Tag Archives: Hillfit

August 20, 2012 · 2:00 AM

Six Weeks of Hillfit

Last January I wrote a favorable review of Chris Highcock’s Hillfit strength training program for hikers.  A few months ago I actually followed the the program for six weeks, and I still like it.  It’s an eye-opener.

See my prior review for details of the program.  Briefly, you do four exercises (requiring no special equipment) for fifteen minutes twice a week.  Who doesn’t have time for that?

Wanna arm wrestle?

I did modify the program a bit.  I included high-intensity intervals on a treadmill twice weekly, right after my Hillfit exercises.  Here’s the 15-minute treadmill workout: 3 minute warm-up at 5.3 mph, then one minute fast jogging at 7–8 mph, then one minute of easy jog at 5.3 mpg. Alternate fast and slow running like that for 6 cycles.  So my total workout time was 30 minutes twice weekly.

Why the treadmill HIIT (high intensity interval training)?  For endurance.  I’m still not convinced that strength training alone is adequate for the degree of muscular and cardiopulmonary endurance I want.  I’m not saying it isn’t adequate.  That’s a self-experiment for another day.  In 2013, I’m planning to hike Arizona’a Grand Canyon rim to rim with my son’s Boy Scout troop.  That’s six or eight miles down, sleep-over, then six or eight  miles back up the other side of the canyon.  That takes strength and endurance.

One part of the program I wasn’t good at: Chris recommends taking about 10 seconds to complete each exercise motion.  For example, if you’re doing a push-up, take 10 seconds to go down to the horizontal position, and 10 seconds to return up to starting position with arms fully extended.  I forgot to do it that slowly, taking five or six seconds each way instead.

I’ve preached about the benefits of baseline and periodic fitness measurements.  Here are mine, before and after six weeks of Hillfit and treadmill HIIT:

  • weight: no real change (168 lb or 76.2 kg rose to 170 lb or 77.3 kg)
  • body mass index: no change (23.3)
  • resting heart rate and blood pressure: not done
  • maximum consecutive push-ups: 30 before, 34 after
  • maximum consecutive pull-ups: 7 before, 8 after
  • maximum consecutive sit-ups: 30 before, 37 after
  • time for one-mile walk/run: 8 minutes and 45 seconds before, down to 8 minutes and 35 seconds after
  • vertical jump (highest point above ground I can jump and touch): 108.75 inches or 276 cm before, to 279.5 cm after
  • waist circumference: no real change (92 cm standing/87 cm supine before, 92.5 cm standing/87.5 cm supine after)
  • biceps circumference: no real change (33 cm left and 33.5 cm right before; 33 cm left and 33 cm right after)
  • calf circumference: 39.5 cm left and 39 cm right, before; 38.5 cm left and 37 cm right, after (not the same child measuring me both times)
  • toe touch (stand and lock knees, bend over at waist to touch toes: 7.5 inches (19 cm) above ground before, 8.5 inches (22 cm) after

If these performance numbers seem puny to you, please note that I’m 57-years-old.  I’m not sure exactly where I stand among others my age, but I suspect I’m in the top half.  I’m fit enough to be in the U.S. Army (I’m not in it, however).  I’m sure I could do much better if I put in the time and effort.  My goal right now is to achieve or maintain a reasonable level of fitness without the five hours a week of exercise recommended by so may public health authorities.

Take-Home Points

Overall, this program improved my level of fitness over six weeks, with a minimal time commitment.  I credit Hillfit for the gains in push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and perhaps vertical jump.

My time on the one-mile run didn’t improve much, if at all.  This fits with my preconceived notion that strength training might not help me with leg muscle  and cardiopulmonary endurance.

The Hillfit exercise progressions involve adding weights to a backpack (aka rucksack or knapsack) before you start the exercise.  I’m already up to 80 lb (36 kg) extra weight on the modified row, and 85 lb (39 kg) on the hip extensions.  That’s getting unwieldy and straining the seams of my backpack.  I can’t see going much higher with those weights.

I expect I could easily maintain my current level of fitness by continuing Hillfit and HIIT treadmill work at my current levels of intensity.  In only one hour per week.  Not bad at all.

It’s possible I could get even stronger if I stuck to the program longer, or slowed down my movements to the recommended 10 seconds each way.

The key to muscle strength gain with Hillfit seems to be working the muscles steadily, to near-exhaustion over 90 seconds, gradually adding a higher work load as the days or weeks pass.

I’m setting Hillfit aside for now, only because I want to start a new self-experiment.

