lunges and crunches and steps, oh my!!

I have to admit that I’m not naturally an exercise person. I do exercise but never am able to achieve that level of enjoyment that many of my peers seem to have. So, needless to say it is often hard to stay motivated, especially this time of year.

Backpacking is by far my most favorite outdoor activity and one that you do need to stay in shape for over the long winter months. Those winter months coupled with my natural inclination to “not” exercise make for some spirited conversations with myself which usually end up at the gym!

One of the most important muscle groups to continue to concentrate on year round are the abdominals. When thinking about backpacking one may automatically think that the back and the legs are most important. They are, of course, but having and maintaining strong abdominals will insure that aches and pains from your back will not interfere with the enjoyment of backpacking. This is a good month to start a little extra push for those strong abdominals.

There are lots of exercises that we can employ for this muscle group, the most boring of which are the crunches but don’t abandon them just yet. In addition to your normal abdominal workout try doing slow, double crunches. Concentrate on intensity rather than quantity.

Lie on the floor in your regular Crunch position, knees bent, hands over ears (not locked behind head) or in tight to chest. Now, crunch up approximately 10 inches, holding the peak contraction for a count of 4. In this fully contracted position, the key is to really squeeze your abs together hard. Imagine pushing your upper abs into your lower abs and vice-versa (like an accordion coming together).

From this point, you want to return to the floor very slowly. The trick here is to try to keep your abdominals tense and contracted during the return to your starting position. This return should be as slow as you can manage, try doing it to the count of 3 or 4.

Repeat the motion trying to maintain as much continuous tension on the abdominals as possible. This movement is not about "how many" reps you can do; it's all about how hard you can squeeze your abs and maintain tension.

Always remember to keep the small of your back against the floor. This puts your body in correct alignment and prevents injury during exercise. I try to do at least two sets of 10-12 and finish off with my regular abdominal exercises.

A variation of this exercise can be done actually sitting in a chair or better yet---if you dare! an air chair against the wall. Just use the same motion to squeeze both the upper and lower abdominals together and release. Can even be done in an airplane seat although your seat companions may wonder about you.

Remember what your ultimate goal is; to get in decent shape for those wonderful days of backpacking, to be able to go farther, enjoy the journey and feel better at the end of the day! Hope to see you on the trail! Jan