Two-Heel Drive linked up to some recommended indoor exercises for those unfortunate folks who don’t have access to year-round hiking. An area that, it seems from my time in temperate winter New England, is becoming smaller, but one that still exists nonetheless…

The folks at Hiking Ideas dig the classic weighted lunge at the gym to keep your hiking legs in shape during the hibernation months. I started going to the gym for the first time fairly recently, and can personally attest to the effectiveness of this exercise, illustrated below by the Ideas guys:

I would, however, add the following graphic to truly illustrate this exercise:

… Because after you do those lunges, you’re going to be walking around like an old lady. Fair warning.

But if you’re more of a lab rat than a gym rat, GetOutdoors link up to a group of Harvard scientists who’ve figured out how to grow Type IIX muscle fibers in mice, which apparently give them 25% more endurance than their control group cousins. As an added bonus, you don’t have to deal with gym employees trying to upsell your membership.

Tags:

by Casey Schreiner

Founder and Editor of Modern Hiker, Author of "Day Hiking Los Angeles." "Discovering Griffith Park," and "Cloud Spotting." Walking Meditator, Native Plant Enthusiast.