I have to admit that none of my friends were totally newbies in training. One of my friend is a hobby cyclist and he bicycles three hours, three times a week, quite intensely, and he also competes. This guy was in the best shape, he is also 18 pounds lighter than me. The two other guys are also around 18 pounds lighter than me, had lighter back packs, and only did train some sort of interval or circle training.
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I guess I will try to some step-work, and try to loose some 10-15 pounds and maybe also start doing S and S again. I also think I will put in some time on my stationary bicyle, I kind of like it.
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I think my hiking speed on flat terrain is good enough, but I get a bit too easily tired when hiking steep hills. I get acid in my legs and starts breathing heavily. But as some of you have noticed for themselves, the S and S and general kettlebell work seem to improve the ability to recover after a day of hard hiking.