HikeStrong Podcast
The HikeStrong Podcast is where I share practical guidance on hiking, backpacking, and trekking preparation. Each episode blends fitness insight with real-world training strategies to help you build strength, endurance, and confidence for any trail.
I sit down with guests to break down how to train for demanding hiking, backpacking, and trekking goals using smart strength training, endurance training, and conditioning approaches. You’ll hear clear advice on altitude training, uphill training, and injury prevention, all woven into training conversations that support preparation for major destinations such as Kilimanjaro, Everest Base Camp, Rim to Rim, Tour du Mont Blanc, the Camino de Santiago, Patagonia, Machu Picchu, the Alps, and the Dolomites.
Because training is never one‑size‑fits‑all, I also bring listeners inside real programs. In select episodes, I interview clients in a deep‑dive format that reveals week‑by‑week training details — real data, real challenges, and real solutions — offering a clearer picture of how people actually prepare for hiking, backpacking, and trekking goals.
A cornerstone of my approach is elevation‑gain training. I believe that consistently building weekly elevation gain is one of the strongest predictors of success on any major adventure. In each episode, I share clear, actionable ways to develop that strength — even if you don’t have access to hiking terrain — so you can stay on track whether you train on hills, treadmills, stair machines, or step‑ups.
If you're preparing for a major trip, gearing up for a multi-day backpacking route, or building a long-term plan for tougher hiking or trekking challenges, you’ll find episodes that support every step of your training.
Beyond training, some episodes feature voices from across the hiking, backpacking, and trekking worlds — guides, operators, storytellers, and industry experts whose insights can shape how you think about adventure. These conversations broaden your perspective and influence your outdoor experiences, even when the focus isn’t directly on training.
Listen, train with purpose, share with your adventure partners — then take on at least one unforgettable hiking, backpacking, or trekking experience each year. Train | Hike | Repeat
I’m Marcus Shapiro, a hiking strength and conditioning coach and an early pioneer in online training for hiking, backpacking, and trekking, helping adventurers get physically ready for everything from local elevation goals to high-altitude expeditions.
HikeStrong Podcast
Tour du Mont Blanc Training Tips, How and When to Hike TMB, Wisdom | Hike Strong Podcast | Ep. 02
Marcus Shapiro is joined by Mags and Olly - Tour du Mont Blanc experts! They both share a passion for the Tour du Mont Blanc hike a.k.a. TMB. After listening to the discussion, you will feel confident about committing to this iconic hike. Below is a sampling of some discussion topics:
- Make your pitch for why someone should pick the TMB if they could only make one trip this year.
- What is the most common fitness question you get?
- Do you find a difference in fitness levels between self-guided and guided travelers?
- When someone has to abandon the TMB due to low fitness, what do you think they left out of their program?
- What is the biggest surprise most people experience on TMB?
- What do your guides find most people struggle with on TMB?
- What surprises most people when they begin researching TMB?
- Do many people underestimate the elevation gain per day?
- Describe the most challenging 2 stages and why.
- What percentage of hikers take on one variant or more?
- What would be a good target pack weight to aim for in different scenarios?
- Most hikers hike anti-clockwise so that the views of Mont Blanc are always in front of them, but there are advantages to hiking clockwise. Please discuss.
- It is common to Cover the entire Tour du Mont Blanc in 11 days. Detail other ways to experience the TMB.
Mags is omnipresent online, providing confidence to those who want to hike the TMB without a guide. Olly is the operations director, managing the running of all the trips for Adventure Base and will get you all set to hike with a guide. They are both based in Chamonix in the French Alps and live at the foot of Mont Blanc - the start/finish of the famous multi-day trekking route - Tour du Mont Blanc.
Mags Nixon
https://tourdumontblanchike.com/
Olly Alkema / Adventure Base
https://adventurebase.com/
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https://fitfortrips.com/consultation/
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https://fitfortrips.com/free-hiking-training-plan/
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