I get messages weekly from new firefighters wanting to know how to hike better. Or they send me messages saying they are nervous about the first few hikes. So, how do you become a better hiker?
It’s simple, hike more.
Cardio, mental toughness, and leg \core strength are your best friends when trying not to break off on a hike. Upper body, core, shoulders, and arms for saws and digging. You are at your highest “fire fitness” after a few rolls, and it’s hard to perfectly replicate this unless you're hiking with weight and going all day.
We can mimic a lot of these things in our workouts, and it’s important to break down those mental barriers early before you’re out on the line. But as always… hike more with weight. Try to break yourself off. The first five times you wanna stop, don’t stop.
The next two times you wanna stop, yell “fuck” and keep going. When you want to puke, you’re actually to your third wall. See, you didn’t even notice the first two… congratulations.
Then start convincing yourself that you are better and stronger than that mountain, and it doesn’t stand a chance against you. Then, realize you and the mountain are actually one and the same. It is you, and you are the top…
Before you know it, you’re at the top with a view and whatever you brought with you. You can get really good at hiking if you do that…
Today, I have a swim workout I would do pre-season and added a quick circuit as well.
Get loose and dynamic stretch until warmed up.
The Swim: Cardio
How to do: A hypoxic swim set is when you add more swim strokes between breaths in a pyramid-type workout.
During a hypoxic set, slowly exhale out of your nose while your head is in the water before taking another breath. Doing so allows you to continue working on breath control without actually holding your breath through the swim. Again, you want to slowly exhale your breath between strokes and not just hold your breath.
100m : Breath every 2 strokes
Jump out and do 25 flutter kicks
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