Hello athletes, welcome and thank you for tuning into the Coach Katie Danger Podcast recorded live from Omaha, Nebraska. I'm your host, Coach Katie Danger, U S army veteran, fitness coach and founder of Red H Nutrition. Here's a fact for you, 99% of us are not elite athletes. We're individuals from all backgrounds, juggling life priorities, including jobs, our families, their needs, and trying to find time to take care of ourselves every single week. When you tune in, I'll be discussing clear, concise and actionable strategies you can use to get the most from your fitness, nutrition, and mindset. So you can optimize your life without compromising your time. So athletes settle in and get comfortable. I'm here to educate, inspire, empower, and entertain you to help you enjoy the unique fitness journey that you are on.
(00:52): Hey athletes, happy new year. Welcome to episode number 45 of the coach, Katie danger podcast, three hiking tips for beginners. I am so excited share this episode and my time with you. It's a subject that's fairly new to me, but I've been getting a lot of practice and experience in it. And I'm talking about hiking and backpacking. Now for the course of this episode, I'll kind of use the two interchangeably, but hiking is just, when you go out on a hike, a trail, you know, technical terrain, mountain, you know, whatever hiking backpacking is essentially hiking. But what you do is you end up finding the campsite and you camp outdoors. So it's primitive, camping. You know, you don't have a camper with you. You just have a tent, you pitch it and hopefully you don't get rained on. So when I say it's fairly new to me, I actually started doing it during quarantine.
(01:41): Last year, after the gym's closed down, I needed to find a new hobby. So I decided I wanted to go camping or at least do something outdoors. I was one, I mean, during quarantine, everybody's sick and tired of being inside, but the thing is growing up, I lived in a very suburban middle-class neighborhood. We didn't really do a lot of outdoorsy stuff. I played outside as a kid. I rode my bike, but you know, what's in the neighborhood. It's not like in nature. It's not away from people in the hustle and bustle of life. So I really wanted to change that. I wanted some new experiences. So I bought a bunch of camping and hiking gear. I did a little research and then I made a goal of, I think it was an April or it was March that I started doing all of this, but I wouldn't have at least one true backpacking trip, but I want to get a lot of trail hike in.
(02:24): So when I say backpacking trip, I wanted to park my car somewhere, hike into a campsite, pitch, our tent, and then, you know, do some additional hikes around the trails there in the same park and campsite area. So that's, that was my goal. As of last year. Now I'm definitely not an expert yet. There are still a lot more that I need to learn about the outdoors and enjoying them completely, but I've learned enough. I've learned enough. And now I know what a beginner should know. And I want to share that with you. This is kind of like whenever you start something, at least when I do, when I start a new, a new hobby and was like, what I wish I knew now what I'm going to learn, save myself that time. So I'm hoping what I'm getting at is that I'm going to share some things with you that my past self should have known that would've made a lot of this, perhaps even easier.
(03:10): It has been a completely enjoyable experience, but if I can share these top three things that I've learned, I think it's going to make your time getting into a hobby even easier than it was for me and a lot more enjoyable too. So before I share those three hiking tips with you though, I want to tell you what I did over the new year, Sammy and I, we went hiking in Colorado. We decided that we needed to get away for a few days. So we drove to Colorado and we did some hiking. We've never done any of our hiking trips in Colorado yet. I gotta be honest. The elevation kind of makes me nervous and I'll tell you why. I'm going to get into a story later of our first attempt at doing hiking and backpacking. And then five years later, we're here now. But anyway, I'm not going to digress much.
(03:50): We wanted to go hiking. So we want to Colorado and we want to plan our first fourteener, but we don't just want to like go to Colorado and do a fourteener now for those who don't know or who are listening and don't know a fourteener one for 14, or is a mountain whose peak at least reaches 14,000 feet. So hence the 14 fourteener now for me, since I've been hiking and backpacking for about a year, now that fourteener, it's like a notch on your belt, you know, it's like on your bucket list, it's something that people who enjoy this hobby want to do. There's obviously more technical terrain and bigger notches on the belt, right? But a fourteeners like, this is that first trophy in your trophy case. So the process in this whole preparation is very exciting, but we want to do it, right?
