Where in Toronto to train for hiking in Banff

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Oct 12th, 2021 9:35 pm

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Jul 17th, 2021 9:15 pm

stryder1587 [OP]: Sr. Member; Sep 14, 2007; 959 posts; 358 upvotes; Toronto

Jul 17th, 2021 9:15 pm

Where in Toronto to train for hiking in Banff

Unlike Toronto, hikes in Alberta are very vertical. I'm planning to do East end of Rundle, Big Beehive, Tower of Babel with my wife. I want to make sure we are both somewhat trained for the leg endurance to go vertically up and down for hours. But Toronto is so flat, so other than hitting the stairmaster machine, are there any hiking terrains with long steep gradients?

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Jul 18th, 2021 10:09 pm

Georgie336: Sr. Member; Dec 3, 2008; 537 posts; 137 upvotes

Jul 18th, 2021 10:09 pm

I've done the Salkantay Trail and a few high elevation gain hikes in Hawaii and Hong Kong, honestly training from Toronto your best bet is to run and do squats. Cardio is key because going from sea level to high altitude you're going to have a hard time breathing, my wife who is an avid runner was kicking my ass at altitude. I primarily train powerlifting, with some hockey mixed in FYI.

Jul 19th, 2021 7:49 am

trane0: Deal Addict; Jun 8, 2005; 3148 posts; 610 upvotes; Toronto

Jul 19th, 2021 7:49 am

Not an expert hiker, or even a mildly-able hiker, so take my advice with a grain of salt. The only trails that are somewhat comparable in the GTA are at Kelso in Milton. The trails start light inclines, but by the time you get to the top of the ski hills they switch into wooded, steeper trails. Follow along the edge of the escarpment for the nice views. There may be additional trails that give you reasonable elevation changes in Hamilton, or up north, but I'm not familiar with them.

If you're looking to do mechanical outdoor training, walking up ski hills at one of the Toronto parks (earl bales?) might help. Also it really boring, and grueling if you do it in the hot sun.

Aug 27th, 2021 4:37 pm

SauceLife: Jr. Member; Jun 12, 2017; 151 posts; 68 upvotes

Aug 27th, 2021 4:37 pm

Stairs/hills are probably your best bet. Find a solid set of stairs or hills and sprint, jog and walk them. A lot.

+2

Sep 1st, 2021 10:41 am

batcave: Deal Fanatic; Nov 14, 2003; 6027 posts; 4596 upvotes; LaLaLand

Sep 1st, 2021 10:41 am

Run up the stairs in your office building.

Do they still do the CN Tower stair climb? That was fun and really tested people's endurance. My fastest time was 12 minutes. I remember my runner friends were around 20 minutes.

Sep 8th, 2021 3:37 pm

amz155: Deal Fanatic; May 14, 2009; 6723 posts; 1457 upvotes

Sep 8th, 2021 3:37 pm

If you have the ability to, you could get or make a box (think box jump sorta thing) and use it to train. Not just stepping up and then back down but also stepping onto and over the other side of the box (hiking As you become better at it, you could throw a backpack on with some weight and start building up duration again.

P.S. Enhancing your endurance or cardio capacity at sea level doesn’t translate to a better response at elevation because the air pressure remains the same (instead of lower air pressure at higher altitudes). This is the reason why those training masks when used to ‘simulate’ lower air pressure are bogus.

Good luck!

Sep 21st, 2021 8:37 am

kenchau: Deal Guru; Apr 11, 2006; 11764 posts; 6070 upvotes; Vaughan

Sep 21st, 2021 8:37 am

If you are active and fit, you likely will be fine without. But it certainly never hurts.

A big thing with going vertical is hip flexors. People who primarily run or walk on flat grounds and don't play any sports complain of very sore hip flexors the day after an uphill trek.

Think of the motion when raising your knee to the air, that's what gets at the hip flexors because you'd be doing that repeatedly when stepping upwards (compared to horizontally). So work that muscle and stretch it - tight hip flexors can contribute to other problems.

+1

Oct 4th, 2021 1:41 pm

shikotee: Deal Fanatic; Mar 20, 2009; 8824 posts; 6752 upvotes; Toronto

Oct 4th, 2021 1:41 pm

stryder1587 wrote: ↑ Unlike Toronto, hikes in Alberta are very vertical. I'm planning to do East end of Rundle, Big Beehive, Tower of Babel with my wife. I want to make sure we are both somewhat trained for the leg endurance to go vertically up and down for hours. But Toronto is so flat, so other than hitting the stairmaster machine, are there any hiking terrains with long steep gradients?

Check out the various valley trails around Bayview/Bloor.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Enter ... 79.3740936

Instead of just hiking the trails, walk up and down every exit off the trail. The trail is at the bottom of a valley, so all exits/entrances involved vertical climb.
"Milkman's Lane" (on the map link) is all vertical.
Lots of up and down options around there.

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Oct 12th, 2021 9:35 pm

thriftshopper: Deal Fanatic; Jul 7, 2017; 9188 posts; 4708 upvotes; SW corner of the cou…

Oct 12th, 2021 9:35 pm

What's the altitude of those trails? Assuming you are fit (per above), you should be fine up to the 1,000-1,300m ASL level but tricky if it starts going above that. If it is that high or higher, do the highest elevation (and perhaps toughest one too) first and then do the easier trails. If at high altitude, you'll exhaust your haemoglobin's O2 capacity the first day of exertion (no matter how fit you are) and it'll take ~2 weeks for your body to generate more. You can't, w/o intrusive medical procedures*, generate more haemoglobin while at low altitudes.

* - Decades ago, some athletes would train at high altitude (e.g., Rocky Mountains around Colorado) for extended periods and also bank their blood. They're get transfused this blood when they went to compete at lower altitudes and would have much higher aerobic capacity than those who didn't. This practice (blood doping) wasn't banned until 1986.

As far as altitude goes, I used to be fairly fit while living at 2,000m ASL and none of my friends visiting from low altitudes could keep up with me. I remember one time where I was mountain biking on this trail with a steady 1,500' elevation gain. Passed this younger chick (I was early 30s at the time) heading up on her MTB on the way up, passed her again going down, passed her again going up, and again going down, and caught up to her again just as she got to the top.

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