Why Ski Walking and Hiking with Poles are Underrated as Cross Training

Benefits of Walking

The biggest benefit of walking is that it is a steady aerobic activity that is low impact and something that you can do just about anywhere. Walking is not just for older or injured athletes! Athletes of all ages and levels can benefit from adding ski walking/hiking into their training. I have added a ton of walking/hiking to my routine this summer due to some nagging injuries in my back and knee, and it has definitely helped maintain overall fitness, while also helping me recover. 

Why Choose Walking:

(1) Injury/overuse prevention, 

(2) Injury rehab, 

(3) zero ‘gear’ activity, can do it anywhere 

Let’s dive into some ski walking & hiking workouts that you can do to take your walking to the next level and make it more effective as a cross-training alternative. 

Walking/Hiking Distance 

The most common way to use walking as cross training is for steady zone 1 distance or active recovery. Here are a few ways I make walking an effective workout. 

Steady State Hiking w. Poles - Find a steady rhythm in zone 1 heart rate and cruise up to the top of your local mountain or around your favorite loops. Shooting for 1-2 hours of steady state, making sure to use your poles so that your arms and core get a good workout too! Actively using your arms is the key component to making hiking with poles a more effective workout than just walking alone. Good walking technique is still important! Focus on engaging your glutes and core with each step, and not hunching over on steeper sections. 

Here is a "workout walk" I did a few years ago when I was rehabing an injury. I kept a consistent pace and my heart rate was in my zone 1, making it an effective workout right out my front door. While I don't necessarily recommend power walking through the streets of Boston as the most fun you'll ever have, its great entertainment to watch people wonder what on earth you are doing. 

Nordic Walking

If you want to level up a bit, add some pep to your step with a nordic walking impulse. This is a great way to incorporate a ski-specific element to a hike and it can be done with or without poles (although I recommend poles). Try to mimic your classic ski technique as much as possible, keeping the weight forward on the balls of your feet, and using your arms in conjunction with your legs to move forward. As a reminder: this is NOT moosehoofing and NOT bounding! We aren’t trying to work on explosive power here, just that initial impulse, and a mellow ‘pop’, ‘pop’, ‘pop from foot to foot. 

Here are some video demonstrations explaining the difference between nordic walking, moosehooving and bounding. For these, focus on ski walking, as that is the most relevant in a hiking context, and the easiest way to add impulse without also adding the impact of leaving the ground as you would in a moosehoof or a bound. 

Bounding Vs. Ski Walking  (skip to 1:40 to see the difference between hiking with poles and ski walking with an impulse) 

Ski Walking (includes how to choose the right pole length). 

Ski Walking and Bounding  

Ski imitation technique: ski walking, moosehoofing, and bounding   

Walking/Hiking as Recovery

Active recovery is one of the most effective things we can do to recover from training and to support recovery from injury or sickness.  Walking is especially beneficial because it is low impact, doesn’t require anything but a pair of shoes, and you can do it just about anywhere. There are countless benefits for your lower back, your joints, your digestion, your brain, and so much more.

Hiking Intervals 

You can also take things up a notch and try adding some interval training into your walking routine. Walking intervals can be a bit awkward, there is no way around that, but it is still possible to do a high quality interval workout without running or moosehoofing.

If you’re lucky, you might live near a resort with summer lift service. This is the ‘dream state’ for low impact hiking that offers high quality, and efficient aerobic benefit, without having to pound your way back down hill. If you don’t have a hill with lift service, walking downhill slowly or with poles is still lower impact. Another option is firing up the treadmill and cranking that thing up to a 10-14% gradient (don't use

Uphill Intervals w. Poles - In my experience, L3/theshold intervals are more effective than trying to push into L4. L4 walking intervals are only really effective if you have the right terrain and enough practice with, let’s call it ‘workout walking’ that you can actually get your heart rate into that zone. Usually the purpose of using walking as cross training is to minimize the overall impact on our physical body, while still training our aerobic system, so sticking with L3 is ideal. See  below for some examples of hiking workouts:      

L3/Threshold 

• 15-20 min warm up, 2-7x 10 minutes, 2-3 min recovery  
• 15-20  min warm up, 4-6 x 6 minutes, 3 min recovery 
• 15-20  min warm up, 30-60 min continuous 

L4 

• 20 min L1/L2 warm up, 4x4 min, 3 min recovery 
• 20 min L1/L2 warmup,  5x3 min, 3 min recovery 

Natural Intervals 

Power hike on the climbs, easy on the downhills -  continuous for the duration of your hike (<90min). 

Example of what that looks like HERE (this example is with bounding, but the concept is the same). 

Poles vs. No Poles - Which is better?

Pros: 

• Reduces impact on joints (knees, hips, back, etc..) 
• Incorporates your upper body in a ski specific way. 
• Helpful on downhills to stabilize 

Cons: poles are almost never a bad idea, but sometimes they can be annoying if you aren’t used to using them. Refer to the video earlier in this article for advice on how to choose the right pole length.   

Other benefits of ski walking/hiking with poles: 

• Versatile: can do it literally anywhere.
• Builds Strength: When using your glutes on the climbs and quads on the descents, and through your arms and core when using poles. 
• Adds variety:  a great way to shake up your daily training schedule and add something new to your rotation. 
• Friend and Family Friendly:  a walk or hike is an accessible activity that we can do with family or friends who might not be as keen on rollerskiing as you. 
• Honest Mistake (bonus): People will likely think you are a high level trail runner training for a trail ultramarathon.