(04:35): So that's what I did over the new years. You went hiking and that's kind of how the Genesis of this episode started, which I'll also tell you more about, but something that's coming up in my future is I plan to do another juice fast. And in the few weeks I'm going to be doing another three day juice fast. I've already done a juice fast before I've done three whole days of not eating, just drinking juice. And if you want to read, excuse me, for when he listened to that experience, just go back to episode number 17 and it's appropriately titled what happens when you don't eat for three days, the first juice fast for me, it was life-changing. I went three whole days without eating any solid foods actually was about 84 hours total. I've suggested it to a few people now, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it's going to be different or better.
(05:20): The next time that I do this, I'm not sure what I'm going to learn, but I know that I'm going to get something valuable out of it. The last time, what I learned that was so life-changing is hunger is not an emergency. So I was one of those people who got hangry. And I know that we probably all get hungry, but like I got angry hangry, right? I mean, you think of somebody turning into Mr. Hyde or a gremlin after they've got water on him or eaten after midnight or whatever that's hangar to me, right. Go from from nice to monster. So that's what I learned from my first juice. Fast, absolutely life changing. If you haven't done already highly recommended, listen to experience. And the first time I did an episode, number 17 really recommend it. So this time I'm also going to do all of my juices are gonna be pre-made.
(06:04): I'm just gonna have them delivered to me. Luckily, I am not a position where I need to make all my juices. So I'm going to do a Saturday, Sunday and Monday timeframe three whole days. Again, I will let you know exactly how it goes. So wish me luck. So let's get to the heart of the episode, right? What, this is all about. The three hiking tips for beginners. So if you want to get into a new hobby this year, I really think hiking and backpacking, you know, whether you want to stay outdoors or not, or if you just want to hike, hike for distance, like is so much fun. It's so cathartic. I mentioned, I grew up in a suburban middle-class neighborhood. You know, there was houses on all sides of us. I lived in a city, mind you Norfolk. Nebraska was only 21,000 people at the time, but it still wasn't the outdoors, right?
(06:45): It wasn't a log cabin. I didn't get to see deer in my backyard. So when forced to have a new hobby, it just hiking and backpacking work for me. And if you're looking for something different to get into, try it, I mean, you get outdoors, you get to breathe fresh air. You just get to be alone with your thoughts and maybe another human. If you want to share your time with them. Now, I mentioned at the beginning that we went hiking in Colorado in the new year holiday. Well, one of the things we did is we went on a group hike with a few other couples, one couple who was with us. They were from Miami and they asked me a really good question, Sammy. And I, even though, like I said, we are not that experienced. We only have a year under our belt.
(07:19): We were still the most experienced people in this group. And so we got some questions and this particular couple asked us, they wondered what I would tell a beginner. Did I have any beginner tips for them? And you know, I never prepared anything prior to that. But three things came to mind and because they were from Miami, obviously they were inexperienced hiking. I mean, I can't blame them. They're from Miami. They got all the experience with the beach and the warm weather. So certainly I'm jealous about that, but they just wanted some ideas. So I don't like to ever overwhelm anybody either. Especially if you absolutely know that they're a beginner, you got to keep things very direct and very easy to follow because the best thing I can do is share these three tips with you. It is going to be so easy that you go out, you're like, I can do this.
(08:01): I can go out and enjoy the outdoors. Dang it. And that's what I want it to be. And that's what I wanted to be for them. So I stuck my top three tips and these are easy ways. Any beginner can get off the couch and the end of the wilderness and feel confident, have fun while doing it confident and having fun. Two keys right there to be confident to have fun. And yes, you can have them both. So here are the three best of my tips. If you want to go hiking and you actually want to enjoy the challenges, the terrain, the elevation, and the time outdoors provide you. Number one, get yourself a good pair of boots and break them in before you go. So I got my boots on Zappos. I believe that they're just a pair of Columbia, hiking boots. They're not work boots.
