Training for a
Mountaineering Expedition
EXPEDITIONS
Training for a Mountaineering Expedition
Some of us are blessed with great genes, others reach the summit because we love pain, but the vast majority
of us need to train. In my twenties and early thirties, I could simply toss a pack on my back and go forever. In
my late thirties, I had to train. Now, in my forties, I have to seriously train. My guess is you’ve never been featured in Sports Illustrated; therefore, you will have to seriously train.
Some foundational thoughts:
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Training your body to use fat as fuel will greatly increase your chances of summiting.
Training sessions that mimic the activities are the best ones.
A strong cardiovascular foundation is the most important asset.
Powerful legs are your second most important tools.
So what does all this mean?
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Spend 10 weeks on long slow distance (LSD) training. This will train your body to burn fat as a fuel, while
building a strong cardiovascular base.
Add to your schedule hill runs or hikes while carrying a loaded pack. This will build those leg muscles and
better mimic the actual climb.
Feel great about your level of physical preparedness for the expedition, which will translate into a much
higher chance of summiting. That self confidence will make every bit of the adventure more rewarding.
Training tools: You can pull off this schedule with stuff you should already have: a good pair of running shoes,
gyms shorts and a place to run. You can substitute running with an elliptical or stair stepper. The one thing you
should buy is a heart rate monitor. Learn to use your heart rate monitor. The alarms, etc, are critical to
pulling off this schedule.
Step 1: Determine your maximum heart rate. A simple, but not perfect, formula is: 220-your age. Using
this formula, I should have a max HR of 178 (220-42). It is also helpful to know your resting heart rate. This
data point explains the anomalies we often see in group members’ acclimatization data. Resting heart rates are
best taken in bed, before you do anything else. Once on the trip your guides will want to know your resting
heart rate (at home).
Step 2: Determine your training zones. For LSD training you must stay “close to the highest speed that you
can run without going anaerobic. This is the speed where fat metabolism is at its highest. For experienced runners, the maximum steady state equals an intensity of 70 to 75 percent of maximum heart rate. For those just
launching their running careers, it will be closer to 60 to 65 percent of maximum heart rate. Studies have confirmed this theory. Volume and intensity interact to produce even greater gains in mitochondria development.
Daily runs of 90 minutes at 70 percent max will boost mitochondria 30 percent higher than equivalent time
spent at an easier 50 percent effort.
On the other hand, you can run too fast on your daily runs. At faster paces, oxygen demand exceeds supply.
You are now anaerobic. Fuel reliance switches predominantly to carbohydrates, and the result is the accumulation of lactic acid. Lactic acid inhibits the enzymes that break down fat and therefore reduces fat metabolism. If
you go out for a 45-minute run at a 10K race pace, you will be burning less fat and generating more waste
products than if you ran those 45 minutes at only a 60 percent effort. Daily hard efforts will result in accumulation of waste products and decreased recovery, and lead to declining performances. It's better to run a little
too slow than a little too fast.”
Liberally excerpted from Marathonguide.com Fuel on Fat for the Long Run By Deborah Schulman, PhD
rock climbing instruction • mountaineering guide service • indoor climbing centers
7125 C Columbia Gateway Drive • Columbia, MD 21046 • 800-CLIMB-UP
410-872-0060 • fax: 410-872-0064 • [email protected]
www.earthtreksclimbing.com
Training for a
Mountaineering Expedition
EXPEDITIONS
Step 3: Start burning that fat:
(Research conducted on world class mountaineers found that the only physical advantage they have over amateur mountaineers is their ability to burn fats as a fuel source.)
“Metabolically, LSD training makes sense. There are two main sources of fuel for exercise: carbohydrates and
fats. The energy supply from carbohydrate and fat is inversely related. High rates of carbohydrate use reduce
combustion of fat. Carbohydrates are used preferentially at very high efforts, such as a 5K race, or at low fitness levels when fat metabolism is underdeveloped.
Conversely, when you teach your body to rely on fat for fuel, your combustion of carbohydrates goes down,
thus sparing carbohydrates. This benefits performance in endurance events. You become very fatigued when
you run too low on carbohydrates. We store only a very limited amount of carbohydrate (glycogen) in our
bodies. Compare this with a relatively unlimited supply of fat. Even an athlete with only 6 percent body fat will
have enough fat to fuel exercise lasting for many hours. When you use more fat, you generate more energy
and your carbohydrate supply lasts longer.
Follow the principle of specificity. If you want to teach your body to use more fat for fuel, then create training
conditions that generate high fat metabolism. Your body will eventually learn to prefer fat.
Research conducted at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden during the 1980s showed that, within the leg muscles
of highly trained endurance men, the activity of enzymes that break down fats was 100 percent higher than in
the untrained subjects. As a result, during exercise they had a much higher ability to regenerate the ATP that
fuels muscular contraction than those who had a greater reliance on carbohydrates.
These researchers found that the maximal oxygen consumption (or V.O2max) was 50 percent greater in the
trained men. Maximal oxygen consumption measures aerobic capacity: the efficiency of the lungs to transfer
oxygen to the blood, the capacity of the blood to carry oxygen, the power of the heart and blood vessels to
deliver large quantities of blood to the muscles, and the ability of the muscles to use the oxygen. Fats cannot be
burned without oxygen. Not only did these men have more enzymes to combust the fat, but they also had
more oxygen to feed the fire.
