Partners

The goal of your training is to get physically and mentally prepared to successfully complete your expedition. Your climbing goal will be to perform strong and steady throughout our expedition. Mountaineering requires a high overall level of physical conditioning. As you will be climbing in high altitudes, both your cardiovascular and motor fitness are needed to climb at different levels of intensity and to navigate challenging terrain. The greater your level of fitness, the more efficiently you can acclimate to the altitude. Fit climbers spend less energy on certain tasks, leaving their bodies ready for the task of acclimatisation.

When Training for mountaineering you should particularly focus on two key areas of endurance building, developing cardiovascular fitness (fitness of the heart and lungs) and motor fitness (particularly endurance, strength, agility, and balance), following specific goals and timeline.

We suggest all our interested climbers commit to at least a minimum of four-six months of training time depending on your expedition.

ENDURANCE TRAINING

Endurance fitness is considered the most important for all mountaineers. Your expedition and body will demand various levels of intensity all day throughout. Excellent cardiovascular and motor fitness is very necessary. This can be both aerobic exercises as well as muscular endurance exercises.

CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS

Cardiovascular Endurance is the ability of the heart and lungs to supply oxygen-rich blood to the working muscle tissues and the ability of the muscles to use oxygen to produce energy for movement. To get the most from your cardiovascular workouts, the ACSM suggests that you exercise three to five times a week at 60 to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate. Sessions should last more than 30 minutes, and you should choose exercises that use large muscle groups in a rhythmical fashion, such as long-distance cycling, running, swimming, or rowing. If you live near mountains hiking with 20/25kgs for 10miles once or twice a week is the best way to gain even more real-world experiences.

STRENGTH AND MUSCULAR ENDURANCE

In addition to leg strength, mountaineering requires a strong core (back and stomach) as heavy pack weights add a new dimension to climbing. Strength training principles are essentially the same for upper and lower bodies. Strength training can involve bodyweight exercises as well as routines using traditional weights.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Training timeline:

up to 6500M: At least 10+ weeks

7000M - 8000M: At least 20-24 weeks

Squats, lunges, and leg presses with weights 5 - 20 kgs
Push-ups, pull-ups, and military presses
Sit-ups, chin-ups, bicycle kick, leg raise, abdominal exercises, planks

Training Plan example:

We have attached the training log of Bisesh’s when preparing for Baruntse climb and he will follow a similar time frame and routines for other 8000M+ expeditions.

Recommended Book for Mountain training: Training for the New Alpinism (Click here)

When you near your expedition date, begin making your workouts more mountaineering specific with hikes and climbs and occasional interval sessions aimed at broadening your range of comfort at various effort levels. Make sure you stretch after every long interval training. Stretching helps reduce muscular tension and increases flexibility.

Preparing yourself by committing to weekly training routines is very important. Expedition in the mountains/Himalayas requires a lot of physical, mental, and psychological toughness this nature of activity demands athlete-level fitness. It is about putting yourself in the uncomfortable zone and pushing yourself to higher limits to see what you as a person can achieve. Expedition into the mountains of any type should not be underestimated. The journey is a challenge in itself. It will push you out of your comfort zone and you will need to dig deeper mentally and physically. It is worth every effort and this will be your life’s greatest adventure. On a plus side, it will motivate you to lead a healthy and inspiring life.

Now you know how you have to train for mountain expeditions. Get yourself out there, enjoy your training, and stay fit and together with Namas Adventure’s team and like-minded adventurers, let’s take on your expeditions into Mera Peak, Island Peak, Aconcagua, Amadablam, or other higher mountains. Happy Adventure.

Article references

• Live strong: https://www.livestrong.com/article/534286-six-components-of-fitness-related-to-motor-skills/

• Very well fit: https://www.verywellfit.com/interval-training-workouts-3120774

• Shape.com: https://www.shape.com/fitness/workouts/interval-training-short-workouts-really-pay