Hillfit is an excellent time-efficient strength training program for those with little resistance-training background, or for those at low to moderate levels of current fitness.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Note to self:

When doing a mile run on the treadmill, I tend to start out too fast, then burn out and have to slow down.  That may be impairing my performance.  Next time, start at 7 mph for a couple minutes then try to increase speed.  Running a mile at 7 mph takes nine minutes.  A mile at 7.5 mph takes 8 minutes.  A mile at 8 mph takes 7 minutes and 30 seconds.

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July 8, 2012 · 4:02 PM

Starting a Fitness Program? Get Baseline Measurements First

Impressive jump!

Before beginning or modifying a fitness program, it’s helpful to take some baseline physical measurements. Re-measure periodically. That way you’ll know whether you’re making progress, holding steady, or regressing. Improving your numbers also helps to maintain motivation.

Not taking measurements would be like starting a weight loss plan without a baseline and subsequent weights.

Eighteen months ago, I finished a home-based, 15-week, six-days-a-week fitness program called Core Performance, designed by Mark Verstegen. I was pleased with the results. The only problem is that it’s very time-consuming, 45-60 minutes a day. Perhaps fitness just has to be that way.

I regret that I didn’t take any fitness measurements before and after starting Core Performance.

For much of the last year, I modified Core Performance to a thrice weekly, then twice weekly program, until a couple months ago when I pretty much abandoned it. I miss the benefits now, but just didn’t want to put in the time to achieve them. In other words, I lost my motivation.

Who needs this much flexibility?

Intellectually, I know that regular exercise is important. I’ve read that you can be fairly fit with as little as 30 minutes of exercise a week. I’m not entirely convinced yet. I’ll be test-driving some of these time-efficient programs over the next 12 months.  One I’ve done already is Hillfit.

This new style of fitness is promoted by the likes of Dr. Doug McGuff, Chris Highcock, Skyler Tanner, Nassim Taleb, and Jonathan Bailor, among others.

What to Measure

  1. Weight
  2. Blood pressure
  3. Resting heart rate (first thing in the AM before getting out of bed)
  4. Waist circumference (upright and supine)
  5. Height
  6. Body mass index
  7. Mid-arm circumference, both arms, hanging relaxed at your sides
  8. Maximal calf circumference, both calves, while standing at ease
  9. Maximum number of consecutive pull-ups
  10. Maximum number of consecutive push-ups
  11. Run/walk one mile as fast as you can
  12. Maximum vertical jump (stand by a tall wall then jump and reach up as high as you can with one arm, noting the highest point above ground your fingers can reach)
  13. Can you touch your toes? Stand up straight, locking knees in extension, then bend over at your waist and touch your toes with your fingertips. If you can touch toes, can you flatten your palms against the floor? If you can’t reach your toes, measure the distance from your fingertips to the floor.
  14. Optional blood work for special situations: fasting blood sugar, hemoglobin A1c, triglycerides, cholesterols (total, HDL, LDL, sub-fractions)

The particular aspects of fitness these measure are strength and endurance in major muscle groups, cardiovascular and pulmonary endurance, a little flexibility, and a hint of body composition.

You may appreciate an assistant to help you measure some of these.

It’a long list.  If too long, just do what you think is important.  Record your numbers. Re-test some or all of these periodically, such as every six weeks after making a change.

If you’re in fairly poor condition at the outset, you’ll see some improved numbers after a couple or three weeks of a good exercise program. It takes months to build significant muscle mass; you’ll see improved strength and endurance before mass.

Am I missing anything?

Steve Parker, M.D.

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May 10, 2012 · 2:00 AM

Time to Update Your Strength Training Regimen?

Not Chris Highcock

Strength training, also called resistance training, is an important method for controlling blood sugars without drugs in folks with diabetes.

A few months ago I read Hillfit: Stength, an ebook  by Chris Highcock of Conditioning Research.  It’s about  improvement of hiking skills and enjoyment via strength training with without having to join a gym or buy lots of equipment.  I’ve been on Chris’s program for the last five weeks.

One of the scientific review articles he cites in support of his recommendations is an eye-opener.  Evidence-Based Resistance Training Recommendations is available free online.  It’s published in Medicina Sportiva, which I’m not familiar with.  I’ll confess I’ve read little of the hard-core literature on the science of strength training.  It’s one of my more recent interests.

