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Use these tips to improve your Grouse Grind time and make it as close to enjoyable as possible
The Grouse Grind provides a heart-pumping, lung-searing outdoor workout
It’s been a few years since I’ve done this hike/run as I find it too busy a trail for my tastes. I encountered at least 40 people on it during an overcast Monday at mid-day so the hike is as popular as ever.
There are plenty of other trails on the North Shore mountains that are much more scenic and relaxing, but for a relatively quick hike and challenging outdoor workout the Grouse Grind is hard to beat. And chances are if you’re hiking the Grouse Grind, you’re looking for a killer workout. There’s a good reason it’s called Mother Nature’s Stairmaster: you climb 2830 stairs over 2.9 km and gain 853 metres in elevation.
Probably one of the first questions asked of anyone who does the Grouse Grind is “what was your time?” While some hikers may frown upon this obsession with tracking how quickly you can do a hike, I think for the average fitness enthusiast it’s a good idea to keep records. External goals like this can give you motivation to stick with your training program.
The Grind is a serious workout. You should develop a base level of fitness before you do the Grouse Grind and not the other way around. The people who have the worst experience on the Grind are generally the ones who are most ill-prepared physically to do it. You wouldn’t run a marathon the first time you ran would you? Well don’t make the Grind your first workout in years.
Once you have a base level of fitness and have done the Grind a few times you may be ready to set a PB (personal best). Here are some tips to help: