Fit For The Hills
New Years Resolutions And All That..
I’m sitting here writing this at my kitchen table with stiff, tight hips and lower back five days after my sortie into the Welsh mountains last Wednesday ( see next post). I’ve had lower back problems for decades now, probably starting when I had a job working nights in an office stationary warehouse in Wembley and one night, having cycled home I literally couldn’t straighten up when I got off my bike so I had to crawl into the flat I was renting and lay face down on the floor until the pain eased. 90% of the time these days I’m absolutely fine but on the odd occasion (and more often than not when it’s cold) I’m not. There are lots of reasons behind these aches and pains but for me the main one is probably the same as for many other people; I don’t stay ‘camera’ fit between trips away so they always shock the system.
I walk a fair amount. Last year averaging 11500 steps every day. But only some of this was on steep, rocky terrain and even less was carrying my full camera kit which weighs in at just under 20lbs excluding water, food, spare clothing etc. Clearly there is no better training for carrying weight while moving over rough terrain than carrying weight over rough terrain so I’ve decided to try to carry all my gear most of the time. A bit extreme you may say but I’d prefer to avoid the shock to the system that comes with a sudden burst of activity following weeks of more gentle exercise or worse, none at all. If, like me you’re getting closer to sixty years old you’ll know how much longer recovery times can be.
While carrying all that weight may feel difficult at first there is of course the massive advantage that I will always have my best equipment with me should an image present itself and for taking reference shots of possible future viewpoints as is the case below.
Ragleth Hill from Grindle.
So last week’s trip to Wales was really intended to be a warm up for a longer visit to Glencoe and Glen Etive next week. In the end I only spent one day around the Glyderau because I had to return home for domestic reasons. To warm up for Wales though I spent a day working my way up from Black Pool to High Vinnalls (Mortimer Forest) and back and then another ascending Ragleth Hill from Little Stretton ( the steep end) and then walked straight past my parked van to climb up to Grindle on The Long Mynd (a combined ascent of 1700ft). Quite possible this weeks’ muscle tightness is down to my hitting the hills, fully loaded for three days straight. The previous week I’d done numerous walks both from home and around Church Stretton but hadn’t carried any gear and there was a remarkable difference with my pace probably being double due to the lack of resistance. Being someone who really used to stride out when I walked anywhere I need to learn not to push hard when carrying weight and crucially not to try and keep up with people fifteen years younger than me as this ultimately leads to injury. Of course travelling slower has the advantage of allowing much more time to enjoy my surroundings and ultimately to find things worth photographing. I’ve found that quite often my best shots from a day aren’t from the intended destination but from places on the journey there or back.
So what advice can I offer from all the years of making the same mistakes? 1, warm up and warm down every time, a day out with a camera is after all a bit of a workout. (warm down and stretch before jumping in the car to drive home with all the muscles tightening up) 2, set a sensible pace from the outset, it’s not a race and if it is then I’ve set off too late. 3, find a camera bag that really suits my body shape ( work in progress) AND stop carrying my tripod in my arms all day! 4, always walk with trekking poles, particularly important to me with joint issues and yet they often get left behind ( will also eradicate the above tripod issue). 5, make sure i’m properly fuelled and hydrated for a day on the hill, again I tend to eat too little prior to heading out so run out of energy too fast 6, develop a home exercise/stretching regime to improve flexibility and core strength ( I can recommend @mountaineering_coach_kate on Instagram for some top tips). 7, lose a few pounds, again! While I’m a stone lighter now than I’ve been for many years this time last year I was two stone lighter ( the weight of a fully loaded camera bag!) and I felt so much better for it. My target is to lose 20lbs before my next birthday in July.
So, doing this sensibly the short term discomfort should hopefully extend my working years considerably, after all, I feel like I’m only just getting started and none of the images in this article would have been taken had I chosen the easy option (one of them is a keeper too). I hope this article may be of interest/use to you and any advice/tips etc would be gratefully received.
See you soon.
