I have always been active, always walking or cycling. I have cut down on cycling massively since end of 2024 due to a lower back injury, so I focused more on walking both day hikes and multiday hikes.
I have a big trip coming up in June and I have noticed that my leg strength has dropped off quite a lot (I'm 53 this year).
I have never been one for the gym but I am looking for some pointers and advice on leg strengthening exercises or a program that will show me.
Any advice please?
If you are going to the gym then you could try
Single leg step ups and drops
Clams
Hip thrusts single leg body weight or weighted
Leg extensions
Hamstring curls
Hex bar deadlift (depending on your lower back pain)
Deficit split squats
Glute bridge
Leg press
Sled pushes
I’d be going to an S&C coach to get some tips or a proper programme taking into consideration your age, ability, experience and injury profile.
I'm not sure strength will be the issue but power.
Try plyometrics - it'll really give you a boost
Without intending it as a criticism, if you don't use a gym what are you noticing that makes you think your legs are weaker? There's likely been some muscle loss from more cycling specific muscles, but I'd have thought plenty of hiking would help keep legs strong.
I've always struggled to see past ass-to-grass paused back squats for strength and mobility.
It's a bit of an investment in terms of learning the technique but start very very light (goblet squats with a kettle bell) and build slowly. Resist the urge to go less deep as the weight gets heavier.
If you feel the need (and you have the time) then add in more exercises as you see fit, always keeping focus on big compound movements first and getting to smaller more targeted movements as you add more. First exercise I would add would be the Romanian Deadlift.
Alternatively, (and this may be relevant to your situation) it might be worth looking into Knees Over Toes Guy's stuff. He's on the various social media outlets and he has a website/app that you can subscribe to. His focus is very much on mobility and longevity. I subscribed for a couple of months last year when I was having back problems myself. I incorporated his exercises into my warm up and now I'm generally feeling much better and back to lifting heavy.
If you are completely new to any kind of strength training then I'd recommend starting with kneesovertoesguy but I would definitely aim to eventually make full depth paused back squats the core of my strength training.
https://www.atgonlinecoaching.com/
I have strong legs from riding but notice that that means something slightly different on long hiking trips.
You might benefit from doing some pilates leg exercises. Good points are that they don't require much if any kit or going to a gym (unless you want a teacher). Bad points are that some are quite subtle so don't work unless you do them correctly which may require a bit of guidance. There are loads of videos available. They'll likely be similar ideas to other - squats, lunges, clam, side lying leg lifts, bridge leg lifts and so on.
IMO I would try and get some in person guidance or support, its easy to do these exercises wrong and make stuff worse especially as you get older. If you join a gym a personal trainer might help (often get a session free if you join). I found a good physio helped me but I had some knee/back issues (made worse by following the kneesovertoes guy!)
I have strong legs from riding but notice that that means something slightly different on long hiking trips.
Yeah, in my experience cycling works pretty well on the big, obvious, 'straighten the leg' muscles, but it doesn't do much for the knee/ankle/hip stabilisation muscles, which is the stuff that then causes issues when walking up ad down hills, esp. on rough ground.