Training Smarter & Going Harder in 2025.

On Saturday I hiked with a women's group here in the Santa Monica Mountains. These women were on a training hike, as a number of their members are tackling Machu Picchu this spring. Talk about a training goal! I have been hearing about this women's hiking group for awhile, as their leader is my best hiking buddy. I love their grit and determination to push eachothers boundaries and challenge themselves with such a cool trip. Whether you are planning a trekking trip of your own or are considering your first 5k...if its been awhile... and you've gotten a bit older... you've got this!

My own agenda includes a big spring hiking trip (with my best hiking buddy) requiring solid winter training. Here in Southern California, this is prime hike season. With cooler days we can push longer distances and bigger climbs without risking us - or Doc -overheating. Bonus: lessened chance of an encounter with our local rattlesnakes.

I am training with you. Some increased seizure activity and more left sided motor control issues have caused me to lose my footing more than usual. The combo has caused me to have less trust in my own body. To increase my confidence, I am doing balance and neuro-agility training. I will also be working on more altitude training. And I don't mean high-altitude training, btw. I'm talking about sea-level to 3,114 feet the altitude of the highest peak in the Santa Monica Mountains that I call home. Why? Because altitude changes are not only hard physically but also are one of my known neurological triggers. I train these things so I am physically capable of my goals and to build my mental confidence as well. This is mindset training. Gameface, baby!

If you're like me and you've (somehow) gotten a little older...let's be a little wiser and train properly too. Leave going "off the couch" to your 20-year old self. If you've never heard this idiom, it refers to doing an event with zero training. Something my 20-something self could do with ease but my now 44 year old self would get seriously injured in attempting.

"Off the Couch" is for kids.

As a physical therapist, I see a lot of individuals who either tried to deny they're aging and injured themselves doing an event with the aforementioned "off the couch" method or the individual who didn't train properly (maybe ramped up too fast, trained without specificity) and got sidelined in the process. In an effort to get the best possible advice for this piece, I shamelessly asked my friend and collegue Beth Drayer, ATC out to lunch. As much as we enjoy eachother's company, she saw right through me: I needed training advice.

Beth Drayer is a Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC) with over 26 years of experience helping athletes and active adults stay healthy, prevent injuries, and recover from pain. Beth has worked with teams ranging from USA Beach Volleyball to local sports enthusiasts. Passionate about empowering others, she brings a science-backed yet approachable holistic perspective to movement and wellness. When she’s not working with clients, Beth enjoys hiking, playing pickleball, and spending time with her dog Buddy.

I literally FELT y'alls pupils dilate with excitement just by reading the word PICKLEBALL. You are all addicts. I promise we will circle back there another day along with info for you other nutters aka golfers.

Let's talk about lifestyle basics before we get into Beth's advice. Sleep, hydration, nutrition. Adequate rest in between training is very important as well. And rest means ACTIVE REST as well as sleep. Stretching, mobility work, massage, etc. are all part of active rest.

Super basic guidelines: Sleep 7+ hours per night. Drink 1/2 of your body weight in ounces of water a day (if you weight 150lbs, drink 75oz). Get enough calories for fuel and protein for your muscles to repair and build as you train. See this blog post from a couple of weeks back about nutrition for menopause of you missed it. If you are nowhere near these guidelines, make them a priority. These lifestyle factors are key to training and being an athlete. And yes YOU are an athlete!

All of the sports up for discussion this week involve reciprocal movement of the arms and legs and single leg stance, i.e. gait. To clarify, walking/running/hiking all require that the arms and legs move rhythmically and in oppostion with eachother. Often, we are only standing on one leg at a time. It is important to train accordingly for related sport.

Finally! Onto Beth's training advice.

Core parts of cross-training should include:

👟 Single leg stance balance and stability: balancing on one leg for better quality of gait or to, say, climb over a fallen log.

👟 Mobility/stretching: Let's not have strains and sprains ladies! It may seem like a bad business strategy but I would love to keep you out of my office!

👟 Power and strength: Want to power up those hills? You need a bigger engine!

👟 Coordination and Agility (quickfeet): Being nimble and fleet of foot is good in any situation.

👟 Shock absorption and plyometrics: Downhills got your knees barking? You can train for this.

Let's train smarter so we can go harder.

Time:

Give yourself as much lead time to train and progress your training as you can. Ideally, 3 months or more, especially if you haven't trained in awhile or are a new athlete.

Endurance:

Start building disance. Get used to being on your feet and moving. Hike, walk, walk-jog or jog-run depending on your starting level of fitness. Start with easy distances. Train this 3 days per week with rest-days in between training sessions.

Mobility and Stretching:

Knees Over Toe Lunge Stretch: Start with a chair or bench and progress this stretch to a split squat to using a target. This stretches your hip flexors and works full knee range of motion at the same time. 

Hip CARs: Improved hip mobility makes training easier and helps prevent injury to the legs and low back.

Calf Stretches: Prevent calf strains, be able to pick up your toes well, maintain good push-off power and ward off plantarfascitis by keeping your calves moble.

Strength and Stability:

Single Leg Sit to Stand with Assistance/Kickstand: Builds single side strength and single leg drive (power).

Toe Raises: strengthens anterior tibialis (your shin muscle) to help pick up your toes so you don't catch them while walking or running. Also helps with fall avoidance and prevention of shin-splints.

Coordination:

Fast Feet: If you are trying to run, coordinated fast movements are necessary.

Plyometrics:

Needed for push off, power, bounding and landing.

👟 Calf Raises with a Bounce

👟 Jump Rope

👟 Taps

👟 Rhythmic Lunge

Progression to goal target:

Increase distances and advance to trail-training if your target activity is offroad. Study map of your event and add hills to match inclines/declines to match needs of the course.

Power:

👟Hip Hinge

👟SL BRIDGE/hip thrusters

👟SL RDLS

Mindset:

Your mental fitness is as important as your physical fitness. Have fun, but prepare for your route and be ready to push yourself through hard spots to get achieve your goal. Train mindset as you train physically. Check out books or articles on Sports Psychology if this is a new-to-you concept.

Have an upcoming event or simply want to train for life? You can connect with Beth at www.bethdrayer.com or find her on instagram: @bethdrayermovement

Have a training goal for 2025? We'd love to hear about it! Drop us a comment in the chat!

** Please remember that this is not your personal training program. All of these concepts are exercise suggestions for the purposes of education and empowerment. Please consult with your own medical professional and train towards your goals with your own health and fitness providers.