An excerpt:

We recommend that appreciably the same muscular strength and endurance adaptations can be attained by performing a single set of ~8-12 repetitions to momentary muscular failure, at a repetition duration that maintains muscular tension throughout the entire range of motion, for most major muscle groups once or twice each week. All resistance types (e.g. free-weights, resistance machines, bodyweight, etc.) show potential for increases in strength, with no significant difference between them, although resistance machines appear to pose a lower risk of injury.

The article has got me questioning some of my long-held notions, such as how often to work out, number of reps moving a weight, speed of moving a weight, and whether I should stick with the free weights I tend to prefer.  Why not see if your dogma is supported?  Worth a look.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Fisher, James, et al.  Evidence-based resistance training recommendations.  Medicina Sportiva, 15 (2011): 147-162.

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February 29, 2012 · 11:20 AM

Review of Chris Highcock’s Hillfit

Chris Highcock over at Conditioning Research has just released a new ebook on strength training for hikers: Hillfit: Strength.  Hiking is one of my favorite hobbies.  I particularly like walking up hills and mountains.  If you’re ready to reap the benefits of resistance training, this jargon-free plan is an excellent starting point, and may be all you’ll ever need.  Even if you never go hiking.

Chris is a fitness columnist for “TGO (The Great Outdoors).”  He lives and hikes in Scotland.  Chris’s goal with the program is to increase your enjoyment of hiking by increasing your level of fitness. 

He clearly presents four basic home exercises requiring no special equipment; they’re bodyweight exercises.  You get it done in 15 minutes twice a week!  The key is to do one set of each exercise, slowly, to exhaustion.  What’s slow?  Ten seconds for both lift and lowering.  For instance, when you do the push-up, you push up over  the course of 10 seconds, then let your body down slowly over 10 seconds.  The exercises are for both upper and lower body.

I’m reading about similar exercise ideas from Skyler Tanner, Doug McGuff, Nassim Taleb, Jonathan Bailor, and Doug Robb.  Bailor, in his recent book, also recommends only four exercises.  Highcock’s look a little safer for rank beginners. 

The idea is to recruit three different types of muscle fiber during the muscle’s movement.  If you move explosively and finish too soon (get your mind out of the gutter!), you’re only using  one type of muscle fiber (fast twitch, I think).  You want to stimulate a strength and growth response in all three types of muscle fiber.  And explosive or rapid movements are more likely to cause injury, without any benefit. 

Once you get the basic program down, Chris takes you through some easy variations (called progressions) to make the exercises gradually harder, so you continue to improve your strength and fitness. 

Chris understands that many folks can’t do a single push-up.  He takes you through pre-push-up movements to get you prepared  to do actual push-ups.  This goes for all four exercises.  I bet even my little old lady patients could use this program.  (This is not blanket clearance for everybody to use this program; I don’t need the lawsuits.  Get clearance from your own doctor first.)

The exercises incorporate our five basic movements: push, pull, squat, bend/hinge, walk/gait.  The four exercises are: wall sit (squat), push-up, modified row, and hip extension.

My only criticism of the book is that Chris should have used young, attractive, bikini-clad models to illustrate the exercises.  The existing photos are clear and helpful, however.

But seriously, the only suggestion I have for the next version of Hillfit would be to mention that it will take a couple or three weeks to see much, if any, improvement in strength once you start the program.  Same for when you increase the workload with the exercise progressions.  Perhaps this is in there, but I missed it.  You don’t want people quitting in frustration that they’re not seeing progress soon enough.

The author provides scientific references in support of his program, so he didn’t just make this stuff up.  Only one of the references involved mice!

Several “take home” points for me personally are: 1) stretching before or after exercise does nothing to prevent injury or soreness, and may hurt short-term athletic performance, 2) don’t hold your breath, 3) train to “momentary muscular failure.”  I’m not entirely sure what momentary muscular failure means.  It may not be Chris’s term, but it’s prominent in one of his best scientific references.  I use free weights and don’t think I can safely go 100% to momentary muscular failure.  Hitting momentary muscular failure, by the way, is more important than the amount of weight you’re moving.

Highly recommended.

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: I’d like to see Hillfit available on Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes and Noble’s Nook.

PPS: When you go to the Hillfit website to order, you’ll find the price is £9.95 (that’s GBP, British pounds sterling).  I’ve never ordered anything priced in GBP.  In today’s U.S. dollars, that’s a little under $16.00.  You can pay via PayPal or a major credit card.  I assume the conversion from one currency to another is automatic and seamless.  I don’t know if there’s a extra fee by the payment processor for doing the conversion.

Disclosure:  Chris kindly sent me a free digital copy of his ebook.  I don’t know Chris.  I will receive no remuneration for this review, nor for book sales.

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