Benefits:

• Promote blood and nutrient supply to involved joints.
• Increase flexibility of our body.
• Reduce risks of injuries and muscle soreness.

Hints:

• Do the stretching slowly and smoothly.
• Hold on to the stretching poses. Hold for 10 to 30 seconds for every pose
• Repeat stretching for at least 4 times for each leg.
• Stretching has to be done consistently before, after and during the event.

Stretching Demonstrations

To deal with a 50 km hike, your needs to prepare your body based on the following basic principles:

• Principle of specificity: Training effect is specific to the training mode (type of activity), training volume and intensity, speed and technique used, e.g. training effect gained from swimming have no obvious benefit to running performance.
• (Progressive) Overloading Principle: A progressive overloading to our body maintain the training stimulus for progressive improvement in physical performance.
• Hard / easy mode: A little variation of total training volume have a better performance outcome.
• Training intensity and volume: Every sport has its characteristics. A plan has to be developed that suits your needs of your goal, according to those characteristics (Including intensity, time and frequency) to achieve an effective outcome. Most importantly to reduce the risks of injury.
• Tapering: Reduce the training intensity and volume gradually before the event to enhance the actual performance during the event.

Good walking and running gait improve movement economy and reduce risks of injuries. However, gait analysis is sophisticated. If you think that you are not feeling well because of abnormality of your foot shape or inappropriate jogging and hiking posture, please check with a sport physiotherapist.

The whole span of the Hong Kong Trail is 50 kilometers and composes of 8 divisions and with different difficulty. Participants are recommended to start with the easiest division. Do not try to challenge the hard divisions at the beginning to avoid injuries.

Recommendation:

• Beginners From the 1st to the 2nd division or from the 3rd to the 4th division, or the 5th and the 8th divisions (Carried out as 2 divisions)
• Advanced From the 1st to the 4th division or from the 5th to the 8th division (Carried out as 4 divisions)
• Since the sense of distance and direction at nighttime are not the same as in daylight, therefore, if hiking at nighttime is expected, then training during the nighttime of that particular division is recommended to adapt to the environment and to familiarize yourself with the use of torches or headlamps
• The whole route should be finished towards the end of the training. (But not within ten days before the event) Appropriate adjustment can be made after you familiar with your own capability.

• Green Power Hike is a demanding hike; it requires a week for adjustment (tapering). Therefore, training intensity and duration has to be reduced gradually a week before the event.
• No training on the day before the event and one should have proper rest on the night before the event.
• The frequency and the duration of breaks during the hike depend on different people. Participants are recommended to have frequent short breaks instead of long breaks; otherwise sore muscles will only get more serious and stiff due to the accumulation of the lactic acid.
• Warm-up exercises have to be done before the commencement of the event and after every break to reduce the risk of muscular injury.

Cardiopulmonary fitness training guidelines for generally healthy adult (FITT):

• Frequency (Training rate): 3 to 5 days per week
• Intensity (Training magnitude): Training magnitude should be about 60%- 80% of the maximum exertion
• Time (Training duration): About 20 to 30 minutes
• Type: Aerobic sports that involved most of the large muscle group

Type: Aerobic sports that involved most of the large muscle group

Example: Beginners should start with training like hiking, such as walking along slopes, jogging etc., and should be carried out 3 times per week, with about 15-30 minutes duration and medium intensity (60% training magnitude). Gradually increase the training duration (60 minutes each) and with intensity up to 80%. An on-site training on the Hong Kong Trail during weekends would be strongly recommended.

Lower limb muscle strength and endurance training guidelines for generally healthy adult (FITT):

• Frequency (Training rate): 2 to 3 days per week for the each muscle
• Intensity (Training magnitude): About 50-70% of the maximum training load
• Time (Training duration): Repeat each movement for 15-30 times with 1-3 sets
• Type using weight-bearing poses that challenges the trunk muscle stabilization

Muscles should be involved in trainings