Exercise makes camping more fun!

Everytime we workout and we're getting tired and sore, I remind myself that we are exercising so that our camping trips will more enjoyable. The better shape we are in, the longer we can walk and the less sore we will be on the trails and mountains.

Almost any exercising that you do will be beneficial for camping. There are also a lof of specific exercises you can do to target different types of camping and hiking. In a pinch, if we need to get into shape quickly, we do three main types of workouts:

1) Jog every other day. This will help with your cardiovascular fitness. We usually jog three miles a day.

2) Do stairclimbers or mountain hiking every other day that you don't jog. We start out with a light stair climbing workout so we don't overuse our muscles when we're first getting back into shape. Then, the next time we do this type of exercise, we hike up a steep hill (about 500 feet elevation). The next workout we do is the same mountain hike while wearing our backpacks.

3) The third workout we do every other day is shoulder presses. We lift a light dumbbell (the weight depends on your own strength and size) straight up above our heads ten times and do three reps for each shoulder. This type of exercise really helps avoid shoulder soreness from wearing your backpack.

It is always best to maintain your fitness at all times. However, like us in the real world, we tend to get out of shape now and then. When that happens and we need to get in shape quickly, we follow the above routine with pretty amazing results. One time we did a hike that took us three hours. The next time we attempted that same hike, we followed the above routine for one week and then the hike took us only one hour!