Poles, Pack and the Upper Body Trail Runners Forget.
Trail Notes | Trail Running Strategies
the body above the hips matters too
Poles, Pack
and the Upper Body Trail Runners Forget.
Trail running is a full-body sport. Most training programs treat it as though it is not. If your upper body and trunk are underprepared, you will feel it in the pack bounce, the pole technique, the shoulder fatigue and the form collapse that comes when the legs get tired.
The running-specific strength conversation tends to focus on the lower limb: glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves. That focus is warranted, because those are the primary movers in trail running. But the story does not stop at the hips. In longer trail events, the shoulder complex, the thoracic spine, the lats, the deep trunk and the neck all take meaningful load, particularly when you add a hydration vest and trekking poles.
This Trail Note covers how to train for pole use and pack carrying as skills and physical capacities, and what upper body and trunk strength work is genuinely useful for trail runners as opposed to general gym programming that may not transfer.
This is practical information for trail and ultra runners who are already using or planning to use poles and a vest in their races. It is not a theoretical exercise.
In a 50km race, you may take 50,000 steps. If you are using poles, you may plant them 40,000 times. That is 40,000 repetitions through the shoulder, wrist, lat and trunk. Training those structures is not optional.
Repetition load in endurance sports is enormous. The upper body deserves proportional preparation.
Trail Note · 01
Trekking poles: technique before fitness
Poles are a significant mechanical advantage on steep climbs and technical terrain. Research by Millet et al. (2006) showed that pole use during uphill running reduced oxygen cost and delayed fatigue in the leg muscles, with forces redistributed to the upper body. On descents, poles can reduce quadriceps load and provide stability on loose or wet terrain.
However, the benefit is conditional. Poles are only an advantage if you know how to use them. Many runners who pick up poles for a race without practice find them awkward, inefficient, or actively distracting. They trip on the poles, plant at the wrong moment, hold them incorrectly, or create a rhythm conflict with their running gait.
Poles are a skill. Train them in training, not on race day.
Pole technique fundamentals
Grip lightly. You should be able to let go of the pole without losing it. The wrist strap carries most of the load during planting. A tight grip creates forearm fatigue and restricts natural swing.
Plant beside or slightly behind the foot on climbs. Planting too far forward turns the pole into an obstacle rather than a lever. The push phase comes after the plant, driving the body upward and forward.
On flat or runnable terrain, double-plant (both poles forward together) or skip the poles and hold them loosely. Forced pole use on flat terrain wastes energy.
On technical terrain, use poles for balance and stability rather than propulsion. Short controlled plants on either side give you a third and fourth contact point.
On descents, plant poles slightly ahead of your body to arrest momentum on steep sections. Avoid over-relying on poles downhill as it can reduce the proprioceptive feedback your feet and ankles need for terrain reading.
Pole storage: practise compressing and stowing your poles quickly. Doing this for the first time mid-race on a descent with cold hands is not a good experience.
Trail Note · 02
Running with a pack: fit, load and adaptation
A hydration vest changes your running mechanics in ways that most runners underestimate. Even a well-fitted vest with 2 litres of fluid adds 2 kilograms to your torso. That shifts your centre of mass, increases spinal load, changes shoulder mechanics, and can create rhythmic bounce or pressure points that gradually accumulate into discomfort, chafing or fatigue over long distances.
Pack fit matters more than pack brand. A vest that is correctly fitted to your body type, torso length and shoulder width will sit securely and move minimally. A poor fit creates bounce, which multiplies load impact and can create pressure on the clavicle, sternum and ribs over time. Women-specific vest designs tend to accommodate chest shape and shoulder width differently, which is worth considering if off-the-shelf unisex vests have not fitted well.
Her Trails coaching cue
Train in your race vest. Not occasionally. Regularly. Your body adapts to the specific load distribution, contact points and mechanics of wearing that vest. Do not wear it for the first 4-hour run on race day.
Trail Note · 03
What upper body strength actually matters for trail running
The upper body work most relevant to trail running is not bench pressing or bicep curls. It is the capacity to stabilise the shoulder girdle under load across hundreds of repetitions, to maintain thoracic extension and postural integrity under spinal loading from a pack, and to generate and absorb forces through the lat and trunk complex that connects pole planting to lower body propulsion.
The most important upper body and trunk qualities for trail running are: shoulder stability and rotator cuff endurance, lat and pulling strength (the push-pull through a pole plant), thoracic spine mobility and extension under load, anti-rotation core strength, and the capacity to maintain postural height and forward lean as the trunk fatigues over hours of running.
