitude is my main concern for this hike, but I also know it can be overcome with time and diligence. Maintaining good cardiovascular fitness beforehand and giving myself time to adjust to the altitude before reaching the North Kingsbury trailhead should put me in a good position to complete the Tahoe Rim Trail.

Whatever it is, do it.

However you can train, do it. Your body will thank you, your mind will be more confident, and the process will give you even more acceptance of the journey itself.

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