Physical conditioning with heavy backpack

[lub0]

What you need is a pack weight that increases a little every day.

How cute, and looks ideal for my needs, could you lend this to me?

@TeePee, what rucksack are you referring to? 50kg is a mental weight, how far did you walk with it?
Ed Stafford said he was carrying 45kg is his macpac cascade through boggy jungle.
Just shows you what you can train to be capable of doing and saves a lot of money if you can carry a heavy pack so you don't have to spend a fortune on ultra light equivalents.

 

[Teepee]

How cute, and looks ideal for my needs, could you lend this to me?

@TeePee, what rucksack are you referring to? 50kg is a mental weight, how far did you walk with it?
Ed Stafford said he was carrying 45kg is his macpac cascade through boggy jungle.
Just shows you what you can train to be capable of doing and saves a lot of money if you can carry a heavy pack so you don't have to spend a fortune on ultra light equivalents.

Karrimor 80-130 on both counts.

4 miles was my maximum and the legs were shaking.

Agreed, I don't need to spend money on ultralight gear. I also won't need my knees to work when I'm older because mankind invented the wheelchair and crutches.

I want my knees to work for a long time yet and so choose to keep the weight to a minimum wherever if I can. I love getting up into the mountains and lightweight gear will keep me able to do it for much longer.

Good luck with whatever you do Lub but please look after yourself. You only get one set of legs and you'll probably find them quite useful if they continue to work.

 

[lub0]

4 mile isn't bad going for 50kg on your back!
Surely with good diet all tissues, joints and bones will be able to adequately repair themselves and always be functional? Well I like to think so anyway!
My current calculations have my kit minus all food and water at 8.34kg, that includes shoes, rucksack and the clothes I'll be wearing. The food and water brings it right up to 22.3kg... not a difficult weight at all, in fact I may round it off to 23kg with some extra food. If I do buy a lighter weight bag than my current 1200g snugpak softie 6 then I could shave off 600 grams of that but I don't think 600 grams is worth the £200 for a Cumulus Quantum 250!!
My foot is still ok so I guess the inflammation is gone, so I'll be back to training in a day or so, this time taking heed of the advice here and going the distance without the weight!

 

[mrcharly]

Well, good luck. Don't wreck your back.

Your attitude reminds me of someone when they were younger, who could it be now. . . .


I used to think I was 'invulnerable'. Load me up, give me steeper hills, these ones are too flat. I thought 15-20mile days with 45kg was sensible. Jump off a 10ft drop with 30kg on my back? Well, I can take it, dunno about the pack. Hey, who needs a jack for that car, I'll pick one end up, you shove some bricks under it.

But that was 25 years ago. I'm seeing the hospital physio again, because I can't even dig over the garden without being in agony. Picking up something from the floor is a delicate procedure requiring careful foot placement and one hand resting on something to take some of the strain.

My dad warned me. Told me to be more careful or I'd wreck my back. I didn't listen. Now I'm in my mid-40s and I move like a man in his late 70s.

 

[Retired Member southey]

To my mind, your description is that you move like someone in the 40s who has had fun

 

[mrcharly]

I'd quite like to carry on having 'fun'. A bit more care when I was younger and that would be possible now. What was it the physio said "These injuries are 20 years old, it's unrealistic to expect things to improve after that length of time."

You see, I might be 40-something, but inside I think I'm 20-something.

 

[Retired Member southey]

Its always the way though isn't it, If you have fun, at some time you have to pay, either with your body, mind or soul

 

[mousey]

Its always the way though isn't it, If you have fun, at some time you have to pay, either with your body, mind or soul

Hmmm I think I may have to cut back on my fun quota, your making me scared about my old age now....

 

[Retired Member southey]

Hahahaha sorry, if its any consolation I am happy for anyone to join me on my porch with shotgun, port bottle(Tawny!) and a good head full of tails of daring doo to meander our way through when my body finally destroys it self, shouldn't be to long now

 

[santaman2000]

4 mile isn't bad going for 50kg on your back!
Surely with good diet all tissues, joints and bones will be able to adequately repair themselves and always be functional? Well I like to think so anyway!...