Rows (band or cable)
Horizontal pulling that builds the lat and mid-back strength used in every pole plant. High reps, moderate resistance. Single-arm rows also build anti-rotation core stability.
Pull-downs or pull-ups
Vertical pulling builds lat width and strength that directly powers the upward and forward push through a pole. Can be assisted with a band if full pull-ups are not yet available.
Shoulder Y, T, W raises
Scapular stability exercises done prone or on an incline. Directly build rotator cuff and scapular stabiliser endurance. Underused but highly transferable to pack-carrying posture.
Pallof press
Anti-rotation core exercise using a cable or band. Trains the trunk to resist lateral forces, which occurs on every step when running with a pack or on uneven terrain.
Suitcase carries
Walking with a weight in one hand, maintaining upright posture. Loads the lateral trunk, obliques and shoulder stabilisers asymmetrically, which mirrors the load demand of pack running on uneven terrain.
Dead bugs and bird dogs
Deep trunk and lumbar stability work done with contralateral limb movement. Builds the neuromuscular coordination between trunk and limb that keeps form intact when the body is fatigued.
Trail Note · 04
The trunk: where running form goes to hold or collapse
In the final hours of a long trail event, the trunk is often what gives way first. When the deep trunk stabilisers fatigue, the pelvis begins to sag, the hips drop on each step, the lumbar spine loses its neutral position, and the upper body begins to round and collapse forward. This form breakdown is not just uncomfortable. It changes how load is distributed through every other structure, often increasing the risk of knee pain, hip pain and low back pain in the late race.
A common coaching cue for late-race form is to think tall: imagine a string attached to the crown of your head pulling you upward. This cue works because it simultaneously prompts thoracic extension, re-stacks the spine, opens the chest for better breathing, and re-engages the deep trunk stabilisers. It is a useful on-the-run reset, but the capacity to respond to that cue comes from having built trunk endurance in training.
Trunk strength is what keeps all the other coaching cues available in the last third of a race. Without it, the body can hear the instruction but cannot respond to it.
Trail Note · 05
How to integrate this into a training week
Upper body and trunk strength work does not need a dedicated session. For most trail runners, 20 to 30 minutes of targeted work twice a week is sufficient to build meaningful capacity. The key is that it actually happens and that it is specific, not generic gym programming.
A practical weekly structure
Session A (20 to 30 min): Rows (3 x 12), pull-downs or pull-ups (3 x 8 to 10), shoulder Y-T-W raises (2 x 15 each), Pallof press (3 x 12 each side).
Session B (20 to 30 min): Single-arm rows (3 x 12 each), suitcase carries (3 x 30m each side), dead bugs (3 x 10 each side), bird dogs (3 x 10 each side), plank variations (2 x 30 to 60 sec).
These sessions can run immediately before a run, immediately after a shorter run, or on a rest day. The only placement to avoid is immediately before a long or quality run where upper body fatigue would compromise trunk control during the run itself.
Trail Note · 06
Female-specific considerations for upper body work
Female athletes on average carry more proportional muscle mass in the lower body relative to the upper body, and often have less trained upper body pulling and pushing strength. This is not a limitation to work around. It is a training priority to address, because the upper body and trunk work described here directly supports trail running performance and injury resilience.
Upper body strength in women responds well and progressively to resistance training. Oestrogen plays a role in muscle protein synthesis, and during the follicular phase many athletes report feeling stronger and more responsive to strength training. This is not a reason to do all your strength work in the first half of your cycle, but it is a reason to track your strength response over the month and work with what you observe.
During perimenopause, preserving upper body and trunk strength becomes increasingly important as declining oestrogen affects muscle mass maintenance. The women who enter the perimenopausal years with a foundation of resistance training are better positioned to maintain function, posture and performance through the transition than those starting from scratch.
Trail running is a whole-body sport. Train the whole body.
Poles, packs, technical terrain and hours on trail all make demands on the upper body and trunk. Building those capacities in training means they are available when the race needs them. Neglecting them means finding out the hard way at kilometre 40 that they were not there.
poles work when the body behind them works too
Written by the Her Trails coaching team
Trail Notes are evidence-informed coaching journals written for women who train, race and run on trails. Made to be absorbed in ten minutes and remembered for a season.
Key references
Millet GY et al. (2006). Mechanical efficiency of roller skiing with and without poles. International Journal of Sports Medicine. | Giandolini M et al. (2016). Effect of trekking poles on muscle damage and neuromuscular fatigue in trail running. European Journal of Applied Physiology. | Saunders PU et al. (2006). Factors affecting running economy in trained distance runners. Sports Medicine. | Willardson JM (2007). Core stability training: applications to sports conditioning programs. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.
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