Hiking

How to do it

1. Set your poles to a length that lets the elbows sit near ninety degrees.
2. Settle into a walking rhythm you could hold for hours before adding terrain.
3. Plant the opposite pole as each foot lands to share the load with the arms.
4. Shorten your stride and keep the torso upright as the grade steepens.
5. Control the descent with bent knees and let the poles take some of the braking.
6. Ease the pace over the last stretch and stand tall to recover your breathing.

Common mistakes

• Overstriding uphill, which spikes knee load and drains the quads early.
• Locking the knees on descent, so braking force goes into the joints instead of the muscles.
• Carrying poles without using them, which wastes their load-sharing effect.
• Choosing terrain far above current conditioning, which is where most trail injuries start.