Muscles are weird.

I am not by any stretch of the imagination big on exercise and working out. While I am in decent shape, there is plenty of room for improvement. With that said, I do take some pride in one habit.

For several years now, I have walked at least a mile or two everyday. Now it's moved  more towards hiking. For one, I grew tired of walking a half mile or mile down my road, then go back to my house. And most of all, there are some really great hiking trails close to my house and on my way to and from work that run along the St. Croix River.

With winter here, and the snow and lack of daylight that comes with it, I try to cram my exercise routine in on the weekend by going on longer hikes and "rucking." Rucking is the new trend (or at least new to me, I'm usually a good 4 years behind the game) in workouts in which you carry a weighted backpack while walking or hiking.

I've been doing more and more of this with noticeable results. My endurance, along with the pace of my hikes has increased. I now typically hike at least 5 miles each day of the weekend while carrying a moderately heavy pack.

But muscles are weird. Last Saturday morning I made my usual hike of roughly five miles with pack weighing around 20 pounds through a trail covered in about four or five inches of snow. It was a decent workout, but I felt fine afterword,

Then Sunday I cross country skied for the first time this year. Went maybe a mile down freshly groomed Nordic style trails. Two days later my legs still hurt.

Muscles are weird. Use the same ones you use daily a little differently, and they freak.