How I Train in the Summer

I’ve always exercised year-round, but the form of exercise changes dramatically with the seasons.

I recently wrote about a conversation I had with an orthopedic surgeon who said that variety may be one of the most important things you can give your joints.

Not one perfect stretch.

Not one magic exercise.

A broad diet of movement.

I think this dovetails with the way humans have always responded to the seasons and landscape.

Summer is the most active time of year. The ground is clear, the days are long, and there is more opportunity to move.

Fall is hunting and gathering season—the time to take advantage of what is available before winter arrives.

Winter is the closest thing humans have to a hibernation season. Activity naturally decreases, fewer calories are needed, and the body has an opportunity to recover.

Spring means getting back outside and preparing to take advantage of the daylight ahead.

Since it’s summer, I thought it would be useful to share what my training looks like right now.

Generally, I’m doing one or two “big” days in the mountains each week.

That might mean hiking a peak or doing an alpine rock climb.

The rest of my activity revolves around recovering from the last big day while preparing for the next one.

My base training modality is Rucking—but wilder.

I increase the weight and focus more on distance and vertical gain. I’m fortunate to literally have mountains to Ruck up here in Colorado.

I also push a pace and volume that I couldn’t sustain year-round because I know this season is temporary. There will be plenty of time in late fall and winter to slow down and recover.

I still do garage workouts, which generally include upper-body calisthenics such as pull-ups, push-ups, rows, and dips.

For my lower body, I focus on weighted exercises such as split squats, Romanian deadlifts, Cossack squats, and overhead squats.

I use all kinds of variations, but the goal is usually the same:

Use weight to help me move into a deeper range of motion while strengthening that range at the same time.

I would describe most of these sessions as Mobility Strength workouts.

They complement all the outdoor activity while giving my joints movement they aren’t getting from hiking, climbing, and Rucking.

The exercises themselves aren’t magic.

What matters is how I’m doing them.

Take the overhead squat.

I use a relatively light weight and descend into the deepest squat I can control. At the bottom, I allow the weight to help me move just a few millimeters deeper.

I relax in that maximal position for a few seconds before returning to the starting position.

It’s like combining stretching with weightlifting.

The weight serves two purposes: it helps me access a deeper position, and it makes me stronger in that position.

I still think classic static stretching is useful. I do it regularly when I simply want to loosen up.

But for the parts of my body that have been chronically stiff, I’ve found this more dynamic approach to be far more effective.

That has been the biggest shift in my training.

I used to finish a workout and then feel like I needed an aggressive stretching and mobility session just to feel normal again.

Now, the mobility and stretching are built into the workout.

I feel better physically, but what I didn’t expect was how much more energy I would have.

Instead of constantly trying to recover from my training, the training itself leaves me feeling more capable.

What does your summer routine look like?

Hit reply and let me know.

Live wild or die,
-Dan, Wild Gym Founder