Hitting the Trails for a Really Intense Leg and Back Workout

For many people, myself included, leg training is not one of the more enjoyable features of a strength and conditioning program. It can be excrutiatingly hard; it gets our hearts pounding to the point that we almost feel as if we're about to go horizontal and stay that way; and, after it's over, we're forced to return to our daily obligations in long pants - just to spite our vanity, I believe. Any muscle mass gained by subjecting ourselves to repeated sets of agonizing squats, lunges, and stiff-legged deadlifts remains a closely guarded secret underneath our Dickies and Levis. It is true, however, that if you dare to fly the suspicious skies here in America you could presumably dazzle the occasional TSA passenger screener.

So what's the payoff? After all, we're not football players or aspiring Olympic swimmers, and I for one won't be entering any bodybuilding contests in the near, distant, or intermediate future. The reward, of course, is having the physical strength and stamina necessary to continue pursuing those activities we currently enjoy later into our lives. Take this weekend, for instance, when I plan to take a really long walk. I have a couple of options as to where I might go:

                                                                           Option A

Option B

Which would you choose? Not much of a decision, is it? Option B is by far the more demanding of the two, particularly if you want to make a weekend of it. Loading everything you need for two days on your back and stomping around the woods, in and out of the gulfs and on and off the ridges, is both an exhilarating and exhausting work out. Option A is great for rainy days and Mondays - and not much else, in my opinion. So I will spend this weekend in the South Cumberland State Recreation Area, where the above photograph was made. Hopefully, all of my strength training, which has provided little superficial satisfaction, will now pay meaningful dividends in the form of a more enjoyable hike, one where I can focus my attention on the beauty encompassing me instead of on the pain and fatigue devouring me.