How To Train For Mountain Climbing

Are you ready for your mountaineering trip? Climbing a mountain isn’t like any other activity that you only have to prepare the food, gears and transportation. Apart from those preparations, you also have to physically train yourself if you want to be a mountaineer. Mountaineering is a sport which also needs a great deal of physical training, or else, you might faint before you reach the peak.

Your hectic lifestyle may leave you with limited time to train prior to your trip. Thus, you will have to maximize your time to get yourself in better shape when you climb mountains. You wouldn’t want to easily get tired. Constant fatigue takes out much of the fun involved in the sport.

Probably the most efficient way to physically train yourself to be a mountaineer is to try to simulate what you’d be doing in the mountains. You can try to practice climbing or bouldering moves that you have learned over and over again. You have to be able to master the technique so you can execute it properly.

Take note that fitness for a marathon runners is different from the fitness that we’re trying to build. Since you’ll be climbing mountains, you need to focus on specific areas of fitness. Your training should enable you to improve these elements of fitness.

A mountaineer needs to develop his strength and power. You’ll be hiking and climbing for several days while carrying the weight of your backpack. Strength is the ability to lift heavy objects, but you also need to combine speed to that ability. Mountain climbing also requires you to do powerful climbing moves.

As a mountaineer, you will also have to work on your stamina. Simply put, stamina is strength with endurance. With stamina, you can get your muscles working at optimum level for longer periods. Agility is also important. It’s basically power plus flexibility. When climbing, you may have to do some stretchy moves so you can go up or go down safely.

The key to effective training is specificity. Before you actually go on climbing the mountain, you can start doing the things you expect to do in the mountains. For example, you could start walking for long periods of time in the bush while carrying a heavy backpack. And then maybe proceed to a steep hill while still carrying that heavy weight. Exercises such as these should condition your body enough for the mountaineering trip.

Of course, there are the basic workout exercises that you shouldn’t miss. Do some push ups, squats, sit ups and other activities. You could also use the Swiss Ball. These exercises will ensure good conditioning and collaboration between your upper and lower body. However, make certain that you’re doing the exercises the right way to avoid any possible injuries and ensure their effectiveness.

To improve your stamina, run at least three times a week. You could also opt to mountain bike when going to work. Swimming on the other hand may not give you very good results in improving your stamina.

Knowing all this information, you should be able to develop a physical training plan for your mountaineering trip. Mountain climbing is an activity that you should prepare for. Without proper training, you could kill yourself, or even put your companions’ life in danger.

Set aside a specific time of the day each day for you to train. Start training at least a month before the day of the climb. Your training could start off from a low intensity regime which should gradually increase.

You can use walking up the hill as your warm up exercise. Add a few pounds of weight each time. This should condition your body to walk long distances while carrying a heavy weight. Then of course, get down to a few workout exercises afterwards. You may want to work on a specific program for a certain day. For example, you could work on your upper body today then on your legwork next time.

Also, don’t forget to eat right. Try to increase your carbohydrate intake temporarily. Carbohydrates should give you enough energy to fuel your strenuous exercises. Continue your physical training until the day of the climb. However, you will want to ease off with a lower intensity workout a day before.