WAYS TO BE READY FOR AN ADVENTURE IN MOUNTAIN CLIMBING
Our manual for mentally and physically preparing for a mountain climbing expedition. From working out at the gym to trail advice.
The experience of standing on a mountain’s peak leaves a lasting impression on you. It goes beyond the dreamlike splendor of floating above the clouds, surrounded by quiet, and taking in a breathtaking panorama of the natural world. It’s about the inside sensation we receive when we face a task that is both physical and cerebral, the memories we make along the road, and the radiant sense of success we have at reaching something so much larger than ourselves.
That is real ‘life substance’ – the stuff of rich experience and personal growth. So, if you have lofty ambitions to climb a mountain one day, where should you start?
It’s not just the ethereal beauty of being up amongst the clouds, shrouded in silence and gazing across a majestic vista of natural splendour.
For me it was Snowdon in North Wales about 15 years ago. Since then, I’ve gone on to climb many of Europe’s highest mountains over 4,000m, requiring highly technical climbing skills and equipment, adaption to altitude, and a heavy dose of grit and determination. There have been exceptionally early alpine starts in the dark (hello 2am alarm), breathtaking postcard sunrises, lung-busting altitude and legs that feel like they’ve been trampled by a stampede of wild buffalo.
But you know what stays with me more than anything? The bonds you create with others when you’re up there in the rugged wilderness, living this raw, pure existence where the only thing that matters is putting one foot in front of the other. And you can get that – and more – on a mountain adventure of any scale.
Of course, despite the physical challenge of scaling a mountain, you want to be able to absorb the experience, relish the camaraderie with your team mates, and get all the Insta-worthy photos you can. So some preparation is a good idea.
An important note: this article is intended as an intro to mountain climbing or hillwalking, and if for any reason you are unsure of your physical condition to take on such a challenge, we advise you to consult your doctor or physician.
IN THE GYM AND ON THE TRAIL
Now, most of us don’t have access to perfect snow-capped mountains right on our doorstep, but don’t worry. You can get surprisingly mountain fit without needing to hike through the Alps every weekend (although wouldn’t that be nice).
I’m going to break this down into two key areas that need to be addressed when considering mountain fitness: endurance and strength and conditioning.
ENDURANCE
You don’t need to be able to run a marathon to climb a mountain, but aerobic endurance is a critical part of being mountain fit – and it’s relatively straight-forward to attain. Many people who are attempting to get endurance fit actually go too hard to create aerobic efficiency, so you’ll be pleased to know that this training should be easy(ish). You should be working at an intensity that means you’re able to hold a conversation. Some ways to develop aerobic endurance are:
1. WALKING
A rather obvious one but this is the basis of any mountain adventure. Try to walk regularly during the week to build up ‘base’ fitness, and if you can, go for a longer walk at the weekend (three or more hours). Build up to wearing either a backpack with something heavy in it (not too heavy, aim for 10kg max), or a weighted vest, and try to incorporate hills where possible. You can also apply the exact same approach to walking on a treadmill, or use a stairmaster in the gym.
You should be working at an intensity that means you’re able to hold a conversation.
2. RUNNING
For some, it’s freedom. For others, it’s hell. You want to be able to enjoy your training so if you don’t enjoy running, then stick to walking instead. If you can and want to, build up the running mileage slowly and don’t overdo it. Running carries a higher injury risk than many other sports so it’s important to condition your musculoskeletal system over time so that you stay injury-free. Aim for two-to-three ‘easy’ runs a week (conversation pace remember!), about 30-60 minutes in length.
3. CYCLING
If you have access to a bike or a spinning/gym bike, then cycling is also a great way to build endurance and better still, as a non-weight bearing exercise, it incurs less muscle damage and injury risk. Climbing mountains requires leg strength and aerobic endurance (how efficiently your heart and lungs are working), and cycling achieves both of these – so it’s a great activity to incorporate into your training regimen. Try and get at least one longer session in at the weekend of around 90 minutes, to get your body used to moving for a continuous period of time.
STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING
Having a robust and conditioned body is just as important as gaining the endurance to keep going on a long mountain day or back-to-back hiking days. With the added element of having to carry your own kit (the extra weight makes it surprisingly harder to get uphill – funny that!), incorporating specific strength training will carry you in good stead to tackle your next big mountain.
It’s getting the right exercises in that will target key muscle groups to get you strong and mountain-ready.
It doesn’t mean you need to start downing creatine and breaking weightlifting records, though. It’s getting the right exercises in that will target key muscle groups to get you strong and mountain-ready. Aim for two strength sessions a week of around 30 minutes – it’s enough to get you primed and ready for action.
1. SQUATS AND LUNGES
Both squats and lunges a pretty standard movement in many people’s training repertoire, but there’s a reason why they’re so popular. Squats and lunges really target the major muscle groups in the legs, and specifically those used during uphill and downhill hiking. Squats will strengthen the quad (thigh) and glute (buttock) muscles that are relied on heavily during uphill movement, and lunges will help condition your glutes and hamstrings (back of your thighs) to support the downhill stints.
Both movements will also help stabilise the supporting muscles around your knees, which always take a fair bit of load during mountain days. Aim for three sets of 8-12 reps for both exercises (make sure you do the full rep set on each leg during the lunges), and if you find it too easy, you can start to add weight.
This can either be carrying a dumbbell in each hand, using a weights bag on your shoulders, or a weighted vest. If you don’t have access to weights, throw a few heavier items into a backpack and do it at home – you’ll get the same benefit.
2. STAIRS
A good old staircase can come into its own for mountain fitness. This one will actually work both endurance and strength so it’s a bit of a double whammy. You can add some weight such as a backpack or weighted vest, and doing reps up and down the stairs to replicate the uphill and downhill repetitions that you will face on a long mountain day. I like to stand at the bottom of the stairs and step up to the second step in one go with one leg, bring the second leg up to stand on the step, step back down with your first leg, and finally back down with your second leg.
That’s a full set, so aim to complete a full set 25 times then take a breather, and try and do three sets of 25 in total. You can also repeat walking up and down the stairs and either time yourself to do 10 minute blocks, or do five full up and full down sets with a breather between each full set. A nice one to get the quads firing!
3. CALF RAISES
Anyone who has climbed a mountain will know that the calves take a bit of a hammering, especially when moving uphill for longer periods of time. I always try and prep my calves before a mountain adventure and I find calf raises are a really efficient way to do this – plus you don’t need any special equipment.
Use a step or stair and place your toes on the edge with your heels ‘hanging’ off. Make sure you press your heels down as low as you can go while keeping you toes on the step, and then slowly stand up onto your toes. Slowly lower back down to your start position – that’s one rep. Aim to complete three sets of 10-20 reps, and if you find that easy you can evolve the exercise by adding weight (out comes the backpack again!), or even trying single leg calf raises where you hover one of your legs while the other one performs the set of raises.
4. CORE WORK
Carrying a pack in the mountains, maintaining balance on some more technical ground, and sometimes even using your arms to pull up as you scramble over rocky sections, all require a strong core. I always incorporate core work into any strength training routine by adding 3x sets of 25 reps of crunches.
Lie on your back, put your hands behind your head to support your neck and crunch just slightly up (not all the way) so your upper back leaves the floor. If you can, you can evolve this movement to crunch your knees up towards your face as you crunch your upper body upwards, almost like you’re trying to meet in the middle. After this, perform a plank – try and build up to holding a plank for one minute, and complete three sets with a rest between each set.
TIPS FOR THE MOUNTAIN
Being out in the mountains isn’t all about training hard and getting uber fit (although that does feel great) – the chances are, you’ll surprise yourself with your level of resilience and strength of will. It’s the old cliché, mind over matter – but it’s very pertinent when you’re out there battling sometimes tough conditions and a big physical challenge.
There will likely be moments when you doubt whether you are capable enough, but rest assured this is completely normal – we all have that little voice in our head at some point. Get familiar with telling the little voice where to go (bye!), and garner self-confidence through your training, preparation – and just because you’re awesome. Also, don’t worry if you don’t feel like a highly honed mountain machine, that’s not what we’re aiming for. If you want to familiarise yourself with what to expect though, it can be a good plan to explore some options.
