David, just curious, but what makes rowing the best cardio?

Jazzercise and interpretive dance......while wearing a pack.

@Clayton: Rowing uses all the body's muscles from the calves to the trapezius. It burns the most calories per hour as well, likely because of the movement of the entire body against resistance. For those with core issues, it strengthens that area very quickly.

Pffft. All you suckers are wasting your time.

You can hate the stairmaster even more by going hands free. This is excellent for forcing good balance. It's a little bit like doing a free skate; i.e. poles-free nordic skiing.

I'm flat footed so running is out for me. Stairmaster and eliptical, plus swimming give me a good aerobic workout--as long as I hit it pretty good. Oh and fast walking up hills.

I've always wanted to get a rower. I understand it's very important to use proper form. David, does it (proper form) make that much difference?

@Doug - very much so. But it doesn't take long to get an understanding of form. Maybe two 20 minute sessions. The push comes from the quads and just as your legs become extended, your upper body pulls. The sequence is then reversed - upper body, then lower body. The great thing about the movement is that your body forces you to do reasonably well right off the bat because if you don't, you will hit your knees with the 'oar.' Once you get the stroke correct, it becomes 'auto pilot' and you can then focus on watts and metres per second to attain some distance goals.

I have a Concept 2 rower. Some great videos on technique on their website.

"good preparation for steep ascents and descents is something I have yet to accomplish."

Work out on sets of stairs, many sets with a pack for endurance, not so many without a pack at a fast pace for interval training. Both ways will build leg strength. Best of all would be if you could find a hill, the longer and steeper(up to a point), the better. It will accomplish the same goals as stairs, only better, and also work the small muscles involved in stabilization/proprioception. Working out on a Step Mill(NOT a Stairmaster) is also a good way to train, although not as your main venue except as a last resort.

Tom makes a great point. Steps are awesome cardio, but they aren't perfect training for a long hike. Because the step surface itself is horizontal, the forces on your body are different from the slopes you will encounter on the trail. Having your foot at an angle makes a big difference - especially descending, where having the foot at an angle places a lot more force on the thighs.

But even if you live in a flat area, you can probably find a steep embankment somewhere near where you live - climbing up and down that for 10 minutes once a week can help your overall preparation for hiking.

Muscles have a memory, and get more efficient at any activity you do regularly. More precisely, your brain and nervous system get better at controlling the muscles, and working out the minimum number of nerve fibers required to fire to achieve any particular task, thus reducing energy requirements.

So while rowing or cycling or running are awesome for building up your overall cardio vascular fitness, you should still be walking with a pack at least twice a week (including hopefully getting out and hitting some local trails at least for a few hours on a weekend).

My complaint about Stairmasters is that you don't get a good workout because you're not doing much work. Most of my body stays at the same elevation despite cranking it up to 4.5 mph and 15 degree slope. So I climb actual, real stairs. Even in Flatland, there are two-story buildings. I get a huge benefit from just 10 minutes a day of going up and down a one-story staircase at home each morning. Then I shower and start my day.

That and miles - actual, real walking. I motivate myself myself at times while just running errands. I walk instead of driving to town. I take 2 hours, but I saved 20 minutes of driving so it feels like I'm multi-tasking.

The older you are, the slower you should ease into it. But I haven't found any limit to what an older hiker can do (I do more now than when 20), but I do have to start conditioning much earlier.

this is like the circa 90's machine we have at our gym- it will give you a very (very) good cardio workout and also tax your leg muscles

I've always called it a stairmaster, maybe the official name is something else???

despite cranking it up to 4.5 mph and 15 degree slope.

Isn't that a treadmill?

I just walk the dogs up and down the hill at the local park, with a pack at times. Work is physical, no cubicle monkey.

Edited by kthompson on 07/25/2012 19:15:01 MDT.

edit

Edited by book on 07/25/2012 19:37:16 MDT.

"I've always called it a stairmaster, maybe the official name is something else???"

That is the beast I was referring to, Mike. It is officially called the Step Mill. If you can't get outside, for whatever reason, or find a decent hill/mountain to train on, this contraption will give you your money's worth, guaranteed.

ahh- OK, it's definitely a beast, like I said ours pretty much gathers dust as no one seems to want that much pain, at the upper settings you are full on running-UP!, the stairway to he11 :)

"My complaint about Stairmasters is that you don't get a good workout because you're not doing much work."

David,

Just for the sake of comparison: If you can locate a Step Mill, as pictured in Mike's post, you should try it out. Maybe dial up the intensity up to Level 8 or 9 to get a feel for what the machine can do for you. If that doesn't get your juices flowing, the turnover rate goes all the way up to Level 14, but I'd be very surprised if you get that far. Then go back and try it with a 25-30# pack at, say, Level 5-6. For 30 minutes. This is not to say the Step Mill is the preferred way to train for hiking, but when more realistic scenarios are not practical, it will definitely keep you in the game. I doubt anybody who has ever used one would disagree, but I could be wrong about this.

Uphill is easy, but downhill has always put stress on my thighs, knees and ankles. I was able to solve this by running up and down steps at the football stadium downtown which they leave unlocked for hard core chumps who run conditioning on the steps.

I loved those Step Mill's. I haven't seen one in quite a while. I remember preferring to slow things down so that gravity would give me a workout.

It still isn't the type of training I'd go for, at least not for PCT hiking. I think the PCT is too level to need that kind of training.

This topic makes me miss the Aztec Bowl stadium that used to exist at SDSU. That was a GREAT place to do stadium runs. I suppose it's still there, but working out there is not nearly the same.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2011/oct/01/aztec-bowls-glory-resurfacing/

"Uphill is easy, but downhill has always put stress on my thighs, knees and ankles. I was able to solve this by running up and down steps at the football stadium downtown which they leave unlocked for hard core chumps who run conditioning on the steps."

That's actually a hamstring issue. Your hamstrings are tight and or unbalanced with respect to the strength of your quads. I.e, your hamstrings need to get stronger.

Huh.
I'll look into that in the morning.
Thank-you!