How do I train for hiking without a hiking bench?

Hiking is a long, near-static quad effort, so train long holds. A wall sit or split-squat hold works. Start at 3 sets of 20 to 30 seconds and build to 45 to 60 seconds over six weeks.

Sailing fitness guide

Sailing workouts: a weekly plan for dinghy sailors

Q: What should sailing workouts train?

Sailing workouts should train what the boat actually asks for: legs that hold a long, near-static hike, a trunk that lasts, and enough conditioning to stay sharp late in a race. Two strength days, one hiking session and one or two conditioning sessions a week is a solid start. Build it around your regattas.

By Julian Soto · physical therapy education · 14 years coaching · head sailing coach, California Yacht Club · training for LA28

The short answer: sailing workouts should train what the boat actually asks for: legs that hold a long, near-static hike, a trunk that lasts, and enough conditioning to stay sharp late in a race. Two strength days, one hiking session and one or two conditioning sessions a week is a solid start. Build it around your regattas.

The week

Day	Session	Time
Mon	Strength A: legs and pull	45 min
Tue	Steady cardio: bike, row or swim	30–45 min
Wed	Hiking session	20–30 min
Thu	Strength B: hinge and push	45 min
Fri	Short hard intervals, or rest before sailing	20 min
Sat–Sun	Sail. Treat sailing days as hard days.	—

This week is coaching convention, not a tested protocol. Don't stack heavy legs the day before a regatta.

Strength A: legs and pull

Squat or leg press: 3 × 8
Split squat: 3 × 8 per side
Row: 3 × 10
Side plank: 2 × 30 seconds per side

Strength B: hinge and push

Hip hinge (Romanian deadlift): 3 × 8
Lunge: 3 × 8 per side
Overhead press or push-up: 3 × 10
Dead bug: 2 × 8 per side

Hiking session

Hiking is a long, near-static quad effort, so train long holds. No bench? A wall sit or split-squat hold works.

Weeks 1–2: 3 × 20–30 seconds, easy effort
Weeks 3–4: 30–45 seconds
Weeks 5–6: 45–60 seconds, or add light load
Weeks 7–8: repeat bouts with short rests, like a beat

Stop a set when form breaks, not when it burns. If knees or low back are sore the next day, drop back one step.

Why these workouts

Legs first. In lab studies, stronger quads went with less leg fatigue and better sailing level (Bourgois, 2016).
Hiking itself. In 24 highly trained sailors, adding two hiking-bench sessions a week for 8 weeks was followed by lower oxygen cost and muscle activation while hiking (Pan, 2024).
Trunk and shoulders. Injury records point to the low back, neck and shoulder (Landsberg, 2023; Crunkhorn, 2022). That these exercises prevent injury is my inference, not a tested result.

How strong is this? Moderate for quad strength, thin for the rest. Most sailing research is small and observational, and I found no randomized trial of a general strength program in dinghy sailors.

When to see a clinician

Soreness that fades in a few days is expected. See your doctor or physical therapist first for pain that is sharp, keeps worsening, wakes you at night, spreads down a limb, comes with numbness or weakness, or follows a fall or boom strike. This page is coaching, not diagnosis or treatment.

Want this built around your regatta calendar?

Start the two-minute intake, then a 15-minute call.

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Sources

Bourgois et al. J Sports Sci, 2016. doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2015.1082613
Pan et al. Eur J Sport Sci, 2024. doi.org/10.1002/ejsc.12118
Landsberg and Hunt. Wilderness Environ Med, 2023. doi.org/10.1016/j.wem.2023.03.002
Crunkhorn et al. J Sci Med Sport, 2022. doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2022.06.012