BigLoad
Trail Wise!
Pancakes!
Posts: 12,994
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Post by BigLoad on Aug 13, 2015 9:02:48 GMT -8
My standard recovery is a rest day, which usually involves a 4-8 mile walk if I'm in town. Walking gets me back on track faster, provided it's not too hilly. Last year I walked six miles in the evening after hiking a 14er, which totally revived me after I thought I was totalled. My conditioning routine is pretty rigorous, so backpacking isn't a big increase in workload. (Sometimes when I'm tiring on a long ascent, I think "at least this isn't one of my hill workouts"). I do eat a little more in recovery, but only a little, and I do always make sure to get enough electrolytes. Electrolyte depletion really impairs my energy level.
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Post by rwtb123 on Aug 13, 2015 9:46:23 GMT -8
After pushing hard on a trip I do need to rest a few days to catch up on my sleep and nutrition.I find I don't crave meat as much as after weight training but rather lots of high quality proteins ,carbs and fats and my go to source is protein shakes.We talked about this some on the other now obsolete forum but for recovery I start in a blender with two or three cups of whole milk,maybe a few raw eggs,two scoops of whey protein,various fruits and berries,carrots,kale or spinach(rotating the fruits and vegies for variety),rolled oats,and one or two healthy fat sources such as nuts,seeds,peanut butter,shredded coconut (or oil)and then cocoa powder and powdered maca and possibly various spices such as cinnamon,vanilla extract etc.After blending I drink it straight from the blender. On a backpacking trip I usually carry in a heavy duty ziplock roughly equal portions of whey protein,rolled oats and dried coconut.So if I get to camp late or in the tent early due to bugs I can add some of the mixture to a cup with water and have a quick recovery shake.
After pushing hard on a trip my already high metabolism will be raging so after a few days rest and nutritional recovery I will get back to weight training to push myself out of a catabolic mode an into a anabolic mode.High carbs during the hiking and recovery are anti-catabolic as well.
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reuben
Trail Wise!
Gonna need more Camels at the next refugio...
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Post by reuben on Aug 14, 2015 14:08:53 GMT -8
I try to do some sort of light exercise the day after heavy exercise, regardless of what type of heavy exercise it was. Get the blood moving, try to flush out the bad stuff, etc. Don't let things tighten up too much. The emphasis here is on "light" after "heavy". Duration makes a difference. There's a big difference between a heavy workout with weights in the gym (which I don't do anymore), and a 3 week backpacking trip. Different stresses, different recovery. Good food is also important for recovery - more and more so as I get older . BL raises a good point about electrolytes, especially in dry climates such as deserts and altitude.
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rebeccad
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Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Aug 23, 2015 9:04:54 GMT -8
Agree about the light exercise. The end of a pack trip usually brings a day's drive for us, which is a sort of rest The next day I'll start getting back to my usual routines. Like some others here, backpacking is not a huge step up from normal, though it is more sustained and usually less intense (since obviously I can't walk or bike all day most days!). I may be a little OCD; I start to freak out if I take more than one day off from working out.
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speacock
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I'm here for the food...
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Post by speacock on Aug 24, 2015 10:34:36 GMT -8
"What do others do for during and post hike recovery?"
Beer?
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rebeccad
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Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Aug 24, 2015 16:23:56 GMT -8
[tr][td class="content"][article] "What do others do for during and post hike recovery?" Beer? That one hit close to 'home'. My wife just craves a cold beer after a backpacking trip. It does eems to work though. She gets her beer, or beers, and she is just fine. [/article] For me, it's a meal of burgers and fries and lots of fats and salts, followed by another a few hours later that is almost all fresh fruit
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speacock
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I'm here for the food...
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Post by speacock on Aug 25, 2015 6:04:32 GMT -8
About half way through a 10 day backpack my wife and I stated craving salads - anything green. It got to be a fantasy of sorts right out of Forest Gump and much like the one way dissertation between Gump and Bubba about what could be done with shrimp.
We'd spend miles suggesting salads and fruits and combinations of any thing green. It started to take over like a thin veil or a mist that was around you all the time - with an extreme fantasy cobb salad becoming the winner the last day on trail.
So what did we do after checking into the motel and getting cleaned up? Pizza! that was dripping of grease down our wrists and full of salty cheese, pepperoni, sausage, salami, ..... The only veggies were onions, olives and garlic somewhere hidden under the morass of pizza colored 'stuff'. I remember about after the third piece, with a pepper flake stuck between her teeth, looking at each other and laughing about how incredulously happy we looked then.
And beer.
Being in Southern California I get many requests to take somebody hiking. For most that is the first time they have walked more than a mile or two A 'break in' hike is to see how far they can go on a day hike and the results afterward. I always tell them to take an aspirin as soon as they get home and after they get cleaned up to take a 15 minute hike in loose comfortable footwear and then later another short walk before bedtime.
When we take off for the Sierra for a 'real' day hike, on the way back, if not spending the night locally, I stop the car about an hour after getting away from the trail head and kick everybody out for a short walk around the car. For some it is like watching them being removed from a coffin and walking on nails. About 15 minutes from home I stop in a mall parking lot and we all take a 10 minute 'granny' walk. As soon as all are able to walk upright, everybody gets dropped off where they are supposed to be. My suggestion is lots of water, orange juice, aspirin/ibuprofen and an early walk around the block in the morning to get the kinks out. That evening a 30 min walk around the neighborhood. Then, wait a day before 'getting in shape'.
So far we haven't crippled anybody permanently. The take home message for most is that they have to spend a bit more time around the block or other hikes before they say they are 'ready'. Or they show up more often for local hikes.
And they need to drink more water on the trail. Almost without exception new hikers don't drink enough water while on the trail.
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amaruq
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Call me Little Spoon
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Post by amaruq on Aug 31, 2015 12:50:21 GMT -8
When I was breaking myself to find physical and mental limits, I'd get off the trail, drive 50km down the road toward home and stop for a great big, bacon- and cheese-loaded burger (substantial enough for the body, satisfying enough for the psyche). Then spend the next day stretching and soaking followed by a week's break from all training routines.
Typically after a backpacking trip these days, I generally only stick with the week's break from my hard routine. I maintain my stretch routine, my semi-weekly runs, and continue my cross-training swimming.
My hard routine gets a follow up of methodical stretching as my foot's natural resting position is pointed. If the calves heal in this position, walking and attempting stairs become a stiff/sore mess that doesn't let up until the next hard routine breaks my legs again.
Sadly, I'm six weeks into a running hiatus due to stress fractured tibiae, so everything lately has been relatively light-duty. That's a bit of an unplanned recovery period.
I've never really noticed a lasting increase in appetite after my activities. Generally I'm sated by the first meal immediately after finishing up.
I also don't really do anything on the trail to aid with the ensuing recovery period.
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Post by wondermonkey on Dec 18, 2015 6:13:25 GMT -8
After a tiring backpacking trip I let the next day decide what I do. If I feel very depleted that tells me there was a good chance my nutrition was off during the trip so I'll rest, fill in any gaps that I think were off, and go to sleep a bit early. If I feel tired but ok I'll do an upper body workout as that is what gets hit the least on my trips. I will have to adjust the weight or duration but it will still be a good workout.
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