Would that it were true. However if it were I wouldn't have needed my knee scoped a few years ago (shredded ligaments from years of abuse) and proffessional football players wouldn't need such regular knee replacements and hip replacements in their later years.

 

[lub0]

Scary stuff I must admit, you are somewhat discouraging me, but if I was to train sensibly, building strength and endurance little by little, coupled with a good diet, I would be able to avoid these problems?

 

[santaman2000]

Possibly. Or at least lessen them. Just remember the human body is amazing BUT! It does have design limits.

 

[Teepee]

Lub, not sure if this has been suggested but carrying water seems your biggest sin for weight.

Have you looked at purifiers?
Theres some great and reliable systems that won't cost too much at all.

 

[bearman]

Why are people banging on about carrying 50kg on their backs?? what are you doing? training to join the SAS? sorry but I'm sure this must be a wind up, nobodies that daft surely? I'm young and fit and i wouldn't even consider carrying over 30kg anywhere (walking for long distance i mean).

Oh yeah did i mention my latest challenge? I've got a boxing match with David Haye, I'm training by going sparring with Lennox Lewis......

 

[groundhog]

I did the pennine way in Oct 2007 my mate came with me until Garrigill when he went home he was going slower every day and was irritating the crap out of me as I spent half the time sitting and waiting for him to catch up. The aches ,pains and blisters only showed up after he had gone as I was pushing myself too fast. Two abandoned attempts and turning 50 made it an endurance test not the enjoyable experience I had looked forward to. It's easy to resupply and pub grub and a pint of Black Sheep where possible are welcome treats. I did it late in the season and in places the path was like a motorway I hardly needed the Anthony Hopkins books you intend taking but bear in mind they are ribbon maps and if you stray out of the corridor you're temporarily misplaced until some kind local or blind luck gets you back on the path (navigation isn't my strongest skill). Go light and pace yourself you'll enjoy it more and hopefully avoid any lasting injuries.

 

[Teepee]

Why are people banging on about carrying 50kg on their backs?? what are you doing? training to join the SAS? sorry but I'm sure this must be a wind up, nobodies that daft surely? I'm young and fit and i wouldn't even consider carrying over 30kg anywhere (walking for long distance i mean).

Oh yeah did i mention my latest challenge? I've got a boxing match with David Haye, I'm training by going sparring with Lennox Lewis......

You would answer your own question if you read the thread.

Yes, some of us are 'daft' enough to want to camp and travel in the arctic winter and to come home with the kit we take.

 

[PDA1]

If you want to get a wealth of information about hiking long trails, go to www.whiteblaze.net which is dedicated to the Appalachian Trail. One thing which one consistently notices is the desire to reduce base weight to less than 20 lbs. It makes sense. We could all do 25 kilos when we were 18, but my knees regret it now, and it wasn't any fun when doing it. Another good source of info about long distance walks and lightening the load is www.rayjardine.com . So I would advise that you lighten up, in more ways than one

 

[bearman]

You would answer your own question if you read the thread.

Yes, some of us are 'daft' enough to want to camp and travel in the arctic winter and to come home with the kit we take.

British Army Pathfinders, one of the elite regiments of the British Army only carry a 30kg bergen and approx 15kg in weapons and ammunition. Is that 50kg with you're arctic gear AND weapons and ammo, or just an XL sleeping bag?

 

[Teepee]

British Army Pathfinders, one of the elite regiments of the British Army only carry a 30kg bergen and approx 15kg in weapons and ammunition. Is that 50kg with you're arctic gear AND weapons and ammo, or just an XL sleeping bag?

The only reason I started was because I needed to know I could carry all of my arctic kit in one big pack if all the snow melted out there and I couldn't haul it (which was very close to happening so I'm glad I prepped).
.

So you haven't read the thread then?

 

[gardenvalley]

Rather than carrying a large load on your back, have you considered using a trailer with wheels connected to a harness, similar to what polar explorers do with sleds? This would reduce the stress enormously and allow you to enjoy the walk rather than trying to survive in spite of it. I don`t know what the terrain is like on the PW so I may be talking rubbish but you never know. Best of luck when you do it and photos or it never happened.