It’s a commonly held belief that any type of cardio will make a lifter look like an elite marathon runner. This doesn’t have to be the case with proper planning. There are even people who lift heavy AND run marathons, though I would suspect those people are a bit more genetically gifted to hold onto muscle mass but still have good planning skills for this type of thing.

I lift 4 days a week and have been hiking at least once a week. This week it’s been twice so far as I have some extra time on my hands. I also go for walks daily. I typically hike on an off day from lifting. Depending on the hike, I’ll give myself 1-2 days before my next lift so I am recovered if it’s a hard hike.

Most of the hikes I do have a strenuous part but also a lot of easy walking so the hike isn’t too strenuous overall. I’ve done some really tough ones so I’ll give myself a few days to recover. I typically try to eat enough or a bit extra to ensure I have enough calories to recover and lift well (I did not do this earlier this week). I like both lifting and hiking and since I don’t make money at either and am not elite at either, I make sure I can do both. Lifting keeps me in the moment while hiking allows me to process things through distracted wandering of my mind.

For most of us, these recommendations will be adequate. For those at the top of their sport – lifting, running etc – more care needs to be taken to include both or do so at specific times of the year depending on their season of training. The rest of us would benefit from both cardio and lifting.