Rate your fitness level

With the recent discussions about motivation and the enjoyment/madness of exertion on the trail, I began to wonder how some of you might rate your own levels of fitness. Since my own fitness is affected by my job (when at work I can't really exercise) and the seasons (in mud season and early winter I usually hike less), I thought that we might rate our PEAK fitness level for the year...i.e. mine usually occurs in late Aug after a full summer of the outdoors. To those of you who are active enough to maintain peak levels all year: I'm envious...

So how do you rate? (I'm a 3 with hopes of sneaking into the 4 category someday)
My apologies for the typos in the poll...Comp glitch...

I'm a three, approaching 4. Sounds like we're about the same, Cloudsplitter. August-September is my time to shine. Stinkin job...

AlpineSummit said:

3.5

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Ditto

Probably 3.5. I can do 12 miles over several summits and still keep to "book time" but don't ask me to walk up or down the stairs the next day...

After a summer of bicycling to work, I definitely make it to 4, cruising up summits at high speed and low heart rate.

Midwinter I'm back to a 2 at best.

I think I'm a 3, but once I'm out there, sometimes I don't want to stop hiking. I have done 3 Bonds in a day and am looking to do a Prezie traverse in 1 day this summer. But other than that, I have no desire to do any other "death marches."

I find my strength is actually endurance. I may not be fast, but I love the feeling when I'm on a multi-day trip and by day 3 I'm hitting my stride. At that point, I feel like I could just keep hiking forever!

I think I would be a 4. Of course, the day after would be more a problem for it takes me longer to recover than some of the younger members. But endurance levels, I am still pretty strong.

Jay

I have to say I can keep on going as long as it is not too humid out. Even after doing the Devils Path I was still able to hike up to Diamond Notch falls. I am the type of person who can go for a hike in the morning then go on my bike in the afternoon. Everyone calls me the energizer Bunny. Of course it drives the wife crazy because she is the complete opposite, when it comes to energy levels.

Even in college when I was running track and XC. If we ever did something wrong the coach would make us run extra. It would p*ss him off because it never bothered me. Just to be a smart a*s I would run more afterwards.

They say when it comes to phyisical strenghth it is something like 60% mental. You can have 2 people with the same strength but the one who will come out on top is the one who is stronger mentaly.

I went with 4 for a couple reasons 1.) It's better for my psyche to believe that I'm in that fit and 2.) Once I get rolling, I can usually keep it up for a while. (Plus, I'm too dumb to realize that when parts hurt I should slow down.) But, when I'm not hiking or running, I barely move...sometimes, I can't even make it to the gift shop! (I hate gift shops, BTW.) So, it's a bit of a surprise to people after I stumble, shuffle and grumble around in the morning to see me still going strong all day.

3.4795

I was about a "4" before I banged up my knees skiing in 1993.
Still considering surgery, but that's another thread. illio tibial friction syndrome (sp?) ..........

Everyone calls me the energizer Bunny.

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Snowshoe, when we go hiking, can we take one of your batteries out?

I'm a 3.25. Some days I can go all day at a moderate pace. Some days are harder. I do find that I recover well and usually feel good the day after a hike. On multiday trips, day 2 is usually my best (day 1 always my worse). Little Bear described it well: what I lack in speed, I make up for in endurance. I may not be fast, but I'm damn persistent.

Feel the burn...

I'm proud to consider myself a four. I do most of my hiking in summer and fall, but I run 15-20 miles/week year round. I think that that is what has made the difference as I close in on fifty. So far, I've been able to keep up with many that are half my age. (knock on wood!)

3.2

I've been a 4 and with a little more time could be again. I'm not awfully fast but my endurance is still there. Looking forward to ramping things up in the next 2-1/2 months to prepare for Killi.

I'm about a 3 or 4, depending on the day. I try to visit the gym 4 times and run about 10 miles per week. Hiking is what motivates me to work out since every hour I spend at the gym or on the road will pay off when I'm heading up a mountain and don't have to stop every 5 minutes to catch my breath.

Besides, it's always fun replacing all the calories I burned off with a few pints of a quality brew.

Thanks for all of the responses so far! I will second all of you who brought up the many other factors that influence fitness levels...or at least perceived fitness levels (weather, length of time spent on the trail, etc..) One of my worst times on the trail actually occurred a number of years ago on my first big hike. I went up Algonquin in the 'Dacks wearing heavy jeans, a flannel shirt, and clunky boots that turned my feet into hamburger. The combined effects of these made me feel like a 2 (actually more like a 1.5) out there. Not to mention that it was my first real experience in the mountains. At the Loj parking lot I nudged my friend and told her that it was gonna be an easy little trip. In some odd fashion I had set up this mental escalator to the top for myself. Boy was I wrong, and the state of mind that I was in definitly dropped my fitness level a notch or two.
One of my best days so far actually came just a few weeks back on a quick cruise up Twin in the Catskills. Twin is fairly easy by almost all accounts, but that day I was fully prepared, the weather was good, and I had no concerns over meeting personal goals for the day. I was just out for an amble in the woods, and I ended up feeling like a solid 4 (and so early in the season no less!)...Had it not started to pour and had the hour not been late, I definitly would have gone much farther...

I defintely agree with the folks who say their fitness levels vary with the time of year. Personally, I've found that my strength level is pretty constant; in fact, if I lay off the upper body workouts for a couple weeks to a month, I often find that I wind up STRONGER after the muscles have had a chance to rebuild. However, cardio goes downhill fast if it is neglected. Right about now, I'm feeling pretty 4-plus-ish. But, my activity level varies depending on the time of year and there are definitely times when I feel more like a 3.

I chose 4 but I must admit that the last 5 miles of a 20 mile day are pretty miserable for me. I am guessing that in the poll, the "4" designation is with a daypack, not a 40+ pound backpack... I have done that before but, again, that was a miserable experience taking 14 hours, descending Tuckermans in the dark...

Someone mentioned humidity and I also think that definitely affects my performance / attitude / misery index...

I might be a 4, and sometimes a 3.

but someday I dream
of being
like
Stinkyfeet!!!

(I have a long way to go)

What's interesting is that most people in this forum rated themselves 3s & 4s. (Except for the one person that rated themselves a 5 - I guess Reinhold checked in from the Italian Alps!) Since the vast majority of folks here are serious/addicted/devoted to our sport, I'm not surprised. I would be surprised if there were any 1s or 2s in here. If we posted this same poll in a forum for taco eating, I suspect the results would be different. OK, gotta run...literally

3

Im a three....and once in a great while creep up near a 4. I hit the weights really hard 3-4 times a week, so carrying my carcass (all 250 lbs of it) over too many miles breaks my feet down bigtime!

________________

BirdHead Studios

Biscuit -
I really didn't expect anyone here to be in the 1 or 2 category either, but I know that conditions can make us feel like we're at those levels sometimes. There are times when, after I haven't seen a trail for a month or so (gasp!), I feel like I'm squarely within the 2 category, as much as I hate to admit it. Then after a few stiff days on the trail I'm back to 3 or 3.5 levels. Anyway, thanks for the post...perhaps a revised poll is in order...
-C.