(08:43): They're not steel toe boots or anything. They're actually very light. I did not try them on before I bought them. But on Zappos, I love the return policy. So I didn't feel any hesitation on reading some reviews, finding what I like personally. I know what I like in a tennis shoe. So here's what I would say when you're choosing a boot, try to choose the same thing as you like in a tennis shoe. Okay. Do you like do you have a neutral gait pattern? You know, do you pronate, do you supinate, are you a heel striker, things like that, then you want to get a boot that kind of matches the same way that you would buy a running shoe. So I like a light shoe and I like a shoe that is fairly neutral, fairly neutral. So I wanted to find a boot.
(09:20): It was also fairly neutral, which means it didn't, you know, have a specific heel arch or anything like that. And I wanted something light. I don't like walking around clunky boots. I've got my military combat boots. I still have, I use those for scoop and snow, but when it comes to walk in and they're just heavy, okay, I've done enough walking in those boots. I don't need any more. So I want something light also. Oh gosh, what else, what else is there? I guess those are the two things. Try to get something that matches what your running shoe would imitate. And then you also want to break them in. Don't ever buy a new pair of boots and then go out on your 10 mile hike the next day, or that'd be the very first time you use them, break them in. So here's what I did during the spring and summer when it is earlier out, usually when daylight savings time, we get a little bit more daylight in the morning.
(10:04): So I like to walk in the mornings during the spring and summer and then early fall. And instead of using my walking, my running shoes, I wore my boots and I looked kind of silly because I'm wearing my boots with shorts, but come on, like anybody with half a brain knows that you're walking to break those things in. And second, it will save you so much time. One you'll know if the boots are for you, but two, they're going to be so comfortable. The first time you go out, you don't want to be worrying about your feet when you're walking, when you're out there, you want to be enjoying yourself. So Guinea good pair of boots, breaking them in. That is the number one. That's a way, one of the ways that you can get out there and be confident and enjoy your hike boots.
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(11:23): Number two, walking poles, not a walking stick, walking pulse. You have one on each side. And the reason for that is the way physiology works. The way anatomy works. You want to be in sync and it's just like really any good gait pattern. There has to be a give and a take equally on each side. So that's why I say poles, not a walking stick because it just promotes that symmetry and efficient movement. So polls, I did not use them at first. Sammy had a pair, but I didn't think I needed them. I mean, I guess I never really asked her why she was using them. And I was like, no, I don't need polls. But everything else don't you know, I can walk on my own two feet, I guess, maybe a little bit ego involved, but we did a trail one day and we were testing some more elevation and distance.
(12:02): So this was a little bit higher and steeper and had some more distance than we've tried. So we were doing this, I just got tired. Oh my gosh, I got so tired. I was very humbled. And I noticed that she was not very tired. And she said, Hey, do you want to check these poles out and see if they help you out? And like, okay, sure, fine, whatever. So use the polls. And I started walking and, Oh my gosh, it only took a couple of hundred meters, but I was feeling what a difference they made. They help your body with movement and they help you use energy more effectively. They're great for hikes to get longer. And the train becomes more difficult because you can kind of also use them is a guide, you know, is the rock stable. Can you step up on there?
(12:38): There have been times where I've slipped and I've had my pole there and I've been able to have another point of contact, right. Instead of just my two feet now I've got four. So I just really feel a lot more in control. Especially as the terrain has gotten more difficult and technical, they help you stay to the ground and they really promote that efficient gait pattern, the left, the right movements, the symmetry. I just see polls as this smarter, not harder approach. Like if you can add anything to your gear arsenal to make this more enjoyable and less difficult, get a good set of holes and they don't have to be expensive either. I got mine for 19 bucks on Amazon. And so far they show no signs of breaking down. I've had them since early spring, summer and fall, and now I've even used them in Colorado for a few winter hikes too.
