help - physically prep for mountain hike

[MamaRabbit]

In October I'll be visiting a medical relief group doing trainings in Burma. I fly up north, go by truck for 4 hours, and then do a really hard hike for 4 hours through mountains up to a plateau. How the heck am I supposed to prep for the hike! I only walk 30 minutes a night right now. No hills to practice on here or in Florida this summer. Any ideas how to get fit/train and ready for this in just 4 months?!?

[KarenEMT]

The best way for me to get in shape quickly is to do intervals of high intensity. Sometimes I alternate walking with running sprints and sometimes I do them on my bike. However you do them, you can play with the duration and number of intervals to steadily increase your fitness. You can also Google "Tabata training" (sometimes I do that when short on time)

I almost never get to actually hike outdoors. However, at the end of last year, my son and I decided to climb to the summit of Mt. Equinox in Vermont. It was a challenging hike because we aren't experienced hikers, but our baseline fitness and interval training helped immensely.

I also practice hiking/walking with my DD on my back. Weight training also helps my overall strength.

Good luck, the trip sounds amazing!

[MamaRabbit]

Thanks for the great tips Karen!