How to hike up hills – and enjoy it

Jun 03, 2025

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How to hike up hills – and enjoy it

There are three certainties in life – death, taxes… and hills on a pack-free guided walk!

Yep, hills, you can’t avoid them and they can be can be physically demanding but with a few easy steps (pardon the pun) you can walk up any hill without it ruining you day.

A person is silhouetted against a clear sky while hiking up a steep hill, moving toward the top of the slope with the sun shining behind them.
S Mgrdichian/Unsplash

Pace Yourself
Avoid starting too fast. Begin at a steady, sustainable pace that allows you to breathe comfortably. Conserve energy, especially on long climbs, to prevent early fatigue.

Shorten Your Stride
Take shorter steps rather than long lunges. This reduces strain on your muscles and helps maintain balance. Quick, light steps are more efficient on steep grades.

Three people are hiking on a trail with lush greenery and hills around them, enjoying the freedom of self-guided walks. The ocean is visible in the distance under a cloudy sky, and one hiker is giving a thumbs-up.

Use Trekking Poles
Trekking poles help distribute effort to your arms, relieving some pressure from your legs. They also provide better balance on uneven or slippery terrain.

Maintain Good Posture
Keep your back straight and lean slightly forward from the hips — not the waist. This helps maintain alignment and ensures your core muscles are engaged for stability.

Rainforest walk on Three Capes in Tasmania

Control Your Breathing
Use rhythmic breathing to stay relaxed and oxygenate your muscles. Try breathing in for two steps and out for two steps. Adjust the pattern as needed based on the climb’s intensity.

Take Breaks Strategically
Instead of stopping abruptly, pause at natural rest points like switchbacks or flatter sections. Use these breaks to hydrate, refuel, and assess your route ahead.

Three hikers, wearing backpacks and caps, stand smiling on a cliffside trail overlooking a vast ocean and steep, forest-covered hills. The sky is clear, and the scenery is expansive and lush, suggesting a coastal adventure.

Tip: Train beforehand with stair climbing, squats, and lunges to build hill-ready strength and endurance. And always check trail conditions and weather before you go.

By applying these techniques, you’ll conserve energy, reduce injury risk and enjoy the climb more.

The Benefits of Walking Hills

Walking uphill offers excellent cardiovascular benefits by boosting your heart and breathing rates compared to walking on flat ground. But it’s not just your heart and lungs that benefit—your ankles do too. Uphill walking improves ankle mobility, which often declines from lack of deep bending movements in daily life.

Four hikers cross a narrow wooden bridge over a rocky stream, surrounded by lush greenery—a scene from a Vietnam Laos and Cambodia Walking Adventure. One is ahead on the dirt path, with a small building nestled under tall trees nearby.

While deep squats may be uncomfortable, the same ankle flexibility can be achieved by walking uphill. Pay attention to your ankle position and try to keep your toes facing forward, not outwards—this helps engage the ankle fully rather than compensating with hip rotation.

Three hikers with backpacks stand on a grassy hill, facing snow-capped mountains beneath a partly cloudy sky—an inspiring scene that captures the spirit of a Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia Walking Adventure amid green hills and rugged terrain.

Going downhill may feel like a break, but it challenges your muscles in a different way. As you descend, your muscles must lengthen to control the body’s momentum, which places greater strain on them and the connective tissues. This is why you often feel sore after downhill walks — your muscles are doing more work than you realise!