(13:20): So 19 bucks, get yourself a pair of good hiking poles and number three. Okay. Number three is probably the number one thing you should know. I want you to start short. If you are literally just getting up off the couch. Look, obviously I've had fitness experience. I crossfitted, I'm a fit human being, but be humble as well. Start short heed my advice on this start short and start as flat as you can then add in distance and then add in terrain and by terrain. I mean elevation, technicality of terrain, you know, maybe it's a little bit muddy. Maybe it's a little bit Rocky start short star flat. I cannot stress this enough that this is my number one piece of advice. Do not bite off more than you can chew if you do. The worst thing that could happen is the worst thing that can happen in that sit you abandon what could be a really enjoyable hobby for you.
(14:08): So I want to tell you a story about this and why I say start short, be humble. Don't think just because you're a super fit person in your gym, or you can lift 500 pounds or whatever that you can just dive in, dive into the deep end five years ago, Sammy and I, we went up to Rocky mountain national park. We drove 11 hours that day. We drove from Omaha all the way up to Estes park. And then a little bit North. There is the Rocky mountain national park, 11 hours. We had our campsite picked out and we were going to go on a long hike after we offloaded all of our gear at our site. I want to reiterate, I want to stress that we drove 11 hours or now at elevation. I mean, Rocky mountain. I'm not quite sure, but that's at like 10,000, 11,000 plus feet of elevation.
(14:48): So we drove 11 hours or now at elevation and we hadn't ever done anything in elevation before the only fitness experience I had was lifting weights and crusting. Okay. So this is where that, like, if you think you're in good enough shape, and then you go up to elevation, it's going to humble you. So we get our stuff unloaded and we found a three mile trail and we thought, Hey, no big. It's just three miles, right? Oh my God, you guys, it crushed us. It crushed us so hard. I can not remember anything ever being that hard and humbling before. And it was just so not enjoyable. It was awful. I hated it. We, I mean, we did it, we did it. We got back to our campsite and we were just like, that was so awful. I never want to do it again. So we didn't, we did not go back out on a hike for the entire three days.
(15:30): We're there because that first one was so freaking awful. So here we were in the middle of nowhere, we've got this beautiful scenery everywhere, the rushing water, the babbling Brooks, you know, all that stuff. And we were miserable and we never wanted to come back because we were just like, let's go all in. It did not work for us. We weren't smart about our plan. We didn't have a plan. I mean, I think we both thought that we were like, fit enough to do this. But you add in that 11 hour car ride, you add in the elevation. I mean, let me just summarize it. We didn't go on another hike for five years. So start small. This is about fitness. It is about fitness. I personally enjoy knowing that I'm getting a great workout in when I'm hiking, but I also want to enjoy what I'm doing.
(16:07): I want to see and experience the outdoors. And I'm immersed in. I like to walk, you know, I like to get my clip on, but I also like to look around and it's hard to join in the environment when you can't breathe. And you're stiff from an 11 hour car ride. And now you're fighting with your equally frustrated and exhausted spouse. So don't do what we did start small start flat this time around, we started small. We started flat and we've been adding things in and it's been such a good experience, such a good experience. Now, as you progress and you start adding a distance, you'll find that you're going to need to start carrying some things with you, right? You're gonna need some food, some snacks, some extra water bottle, always make sure you have a good utility knife on you. You're gonna have to find a good rucksack or a small backpack.
(16:46): And now, depending on how long you're going to go, or if you're going to go camping during this adventure of yours is going to determine how big of a ruck that you'll need. Most of these rucks that you'll see online, backpacks, rucksack, whatever you want to call it. They're measured in leaders. So you'll have to kind of look around. I got a large one. I got it off Amazon and I don't carry that one all the time. I have a smaller one. So if we go on a shorter hike and we know that we're not going to be camping, I don't bring, you know, the whole kitchen sink. Right. But my larger one, I carry my little mini stove, some food in it, extra water, a tent, pillow, sleeping bag, you know, things like that. So I would say if you're just starting out, just get yourself a smaller rug, a smaller one to start, you know, it could even be a backpack that you have now that you use for school.
