top of page
Search


Hiking for Weight Loss? Try These 4 Easy Ways to Boost Your Burn on the Trail
As a hiking coach, I get asked frequently if hiking is a good way to lose weight. The answer is a bit more complex than a simple yes or...

Alicia Filley
Oct 16, 20212 min read


Hiking is Hard - Your Workout Doesn't Have to Be!
There's a myth among hikers (and many recreational athletes) that to conquer something hard, you need to work out even harder. What...

Alicia Filley
Aug 20, 20212 min read


4 Things to Know About Losing Those Pandemic Pounds
Are you finding that your summer hiking clothes don't fit quite as well as they did last year? You're not alone! A small (269 subjects)...

Alicia Filley
May 23, 20213 min read


Using Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) to Measure Hiking Training Load
If you're training for hiking, you need to use enough weight to stimulate muscle growth. The problem is that most people either don't...

Alicia Filley
May 15, 20212 min read


Thru-hiking calories - does quality count?
You've probably heard the adage that you can't outrun a bad diet. Does the same hold true for hiking? Thru-hiking burns up to 5000...

Alicia Filley
Apr 23, 20212 min read


3 Ways to Help Avoid a Sprained Ankle While Hiking
One of the most common hiking injuries is a sprained or rolled ankle. Ankle injuries most often occur at the end of a hike when your...

Alicia Filley
Mar 19, 20211 min read


Great Expectations - 5 Tips to Help You Through the First Phase of Hiking Training
I coach a lot of hikers and the path to prime hiking fitness is pretty predictable. I call the first phase of fitness Great...

Alicia Filley
Jan 10, 20212 min read


Want to build muscle, improve immunity, and stabilize your mood? Eat more protein!
I celebrate when clients send me messages like the one I got this week. “I was two grams away from my protein goal today!” Why? Because...

Alicia Filley
Nov 6, 20203 min read


Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Training Tips
Maybe you've looked over the edge a time or two and wondered, "What the heck is down there?" Or, you've always dreamed of a 'Grand'...

Alicia Filley
Oct 15, 20202 min read


9 myths women believe about weight training
Thanks to Title IX, female athletes should have equal access to training and athletic facilities as males(1). However, they aren’t...

Alicia Filley
Oct 8, 20203 min read


5 ways to have a safer post-pandemic gym workout
I’m a wiz at coming up with creative ways to workout. I can adapt nearly any exercise to meet the needs and resources of a client....

Alicia Filley
Sep 30, 20203 min read


4 Exercises to Keep You Upright
In a recent Q&A session in The Healthy Hiker's Facebook Group for Women I received this question: "I would love to be able to squat down,...

Alicia Filley
Sep 11, 20201 min read


Sausage fingers and puffy hands? Try these 5 strategies to manage hand swelling while hiking.
Many pathological conditions cause hand swelling, like carpal tunnel syndrome, Raynaud’s disease, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, thoracic...

Alicia Filley
Sep 2, 20203 min read


Lateral knee pain? Don't foam roll your IT band - Do these exercises instead!
In a recent hiking group discussion on lateral knee pain caused by iliotibial band (ITB) syndrome, many hikers recommended using a hiking...

Alicia Filley
Aug 28, 20203 min read


Essential yoga flow for hikers
Long and multi-day hikes can leave you feeling stiff and sore. A yoga flow sequence provides the perfect dynamic warmup before you strap...

Alicia Filley
Aug 21, 20201 min read


Length matters! How stride length affects knee pain
When one of my local clients complained of knee pain while training for a European hiking trip, I said, “Let’s hit the trail!” As we...

Alicia Filley
Aug 14, 20202 min read


My daughter said this on the trail and stopped me in my tracks.
If my daughter said while hiking, “My pack is too heavy,” I would stop and adjust the fit or redistribute the weight to make her burden...

Alicia Filley
Jul 23, 20203 min read


4 steps to stave off plantar fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis (PF) affects nearly 10% of the general population(1). This lingering and painful foot problem can be devastating to a...

Alicia Filley
Jul 16, 20204 min read


Jump-start your hiking and eliminate sore quads by adding plyometrics to your training
Plyometrics are a popular training approach for athletes who need power in their sport. Unlike a football lineman or volleyball player,...

Alicia Filley
Jul 8, 20203 min read


Snap, Crackle, Pop – What your noisy knees are telling you
Many hikers don’t exercise to strengthen their legs because they worry they are hurting their knees. Often the reason for this worry...

Alicia Filley
Jul 2, 20202 min read
bottom of page