Replicate

The aspirant summiteer is about to take on the World’s highest mountain. So the best form of training is to get out and hit hills and mountains. A typical training day on the hill should include a hill climb as high and as long as possible. In Wales and Scotland it is possible to find mountains with ascents of up to 1,000 metres. Also weight the pack typically a 10-15 kilo load will help the climber get used to load carrying on Everest. Aim to be out on the mountain for at least five hours. Regularly do the same mountain route and measure how long it takes to do it. There will be a time improvement if the route is regularly done.

Lee says ‘My route is in the Brecon Beacons in South Wales, for several reasons; it’s only two hours drive from my home, the ascent from the car is around 850 metres, the circuit is around 12 miles and has a brutal hill climb towards the end of the route. I also weight my pack with bottles of water so it weights around 15 kilos. I try and do this route once every two weeks to get into peak fitness’.

 

Load Carrying

Typically on Everest the climber will be on a guided or unguided expedition which employs the services of porters and yaks to carry in the tonnes of camp equipment and the climbers personal gear. There will be times however when the climber will have to carry some group and personal gear up steep faces. Remember a full oxygen bottle will weight around 5.5 –6 kilos when full (about 3-3.5 kilos empty). To get used to carrying kit and equipment the climber should find an undulating circuit. The pack weight for training, should be comfortable, but heavy. Though be careful not to cause any physical damage. The circuit should be several miles long and should take 45 minutes to 1.5 hours in length. This will help strengthen leg and back muscles, ligaments and tendons. It particularly helps strengthen hips, knees and ankles. Train with more weight than you expect to carry on the mountain. The altitude we make even light loads feel heavier than at sea level.

Lee says ‘From my old rugby days I have a 13 kilos weight vest. This weight vest equally distributes the weight evenly over the upper body. I also take an old pack and put two large water containers inside. The total weight is around 35 kilos. My route is from home and takes on unmade tracks and paths. There are just a few small rises. A fast time for the route is 45 minutes. I crank up the Ipod and get out three times a week to do this route’

Weight Room

The aim in the weight room is to build strength and stamina not bulk. There circuit should be done twice or three times a week. Concentrating on an all over strength training. Focus on shoulders, back, arms, stomach and most importantly: legs. If there’s one area that can get you to the top it’s strong powerful legs. The aspirant summiteer should look to do high volume reps of lateral pull downs, bicep curls, dead lifts, squats, lunges, abdominal crunches. For legs concentrate on leg presses, hamstring curls and leg curls for the quads. Include a few dead lift sets as well and mix this up with lunges.

Lee says ‘I typically push out 200 reps on the leg press machine with a weight of around 250-285 lbs. It’s really hard work but pays off when needed on the mountain’

Biking

Whether road or off road, biking really helps build strong lungs and strong legs. It would be good for the aspirant to find a hill climb route where sustained lung and leg work is required to get up the hills. Try and get out twice a week and vary the length of time out, which should be a minimum of two hours.

Lee says ‘I love mountain biking, it gives me a real rush! So I look to get out for one session on the mountain bike a week, depending upon the time I have available I have three ‘from home routes’ one two hour one three hour and the mighty four hour route. It’s one of the few times I can really push myself and become anaerobic for a significant length of time, because the thrill of biking overrides the physical need to recover’

Running

An undulating route of between five and ten miles is a sound way to build up stamina and fitness. There’s no hard and fast rule about how long the running should take but the aspirant should see some improvement after successive outings. On top of just going out running there should be some form of interval or Fartlek training integrated within the running part of the training. This type of training combines say one minute running as hard as possible then recovery at a jogging or fast walking pace for say two minutes. This should be repeated for around twenty minutes in any running session. This helps train the heart to recover quickly.

Please wear the appropriate footwear for running and take it easy on tarmac and hard standing. Find a trail or footpath would be better.

Lee says ‘I’m a terrible runner, too big and too slow, but I know how important it is for fitness. I run outside in the summer and switch to a running machine at the gym in the winter. I honestly believe interval training put me at a huge advantage in the Khumbu Ice Fall on the south side of Everest, it helped control my breathing and my heart rate recovery’.

Step

Whether on the step machine down the gym or perhaps simply on the ‘Reebok’ type step at home. The aspirant needs to focus on the hip, pelvis and groin area. Start by stepping up onto the step and aim for sets of one hundred. Alternate between leading with the left or right foot. After the aspirant is comfortable with doing say three hundred, take the weight vest or a pair of dumbbells in hand and try to repeat the sets, with the increased weight. This will help strengthen the areas mentioned above and improve the cardio vascular system. If you are lucky enough to have a stadium for example a football stadium, close to you and you can get access, ascending the steps is a fantastic way to step train.

Lee says ‘I set up my Reebock step in front of the TV, before I know it I’ve done three hundred to five hundred steps, during watching a DVD’.

Rowing

Perhaps not an obvious piece of equipment to use for training for the highest mountain in the World, but if done correctly can give pretty much and all over body work out. Using the legs to push back on the stroke rather the simply pull with the arms. Go for sessions of twenty to thirty minutes at a good pace, fast enough to be breathless, concentrating on good form.

Lee says ‘I have a second hand Concept 2 rowing machine at home so it’s very easy to hop on this piece of equipment. Especially when I’m short of time some days. I aim to row just over 1,000 metres every five minutes. I can even do interval training on the Concept 2’.

Frequency of training

For the off peak season three or four sessions per week will maintain the base fitness. For the aspirant to peak on the mountain then at least eight to ten sessions per week. Including at least one or two days rest is required. Start this peak season around ten or twelve weeks before leaving for the mountain. A session can be as long as three hours (mountain bike) or as short as twenty minutes (rowing). In the peaking sessions in the ten weeks before leaving, throw in a ‘wild card’ session something the aspirant really enjoys, swimming, rock climbing or tennis for example. This will keep you interested in training for ‘Big E’.

Remember it’s better to be a fully working Ford than a broken Ferrari! Don’t over train or train too hard, avoid picking up training injuries at all costs. Take a seven to ten day break from training prior to catching the airplane to Nepal or Tibet; give your body time to recover from the training.