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Minimize Muscle/Strength Loss on 3 Week Hike

Bigger Stronger Leaner
#1

hello everyone,

In July I will fly to Nepal and do the Annapurna Circuit. Its 3 weeks/ ~ 220 km of rather easy hiking (my first really long hike and also my first high hike with the highest point at 5500m)

I was wondering if anyone had some tips for me in order to minimize strength/muscle loss. Now, I am not at an incredibly high level, my lifts are around 120kg 1RM Squat, 155 Deadlift, 90 Benchpress. Still, it was hard work to get there.

My backpack will be pretty light, I don’t need to carry a tent and I can also get food at the teahouses (the accommodation).

I was going to bring protein powder and milk powder to get some calories and protein, since I imagine most of the food there to be noodles and rice and stuff. Weight of the backpack is not an issue, so anything else you would take with you?

I didn’t really know where to post this, but since I have gotten excellent information in the powerlifting section so far, I will just try it here!

All in all I will be traveling around 2 1/2 months. After Nepal I will head on to Thailand/Cambodia/Laos, I hope I will be able to find a gym there from time to time.

Any advice is appreciated!

#2

Bring higher fat foods. Peanut butter, nuts, whatever proteins you can carry with you, maybe like canned tuna also? Don’t stress it too much though man, you are bound to lose some. Don’t let it ruin your trip.

#3

Maybe some L-glutamine?

But like CParker says, don’t let your worrying about your lifts ruin your trip. Not to sound like some California hippie, but you’re going on a life-changing trip through South East Asia! Focus on appreciating the scenery(THE HIMALAYAS) and the culture. Learn about that Eastern/Buddhist mindset. Go see some live Muay Thai, and gamble like crazy on it! Get 2 hour oil massages for $5 in Laos. Check out all those cool ruins in Cambodia.

You’ve got your whole life to worry about your bench press.

#4

[quote]FlatsFarmer wrote:
Maybe some L-glutamine?

But like CParker says, don’t let your worrying about your lifts ruin your trip. Not to sound like some California hippie, but you’re going on a life-changing trip through South East Asia! Focus on appreciating the scenery(THE HIMALAYAS) and the culture. Learn about that Eastern/Buddhist mindset. Go see some live Muay Thai, and gamble like crazy on it! Get 2 hour oil massages for $5 in Laos. Check out all those cool ruins in Cambodia.

You’ve got your whole life to worry about your bench press. [/quote]

BEST POST I HAVE EVER SEEN!

Yes, completely agree with this. You should also get drunk and try and get laid a couple of times.

#5

Eat some yak, its high in protein, if a little tough and gamey. Plus goat and goat milk is good. You could do some high rep squat sets and pushup sets to minimize losses, but really, just enjoy yourself and get mentally refreshed.

#6

I’m new. Do we talk about getting laid and drinking on this board? Because the 3rd world is an awesome place to get drunk and get laid.

No disrespect to the ladies/kids who may read this.

#7

hell i’d give up 100lbs on my total to be able to do a trip like that, whats life for anyways

#8

I’ll agree with everyone else. Have the trip of your life, and maybe fit in the occasional bodyweight stuff if you feel up to it. But seriously, some people have the kind of jobs and life set up that never allow for long trips like this. Live it up.

The other thing I wanted to mention is that you might come back poised for some good gains. Sure you will not be as strong as when you leave (most likely), but your body will be hungry for it’s normal routine and you’ll probably be motivated. You might find that you have some new PRs not too long after you get back.

I also seem to remember Dan John advocating some long hiking vacations before hitting it hard on a bulking program. He might have mentioned the Appalachian Trail, but anything that depletes your body a bit (and travel and altitude will do that) should do the trick.

#9

thanks for the answers so far!

I think I will just look and see what kinds of high fat foods they sell there that I can bring.

Don’t worry, I am not going to let this ruin my trip, if the gainz were that important to me I wouldn’t do the trip in the first place :smiley: I know what you mean though!

I just want to keep as much strength as I can, without putting too much effort into it. I can just imagine that it will be quite a big difference between bringing and not bringing extra food since one uses quite a lot of calories during those tracks.

After that I am going straight to Taipei for my exchange semester, with a gym on campus and stuff. I ll be able to hit the weights there better than ever

In general, if I only have access to weights for the reminder of the trip sporadically, what would you recommend doing on such a day? I usually train 5/3/1. Just work up to a fairly heavy weight on the squat than a few backup sets, same for BP and DL?

I tend to get incredibly sore after a lay off if I do too much on the first day. I haven’t really found a good way to avoid that. But I don’t want to be sore the whole time.

Does anyone know something about how muscle/strength loss really works? How much does it actually help to get a day of training in from time to time?
I am not really aware of any articles about that, so if anyone has a link, that would also be appreciated!