Take the Quad Challenge!

I recently read The Ultimate Hiking Skills Manual. This little book is well-written and filled with good tips about hiking in the mountains. The first chapter starts with a fun quadriceps strength test to assess your mountain running and hiking readiness. As you all know, your quads supply the strength needed to power uphill and bomb downhill.

So, similar to the Rogue Valley Runner's Park Street Challenge, here's a challenge that you can do from [the comfort of] your home or office -- just post a comment with your results.

Instructions:

1. Stand with your back against a wall. Shuffle your feet away from the wall and lower your body until your knee joints are at a 90-degree angle. Keep your feet facing forward, directly underneath the knees. Keep your head against the wall and let your hands hang to your sides (don't cheat by putting your hands on your legs). See Sean and Rocky's demonstration above and below.

2. Once you are in position, start your stopwatch. Stay in this position for as long as you can. When you can't handle the quad burn anymore and you fall down on the floor with your legs still shaking wildly from the pain, stop your stopwatch and see how well you did. Note: It's amazing to see what happens to your quads over the course of a few minutes.

3. See how well you did and post a comment below with your time and other comments. Repeat this as many times as you want.

• Less than 15 seconds: Shocking, don't plan on any speedy ascents unless they are on a train.
• 45 Seconds: Could do better, some more hill work needed.
• 1 Minute and 15 Seconds: Okay, do three sets of 20 squats a day to build up your quads.
• 1 Minute and 45 Seconds: Good, ready for some of the classic routes.
• 2 Minutes and 15 Seconds: Impressive, you sailed through the pain barrier with flying colors.
• 2 Minutes and 45 Seconds: Top notch, your quads testify that you're used to pushing yourself through the limits.

The Results (so far...):

• Vicky: 1:15
• Rocky: 2:21
• Sean: 4:00
• Peter: 5:45
• You: ? -- Leave a comment below with your time!

Warning: Don't do this if you have knee problems.

Tip: Playing some music (or doing this during a conference call, provided you are on mute so others don't hear you collapse at the end) can help and won't be considered cheating.

Have fun!