High Sierra Topix

I swim seven miles a week. Good cardio and a thorough work out for arms, shoulders and legs, plus easy on the joints.

How do I stay in shape?

I don't...
I get fat...
lazy...
aches and pains...
Then hit the Sierra totally unprepared and have a great time.

Rogue, I've done it that way and I've done it the opposite and I've done it in between, lots times for each. Getting in really good shape is lots of work but when summer comes (especially the potential we have this year) it's LOTS more fun being in good shape, at least for me and if you never try you'll never know if it's worth the effort.
I believe that research has shown that getting in good shape is a method that follows: It's not significant extensive grueling hard work (like backpacking) that creates good shape but instead is lots of consistent work at a moderate level over a longer period of time (like riding a bycycle 10-20 miles a day, 3-5 days a week for several months). By the way, I tried it and sure enough it worked for me.

I stretch, do push ups, crunches, chin-ups and run 3 miles and at least 5 days a week sometimes more. Before a big hike I will add 1 hour of bicycling to the running. It's all about the caridovascular for me. It's really not a good idea to show up fat and out of shape before a serious Sierra hike.

Today I drove 3 hours, practice my pitching, hit balls and watched most of 2 NFL playoff games. With all this I managed to fit in a bike ride. Trust me when I say that it wasn't easy. For me, riding a bike and hiking always "translated" really well. What a treat it is to be able to ride a bike again (last 4 months) after 2 years of not being able to do so.

Riding my bike, hitting the treadmill and weight lifting seems to be working for me. I also do push-ups and sit-ups.

I talk a good game of golf

Trying to lose 10 pounds before summer, so I found a 7 - 8 mile hiking loop here in Sacramento.
They call Sacramento the City of Trees - not much elevation change, so do the bridges..
I give you Sacramento today.

I'm also trying to drop some pounds and get my legs ready for this summer. Here in Auburn I've explored a lot of the Auburn Rec Area looking for the steepest trails. My current favorite is this 5.5 mile loop that starts with about 600 feet of climbing in the first mile.

markskor wrote:Trying to lose 10 pounds before summer, so I found a 7 - 8 mile hiking loop here in Sacramento.
They call Sacramento the City of Trees - not much elevation change, so do the bridges..
I give you Sacramento today.

Probably not helping the ol' heart rate when you're stopping every 100 yards to take a picture, Mark.