Alecia at WILDR

05/07/2026

Want hiking to feel stronger and more comfortable from your first step to your last? These bodyweight exercises are awesome for building better stability and to feel more prepared for hiking season.

Want hiking to feel stronger and more comfortable from your first step to your last? These bodyweight exercises are awesome for building better stability and...

05/07/2026

Oh, I’m nervous already.

First, let me premise this that hiking is still great training for the body. It’s great to build cardiovascular health and endurance, and of course, it can build some aspects of your strength.

BUT

If you’re starting with weakness in ankles, knees, and hips, you’re going to either compound those issues or open yourself up to injury without tackling them off the trail first.

If you want to take on bigger hikes, either in distance or elevation, you cannot miss these in your workouts:

✅ Single leg training (split squats and lunges)
✅ MOBILITY!
✅ Upper body training
✅ CORE training
✅ Warm-up and stretching after (especially if you’re going again the next day)

If you want to level up by improving your strength and muscular endurance for better hiking, comment HIKE, and I’ll send you the video for a 20-minute free workout for hiking! All you need is yourself and a place to move.

04/25/2026

“Part of hiking is going out and f****** up your body for a couple of days.”

I had someone say this to me the other day...

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Type 2 Fun kind of gal, but I don’t want my body to be destroyed after a day outside...I want to go do it again the next day (and day after that!)

It’s ok to suffer a little on a hike (that’s part of the fun!), but we have to do the prep work to prevent that sufferfest from lasting days after.

Hiking is you, standing on one leg, then the other, for hours.

So if your training is only squats, deadlifts, a stair stepper, or just walking extra steps, you’re missing one of the most important pieces.

✨ Single-leg strength training! ✨

Trails do not move in perfect straight lines. You side-step, twist, stabilize, and catch yourself on uneven ground.

Which is why you need single-leg strength training, multi-plane core stability, and lower-body strength work.

Normal weightlifting exercises are great, but mixing in single-leg and multi-plane exercises helps address muscle imbalances and supports movements like side steps that are not just moving straight forward or backward.

If you want a simple place to start, add 1 to 2 hike exercises to your week:

* Step-ups
* Split squats (rear-foot elevated or regular)
* Single-leg Romanian Deadlifts
* Lateral step-downs
* Clock squats

04/24/2026

Is hiking cardio? On a hike, your heart and lungs are working, so yes, it is cardio.

But your legs, hips, feet, and core are also doing sustained muscular work, especially on steep climbs and long descents. So, hiking is also strength and muscular endurance!

What makes hiking “more cardio” vs “more strength” depends on things like:

🔥 Intensity: speed, grade, elevation, and how hard you are breathing
⏰ Duration: longer efforts tend to become more aerobic
🎒 Load: pack weight increases muscular demand
🏔️ Terrain: uneven ground and descents add strength and control demands

So, yes! Hiking is cardio! But if you want to level up by improving your strength and muscular endurance for better hiking, comment HIKE, and I’ll send you the video for a 20-minute free workout for hiking! All you need is yourself and a place to move.

04/23/2026

If hiking is your reset, your therapy, your “I can finally breathe” time, you deserve a body that doesn’t steal the joy halfway up the trail.

Have your best hiking season ever! Feel strong and confident for hiking season with our 8 Week Hike-Ready Dumbbell Training Program.

04/23/2026

If you want a hiking season that feels more “wow” than “ow,” now’s the time to get coached through 8 weeks of hiking-specific strength, cardio, mobility, and recovery (20 to 30 min, at home, follow-along).

Hike stronger, recover faster, and stop worrying about bonking or knee pain.

Link to learn more in the comments!