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Trail Legs with out Hiking?

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    • LIhikers wrote:

      I know that all the bicycling I did before this past summer's section hike in Maine made things a lot easier for me.
      +1. I was pushing myself hard on the bike one summer and the hike over Mt. Everett and up to Tyringham was a breeze. Not the most difficult terrain on the AT, but I felt great.
      Trudgin' along the AT since 2003. Completed Sections: Springer Mountain to Clingmans Dome and Max Patch NC to Gorham NH

      "The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard
    • I've been cycling for over 30 years, at one point I had a 50-mile round trip to work and back. However, I've never had any luck in my cycling legs converting over to hiking legs. The only thing that works for me is weightlifting combined with running; btw, I live in Florida, so there's no hills to hike in, but we do have some high bridges I can do running repeats across.

      I do see running and hiking (in the mountains) as a very similar activity, WRT bio-mechanics. Running is much similar to hiking in the mountains, than walking on flat ground, at least in my opinion and experience; I believe the muscles used are very similar, whereas walking on flat ground uses totally different muscles in a much different way.

      I think the best one can do to maintain legs is to maintain a consistent exercise routine. And you don't have to exercise to exhaustion, just a little per day, but every so often you do need sometime in the Red.