Invest time in strengthening your lower body and make those hills your friends rather than foe. By Duncan Grant

The best way to improve your ability to walk up hills is to walk up hills. Discover your local peaks and make them part of a loop. Wear a backpack and progressively fill it with more weight as you gain strength. 

At home, try these three bang-for-buck exercises. I recommend doing them twice a week on non-consecutive days. No gym membership is needed, and the benefits can be achieved with just a backpack. Try to have some flexibility in the days on which you exercise so you’re not going into a weekend tramp with fatigued legs. 

Heel raises 

Aim for 6–8 repetitions, three rounds on each leg with over a minute’s rest between rounds.  

Use a stick for balance and stand on one leg. Rise up onto your toes to the count of three and slowly lower to the count of three. This helps to strengthen your calves, which are the power houses on steep sections. 

Make it harder: Perform it over the edge of a step. Increase pack weight. 

Step-ups

Aim for 6–8 times, three rounds on each leg with over a minute’s rest in between.  

Place one foot onto a box or bench and step up, trying to use only that leg. Take support from a stick if required. Stand up nice and tall as you lift your second leg. Then, slowly lower yourself back down to the count of two. This helps to strengthen your thighs and glutes for both up and downhills. 

Make it harder: Use a higher step. Increase pack weight. 

Hinge and lift

Aim for 6–8 times, three rounds on each leg with over a minute’s rest in between. 

Stand over your pack with the straps facing upwards. Hold 

the straps and bend your knees slightly. Then push through your legs as you bring your hips forward and stand up nice and tall, lifting the pack off the ground. 

Try to keep your back and arms straight throughout the movement. This strengthens muscles for pushing up the hills: your lower back, glutes and the backs of your thighs. 

Make it harder: Increase pack weight.