Fitness recap - let the hiking season begin

I’ve had some busy weeks and weather that doesn’t know it’s spring, and all I want is to get out walking and taking photos! While writing this, we had a day with wind gusts up to 67 km/h and a feels-like temperature of -2C. How does that sound for the end of March?

In these posts I join a weekly link-up to share my weekly fitness routine and the ups and downs during the week with barbells, walking shoes or else. This is good for accountability, for my own documentation, the fitness/running blogger community is lovely, and I hope these posts might inspire someone to start lifting weights and generally getting more active. I usually also add in some bits from everyday life as well as some photos. Let’s get into it!

During the past two weeks I’ve done some good things in the gym, including successful 55 kg deadlifts, good bench presses and squats, and I managed to do 45 kg split squats. Happy days!

Some good walks have happened lately even if they were few:

With all the cold and windy weather, there hasn’t been much movement happening here other than lifting weights. Let’s talk about how this week played out.

Monday – strength training at home

Monday was St Patrick’s day, and we actually stayed at home. I’m all for celebrating St Patrick’s day but it means hanging out in packed pubs, and last year I got the flu afterwards and missed the local whiskey festival the weekend after. This year I had decided to do what I could to be in form for the festival, and the weather was awful – windy and with a feels-like temp of 2C, so we didn’t even go to see the parade (which is quite uninteresting anyway in our town, with mostly schools and sports teams participating).

In the late afternoon I enjoyed a short strength session with bilateral dumbbell rows, Renegade rows, shoulder press, bicep curls and tricep presses.

Tuesday

Another cold day and I stayed inside all day to work.

Wednesday – gym

Finally a proper gym session, and this one was massive. We started with some soft exercises for the legs, but we went back to 12 reps. There is nothing soft about that! We’ve cut weight on the leg exercises after a muscle issue I had in my lower back/glute last week, but all the other exercises were still with the heavier weights.

3 sets x 12 reps

Sumo squats, barbell 40 kgs
Lunges, 10 kg dumbbells
Bench press, barbell 37,5 kgs
Renegade row, 9 kg dumbbells
Straight arm pullovers, 9 kg dumbbells
Dumbbell row, 17,5 kg
Upright row, barbell 20 kgs
Lateral raise, 7 kg dumbbells

While I love the feeling of doing a heavier squat, these sumo squats felt really good, and same with the lunges. With the lower weight I could focus more on depth, and with 12 reps it was still a decent challenge.

The rest was tough! These were the same weight as I did with 8 reps earlier, and it was all about attitude to keep myself going.

Thursday

I expected some hardcore DOMS especially in the shoulders, but I was actually fine. It was a fantastic spring day and it would have been the perfect day to go for a walk, but I had a dentist appointment at a stupid time of the day. I probably need to go out early in the morning on days like this if I’ll get out at all, but will wait until it’s a bit warmer.

Friday – gym

After my post-hiking foot injury last year I’ve been looking at different options for hiking shoes and recently I started losing patience with trying shoes I didn’t know if they would work. I just want to enjoy a good hike! Altra hasn’t failed me yet but I still think my old Lone Peaks have a bit too much cushioning, so I went back to their website to look at their Superior model (which is a lower trail shoe they’ve had in the past) but saw it was now gone from the shop.

Instead I found there is a new Lone Peak model called Lone Peak 9+ with various improvements, most importantly a Vibram Megagrip outsole. This is the same material I had on those Italian hiking boots, and the grip is the one thing I really liked with them. I decided to give these new Lone Peaks a try since the price was quite decent compared to most other hiking shoe options. Today they arrived!

The colours are insane! But all my leggings and most other athletic clothes are black, so a splash of colour doesn’t hurt.

At first I felt like “these are so stiff compared to what I’m used to” but when I put them on they were actually very nice. There are some other improvements that I’m happy about – the cushioning is different and they don’t feel as “spongy” as my old Lone Peaks, and they have much more support around the heel, where the old ones were a bit too flimsy.

These should work fine for the 2025 hiking season and I can’t wait to get out there!

In the afternoon it was gym time.

3 sets x 12 reps

Diagonal lunges, barbell 20 kgs
Hexbar deadlifts, 43 kgs
Flyes, 8 kg dumbbells
Bench press, 12,5 kg dumbbells
Bilateral dumbbell row, 12,5 kg dumbbells
Good mornings, barbell 30 kgs
Bent-over lateral raise, 7 kg dumbbells
Shoulder press, barbell 15 kgs

We still go easy on the legs, and the lighter hexbar deadlift was like a walk in the park compared to what I’m used to. Everything else was a good challenge, but again I was surprised how well I managed particularly the shoulder exercises – and particularly the shoulder press which is one of my hardest exercises.

After my session we went straight to Cork for the whiskey festival! I had tickets for the brand expo which is the more interesting part since you can discover new brands, make new connections and check out their products. The venue is anything but photography-friendly (too dark) but we had a good time, tasted some good whiskeys and had good conversations with various people.

Saturday

A soft day with some walking in Cork.

Sunday

Today is a beautiful sunny day but SO windy. I’d love a walk but not with these strong winds!

Instead I did some deadbugs, various hip mobility exercises, and heel raises.

