My Knees Hurt
Strength is key to enjoying the mountains
- Sore knees on the trails?
- Lack of confidence on descents and fear of falling?
- Cracking sounds that last more than two days?
There is a solution: it's called adaptation and it's achieved through strength training. It improves performance in leisure activities and, above all, quality of life as we get older.
Age vs. Capacity: Many young people (eighteen to thirty years old) complain as if they were eighty. But being sixty or seventy years old is not invalidating. The example of Carlos Soria, who at eighty-six years old summited Manaslu (8,163 m), reminds us that the body can perform if we educate it and support it. It's not about "wanting is power," but about adapting, progressing, and being consistent.
When there are injuries or pathologies, it's important to consult a healthcare professional for advice. Cases like a torn meniscus (operated or without meniscus), herniated discs, osteoarthritis... it's often said these are normal aging processes, but that doesn't mean we can't control them. The body's adaptation to load can determine how we feel. Today we know that the body can reabsorb some hernias and that surgery isn't always necessary, as conservative and active interventions with exercise usually yield better results. The goal is to strengthen the muscular chain to protect the skeleton.
Two systems that must go hand in hand
- Muscular system: we must take care of it (nutrition, hydration, rest) and stimulate it by building strength so it creates strong fibers.
- Skeletal system: this must last us until the end of this journey; if we don't support it with muscle, it eventually complains (osteoarthritis, hernias, pain).
It's never too late to start. Muscles are functional, not decorative. Working on strength will allow you to move better and put less strain on your skeleton in the mountains... and also in your day-to-day life.
If you want to learn more about strength exercises you can do at home, or how to eat and drink to take care of your body on mountain trails, we will give you some recommendations in future blog posts.