My PT recommended these 3 hiking exercises to stay injury-free on the trails this summer

Whether you're climbing a mountain or just exploring your local trails, hiking is a demanding activity on the legs. The uneven terrain and changing elevation put extra stress on your joints - even in a good pair of walking shoes or hiking sandals.

It requires doing a good few sets of hiking exercises to prepare. I've felt enough twinges in my knees going downhill and rolled my ankle to know that.

Recent injuries have meant I haven't been strength training as often as normal. Nervous about my upcoming holiday to the Jurassic Coast, I asked a physiotherapist and personal trainer for their exercise recommendations to help me enjoy the rocky terrain a little more.

Hiking exercises

1. Slow eccentric squat

The squat is a classic compound movement, working the quadriceps, calves, and glutes - all important hiking muscles. The slow lowering (eccentric) phase in this squat is what matters, though, says personal trainer Anya Russell, who demonstrates the exercises.

"It's training your legs to control your body weight going downhill. This is exactly what a descent asks of you. Doing it for four seconds is the eccentric work that builds trail-resilient legs," she says.

Here's how to do it:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Lower yourself down over three to four seconds, hold the bottom, then drive back up.
• Start with body weight and progress to a kettlebell or dumbbells from there.
• Aim for three sets of 10 to 12 reps.

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You'll need a good set of dumbbells if you're going to do these exercises at home. Anya recommends using one for the goblet squats, and as you get stronger, you can graduate from bodyweight to weighted step downs and calf raises.

2. Step downs

Step downs are considered the 'gold standard' for preventing hiker's knee. This exercise forces your gluteus medius (one of the muscles in your buttocks) to better stabilise your pelvis, stopping your knee from collapsing inwards.

How to do it:

• Stand on a step or bench - hold onto the wall if you need support.
• Keeping one foot on the step, lean forward and slowly lower your other foot toward the floor, tap the toes lightly, and drive through the heel of the front leg to come back up.
• Keep your knee tracking over your toes, with no caving inward.
• Aim for three sets of 10 each side.

3. Single-leg calf raise

The single-leg calf raise gets overlooked as it's a slower movement, and most people prefer doing squats. But it's important to focus on your calves as a standalone muscle, says Anya.

"They are shock absorbers on every single step, so leaving them underprepared is a fast track to Achilles issues or a rolled ankle when you're tired."

Here's how to do it:

• Stand on one foot (hold a wall for balance if you need it).
• Rise up onto your toes, then lower slowly.
• Try three sets of 12-15 each side.

How to train for hiking

Hiking is very different to a simple walking workout. You'll need good cardiovascular fitness and a strong body.

"Ankle sprains most often happen when your muscles are tired and can't respond quickly enough to uneven ground. The fitter and stronger you are going in, the more protected you are. Not just at the start, but six hours in when your form has gone to pieces," says Anya. "Strong legs also mean stronger tendons and ligaments, better knee and ankle stability, and a much more enjoyable descent.”

Building strength and endurance is essential for avoiding injury and making the hike feel easier - and not just when going uphill. "You might think that less effort is required going downhill, but it's still quite a challenging task for your knees," says Helen O’Leary, physiotherapist at Complete Pilates.

"As you descend, your quadriceps need to lengthen under tension, and this requires what is called ‘eccentric’ strength. Training the quadriceps in general, but particularly for eccentric strength, is really beneficial for reducing this pain," she explains.

Plenty of vigorous and moderate-intensity exercise will help you build your cardio fitness, but eccentric exercises like the ones above will help protect you on the trails.

Tips for doing hiking exercises

• Focus on the lower leg muscles too: You need more than quadriceps and glute exercises to stay strong on the trails. "Calves, ankles, and ankle mobility are almost always an afterthought, and when your ankles aren't doing their job, your knees pay for it on every downhill step," says Anya.
• Prioritise stability: Anya sees many clients who only concentrate on forward and back movement and fail to build “the side-to-side stability" that hiking demands. “Quad-dominant training with weak hamstrings throws off your gait and increases injury risk over time - balance matters as much as total strength,” she explains. Along with the routine above, add in crab walks, skaters, sideways step-ups, or sideways lunges.
• Remember to train your core: "Good core strength helps you to transfer forces from lower limb to upper limb, and vice versa, which is part of what drives movement when you are walking," says Helen. Building a stronger core doesn't mean sit-ups, though. You could do farmer's carry exercises, scissors, or even the dead bug exercise, provided you do them with light weights.
• Don't neglect your upper body: Even if you're not using hiking poles, the upper body works hard. Helen recommends using weights to strengthen your shoulder muscles, triceps and biceps.
• Give yourself time: “People book a hiking trip, do a week or two of squats, and wonder why their legs gave out on day one,” says Anya. She suggests doing at least six to eight weeks of leg training to build up strength gradually.

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