6 Tips To Make Hiking Uphill Easier

Hiking up a steep hill can be really difficult. Many people find themselves out of breath because they didn’t plan it correctly. But at the end of the climb, there’s usually a nice view, which is one of the most rewarding things about hiking.

In this post, you’ll learn 6 tips for hiking uphill, which will make the ascent much easier on your next hike.

1. Keep a steady pace

When you hike uphill, it’s quite common to go into a routine, where you rush for a few minutes, get tired, stop and rest, and rush again. While it feels like you’re moving more quickly this way, it’s usually a less efficient way to hike.

A better way to hike uphill is to use keep a slower, but steadier pace. When you do that, you move forward more consistently, so on average, you’re actually faster. Aim to take shorter breaks, and to take them less often.

A good measure of whether you’re hiking too quickly is to check if you can speak while you walk. If you’re finding it hard to complete full sentences, you’re probably hiking too fast. Of course, your pace will be individual, and different hikes can hike faster or slower based on your fitness level.

Moving forward more steadily actually helps you keep a more consistent heart rate and exertion level. This makes you less tired after the hike and is better for building fitness.

2. Take shorter steps

Hiking uphill takes more out of you to do. If you try to walk normally, with your normal step size, you’ll get tired quite quickly.

Taking shorter steps makes hiking on an incline easier because you’re not trying to move too much on every step. You’re basically lifting your body on each step, and taking shorter steps means you’re lifting a shorter distance.

It’s quite like shifting to a lower gear on a car when on an incline; the wheels of the car move a shorter distance on each turn, but with more power.

3. Zigzag if the ascent is too steep

If you ever find yourself on a really steep incline, even if you try to take really short steps, you might find it hard to lift your body to move upwards.

A common way to move up a steep incline is to zigzag your way up. When you walk this way, you are traveling a longer overall distance to move upwards, but you’re trying to lift your body less on every step. This makes it more possible to stay at a consistent velocity.

A lot of trails are actually built on this concept, and when a trail goes upwards, it’s quite common to see it zigzag its way up. But if you ever find yourself on a trail that is too steep for you, and you have enough room, try to zigzag.

4. Shorten your trekking poles

Using trekking poles can really help when you’re hiking uphill, especially if you’re traveling with a significant weight((Knight, C. A., & Caldwell, G. E. (2000). Muscular and metabolic costs of uphill backpacking: are hiking poles beneficial?. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 32(12), 2093-2101.‏)). So if you’re having a hard time hiking uphill, getting trekking poles can really help you.

When hiking uphill, if you use your normal trekking pole length, it’ll usually feel like they’re hard to use, and that they take a lot out of your upper body. This is because trekking poles are designed to be adjusted so they’re the same height as your arm when it’s at a 90 degrees angle.

If you’re on a trek and going up and down, you’re probably not going to stop every few miles to adjust the length of your poles. But if you’re going on an especially steep incline, you definitely should consider doing that.

Most trekking poles have straps, which you can use to comfortably hike uphill. You can simply adjust the length of the straps, and hold the poles at a lower position. It’ll be less comfortable, but take less time to adjust.

Wondering whether you actually need trekking poles to hike? I wrote an entire post about whether hiking poles are worth it, which details everything you need to know.

5. Warm up before ascending

Many hikers skip warming up when the day starts and stretching at the end of the day. Of course, you’re tired at the beginning and the end of the day, but not stretching can make your muscles sore, and even cause injuries. It’s usually also recommended that you warm up at least a little before ascending.

This is less of a problem if you’re ascending in the middle of the day after you already hike for a few miles. After you hike for a bit, your body gets warmed up and ready for a climb. It’s an issue if you need to ascend early in the day. If you know your day starts with a steep uphill trail, make sure to stretch before you start walking.

If you don’t feel properly warmed up when you get to the incline, you can quickly stretch your legs and body. I’d recommend stretching your quads, hips, and calves, as these are the areas that’ll have to work hardest.

6. Avoid leaning forward too much

It’s quite natural to fall into a pattern of bad posture when going uphill. When the hike gets rough, you’ll feel prone to lean forward, rounding your back or waist. This puts pressure on them, which can cause fatigue and injuries.

Try to keep a good posture when hiking uphill. You can slightly lean forward, but it should come from your ankles instead of your back or waist. This will help you maintain your balance better while avoiding unnecessary stress on your muscles and joints.

Slightly leaning forward while walking on an incline is natural, common, and helpful((Leroux, A., Fung, J., & Barbeau, H. (2002). Postural adaptation to walking on inclined surfaces: I. Normal strategies. Gait & posture, 15(1), 64-74.)). It helps your body move the center of mass forward, so gravity accelerates you forwards. Still, you should aim to keep your lean to a minimum.

Conclusions

Hiking uphill can be quite challenging, but it builds your fitness and is really rewarding when you complete the incline. Whether you’re a complete beginner or an expert hiker, applying good practice makes hiking on an incline much easier.

I hope these tips were helpful, so you can go out and see night views out of the tops of mountains.