This coming week should be fairly straightforward, and the weather forecast looks mostly good so far. Could this be a week of good walks? We’ll see.

I hope you are doing well and that you’ve had a good, active week. Thanks Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly rundown link-up!

14 responses to “Fitness recap – let the hiking season begin”

Kimberly Hatting

Well, I think those new hikers are beautiful! I’d be excited to get out and break them in! I’m hoping to get outside for a walk later…at the moment it’s windy (I know, big shocker). It’s also damp and cold.

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1. Susanne
  
  I do like them! I just found the colour combination purple-pink/orange was quite odd, but then realised it is quite appealing, even according to science (the colour wheel), haha! I’ll take them out for a walk tomorrow!
  Let’s hope both of us get rid of those strong winds asap.
  
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Deborah Brooks

Yay to feeling strong in the gym! It is the best feeling! I am sometimes surprised by when I am sore and when I am not. I also love to get out for walks as often as possible hope you have great weather this week

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1. Susanne
  
  I think DOMS is so random! After that session my shoulders felt smashed but the next day I only felt the sumo squats, which were quite easy. Very odd! This evening the forecast looks excellent for the beginning of the week, so tomorrow morning I’ll definitely go out for a walk. I think I need to make a plan for my walking and follow it strictly unless it’s really bad out there. I’ve been a bit too lazy with it recently.
  
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Melissa

Oh, I’m loving the colors on those hiking shoes! Are they comfy? They look big but not too bulky. And hooray for feeling strong! It’s so hit or miss. Last Sunday I did some of my usual chest workout and upped my weights. Today I was back down again. Hope you have good weather and not so much wind this week!

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1. Susanne
  
  I’m liking the colours more and more! I could possibly have a half size smaller but also don’t want to risk that my big toe hits into the front of the shoe when I walk uphill, and this is the same size as my old Altras so they should work. I’ve almost exclusively used barefoot shoes recently so they do feel bulky, but very comfortable. I really like that the cushioning doesn’t have that spongy feel to it.
  
  That’s great that you’ve upped your weights! The form of the day is very relevant to how I feel during a workout but I just keep pushing anyway and accept that perhaps I don’t hit the same number of reps as I did another day.
  
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Wendy

It’s been windy here too! It was also windy when I was in California last week. Not sure why it is so windy everywhere, but it can stop any time now!

Great job with the weights. I am a big fan of sumo squats. We don’t get to do them enough at my gym!

Here in the US, St Patrick’s Day is a big holiday and an excuse for people to get really drunk and stupid. Been there done that lol and now we just stay home. My hubs makes lamb stew and we have Guinness. So good!

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1. Susanne
  
  I love sumo squats! It’s one of my favourite exercises.
  I think that’s the thing with St Patrick’s day here too – it is a big family holiday but in the evening in the pubs, oh boy do people know how to party! I’m glad you have a good way to celebrate and get some Guinness too. We usually go to the parade and then play music in a pub somewhere.
  
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Jenny

Altras for the win! Those sound like they’ll be perfect. I agree the color is… vibrant… but that’s the case with so many athletic shoes nowadays. Those will definitely look good with black leggings.
Nice work in the gym! As usual, I’m looking to you for motivation.
I didn’t celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at all this year, but I have, in the past! I like beer, but it doesn’t really work on a Monday night these days.
I hope you get some nice hiking weather!

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1. Susanne
  
  Vibrant is the perfect word, haha! I was planning to go for a short walk this morning to try them “in the (almost) wild”, but it’s around freezing temp outside (Like, WTF).
  Yes, I wonder how people do it with Paddy’s day celebrations when it’s on a weekday like this year and they are “drinkers”. Perhaps they go ahead as usual and accept the suck the next day.
  
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Darlene S Cardillo

Those are pretty shoes.

I used Alta lone peaks to cure my neuroma… they were so comfortable but not for running. I wear Topos.

I was stuck in DC an extra day so missed st patrick’s day.

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1. Susanne
  
  My husband just bought a pair of Topos to try them out. I looked at their lowest shoe to use for regular walking but then I didn’t find a place to buy them in the EU, and the reviews weren’t fantastic. My husband found a shop in Germany so if he likes them I might buy a pair later. With my old Lone Peaks and those newer shoes from Bahé I should be ok for walking shoes for a while.
  
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Anne

Those shoes are practically emitting electricity! I hope they work out. I need to buy new walking shoes and debating between new version of what I have (Saucony Ride) vs. going back to an old favorite (Brooks Ghost). The Ghost got too firm but they have a new “Max” version that is supposed to be more cushioned. Online reviews are mixed. Sigh. Why are shoes so difficult to find?

I need to start working on my hiking goal! You inspire me, with your beautiful walks. I hope they are becoming more frequent as your weather (hopefully) warms.

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1. Susanne
  
  It’s really hard with shoes! These are working very well for me so far, at the moment they’re the walking shoes my feet are happiest with, but I also don’t want to wear them out on the road because really I bought them for trails. But now my feet don’t like my old Altras anymore (they may be too worn out after all) and I’m not sure yet how my feet like the more minimal shoes from Bahé for longer distances than 4-5k (and as you know, I like longer distances than that!). I’m looking into getting Altra Escalante for everyday walking. Just that… I’ve spent so much money on shoes lately.
  
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