(17:30): Your kids have, right. Something really simple. But I really like to have a few things with me, some snacks, my water and a knife. Those are really three must haves. And I'm going to put all these recommendations of mine own, but all of the gear that I've purchased and what's worked for me in the show notes. So if you're looking to like, just make your starter kit and you trust my advice, you can start where I did and everything I, I still have. Now, there was stuff I bought that I returned because it just didn't work out for me. I didn't like it. So I'll share with you everything that has worked for me. And then I have used in my ventures as well. So one of my favorite things to do when I backpack is make food. I love these freeze dried meals. And I want to give you just a hint of advice.
(18:06): I really enjoyed this in the military. When we get hot meals, hot meals out in the field when we were, we were working, but the freeze dried egg scramble. If you can find that it's a mountain house brand freeze, dried egg scramble, it is so good. I love it. In fact, a couple of months ago, we had the power go out for a day and I pulled out my little stove, metal, gas, canister, and I made a freeze dried breakfast for us. And Hey, it all worked out, right? So anyway, that's always fun. I just like sharing that little aside there. Let me tell you about the best place to find where to go. I always go to find my trails and I read user reviews at all, trails.com. They also have an app and you can use it to record your experiences there as well.
(18:43): So you can plan your trip. You can create different lists of trails. You want to try, you know, in, in States or areas or based on difficulty. I just like it. All trails is the best. So you can go to all trails.com or you can go to the app store, Google play store, and just check out all trails. I use that for pretty much everything. Athletes. I really hope that you're able to take this advice and get outdoors and experience what nature has to offer. If that's what you're interested in. I'm really enjoying this new addition to my fitness life. I love lifting weights. I love being competitive. I like looking ripped and burn and fat and you know, I'll do all of that competitive fitness stuff, but I really also like getting out in the outdoors and just decompressing the vibe outside is just so different than it is in the gym and highly recommended.
(19:26): So before we sign off with you though, I want to share a little bit more about how I've made my fitness experience while hiking more enjoyable. And that's because I use my supplements. I use reddish nutrition, apex. So to what apex, so two does is it's got beet root powder and it helps with oxygen and blood flow. So I'm going to get, get the capacity to hold more oxygen, improve my blood flow, which makes that hiking, especially at elevation even easier. I also take 3,200 milligrams of beta alanine about 30 minutes before. So it can mitigate the effects of that long, slow distance endurance training. Make no mistake that you're going to be at a low aerobic heart rate when you're doing your hikes and your recovery from this exercise is important too. So it may be enjoyable. It may be fun, but it is exercise and it is really, really good for your body too.
(20:11): So if you can mitigate some of the effects of that low, that long slow distance endurance training, which does have an effect on your muscular tissue, you can be sore. If you're testing new distance, you can be sore. If you're testing a new elevation and the very first time you do this. So this is exercise and you can prepare for the work with supplements. And that's what I do. I use apex. So to, to help with my oxygen capacity and breathing is so much easier. And then I always take my beta alanine because I know this is going to help my recovery and just make everything more enjoyable. I'm going to be able to do and hike harder and faster if that's what I wanted to do, and I'm gonna be able to recover faster as well. So remember, the cool thing is a listener of this very podcast is you can get 30% off of your first order@reddishnutrition.com with the coupon code, coach, Katie danger.
(20:57): That's all one word coach, Katie danger. So head on over to reddish nutrition.com, load up on your supplements. Make sure you put an apex so two in your cart and you'll save 30% with code coach, Katie danger athletes. Thank you so much for joining me again this week. Let me know if you have any questions on how to best prep for your hike or make your outdoors more enjoyable. I hope that you found these three beginner tips useful, and if you've got any questions, you always know how to reach me. Katie@Coachkatiedanger.Com. I hope you find some time to get some fresh air. Thank you so much. This is episode number 45 for now, though. This is coach Katie D.
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