Researchers have since demonstrated that, after a 12-week six-day-per-week program of 45 minutes of running
and cycling at a high intensity, fat combustion increased by 41 percent. This was accompanied by reduced reliance on carbohydrates.
MILES MAKE MITOCHONDRIA
The enzymes of fat metabolism are located in structures within the muscle cells called mitochondria. Fats are
transported into the mitochondria where, in the presence of oxygen, they are broken down to generate energy. More mitochondria means more fat metabolism, more ATP, and more energy.
High-volume training increases the amount and size of mitochondria. Longer exercise bouts produce the greatest gains in mitochondrial content. A 90-minute run provides a better stimulus than a 60-minute run. It is common for runners to do "two-a-day" workouts to get in the necessary mileage. However, this research indicates
that a runner will receive much more benefit from running one 90-minute workout than two 45-minute workouts. There is, however, a point of diminishing returns. A three-hour run is better at nudging the mitochondria
content upward than a 90-minute run, but the gains are offset by the necessity of a longer recovery time between workouts.
During the base phase of building miles, it is the daily consistency of training over a period of weeks and
months that will boost fat metabolism.”
Liberally excerpted from Marathonguide.com Fuel on Fat for the Long Run By Deborah Schulman, PhD
rock climbing instruction • mountaineering guide service • indoor climbing centers
7125 C Columbia Gateway Drive • Columbia, MD 21046 • 800-CLIMB-UP
410-872-0060 • fax: 410-872-0064 • [email protected]
www.earthtreksclimbing.com
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Training for a
Mountaineering Expedition
EXPEDITIONS
Beginner Training Schedule
Week
Sun
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
Sat
1
30 min @ 60-65% MHR
30 min @ 60-65% MHR
30 min @ 60-65% MHR
30 min @ 60-65% MHR
2
30 min @ 60-65% MHR
30 min @ 60-65% MHR
30 min @ 60-65% MHR
30 min @ 60-65% MHR
3
30 min @ 60-65% MHR
30 min @ 60-65% MHR
30 min @ 60-65% MHR
6 hour day hike
4
30 minute walk
30 min @ 60-65% MHR
30 min @ 60-65% MHR
45 min @ 60- 65% MHR
5
30 min @ 60- 65% MHR
30 min @ 60-65% MHR
30 min @ 65-70% MHR
6 hour day hike
6
30 minute walk
30 min @ 65-70% MHR
30 min @ 65-70% MHR
60 min @ 60- 65% MHR
7
30 min @ 60- 65% MHR
20 min @ 65-70% MHR (hill workout)
20 min @ 65-70% MHR (hill workout)
8 hour day hike
8
30 minute walk
20 min @ 65-70% MHR (hill workout)
20 min @ 65-70% MHR (hill workout)
60 min @ 60- 65% MHR
9
30 min @ 60- 65% MHR
30 min @ 65-70% MHR (hill workout)
30 min @ 65-70% MHR (hill workout)
90 min @ 60-65% MHR
10
30 min @ 60- 65% MHR
30 min @ 65-70% MHR (hill workout)
30 min @ 65-70% MHR
Fly to the mountain
Advanced Training Schedule
Week
Sun
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
Sat
1
30 min @ 65-70% MHR
30 min @ 65-70% MHR
30 min @ 65-70% MHR
30 min @ 65-70% MHR
2
30 min @ 65-70% MHR
30 min @ 65-70% MHR
30 min @ 65-70% MHR
45 min @ 65-70% MHR
3
30 min @ 65-70% MHR
45 min @ 70-75% MHR
45 min @ 70-75% MHR
6 hour day hike
4
30 min @ 65-70% MHR
45 min @ 70-75% MHR
45 min @ 70-75% MHR
60 min @ 65-70% MHR
5
30 min @ 65-70% MHR
45 min @ 70-75% MHR
45 min @ 70-75% MHR
6 hour day hike
6
30 min @ 65-70% MHR
20 min @ 65-70% MHR (hill workout)
20 min @ 65-70% MHR (hill workout)
60 min @ 65-70% MHR
7
30 min @ 65-70% MHR
20 min @ 65-70% MHR (hill workout)
30 min @ 70-75% MHR (hill workout)
8 hour day hike
8
30 min @ 65-70% MHR
30 min @ 70-75% MHR (hill workout)
30 min @ 70-75% MHR (hill workout)
90 min @ 65-70% MHR
9
30 min @ 65-70% MHR
30 min @ 70-75% MHR (hill workout)
30 min @ 70-75% MHR (hill workout)
90 min @ 65-70% MHR
10
30 min @ 65-70% MHR
30 min @ 70-75% MHR (hill workout)
30 min @ 65-70% MHR
Fly to the mountain
Notes: Your heart rate will fluctuate during the workout, it is far easier to stay in the zones if you are on a treadmill, elliptical or other
machine at the local health club. When running on a trail or street, modify your speed to stay in the zone.
Hill Workouts: A few examples: running laps at a local hill, or on the stairs at the local football stadium, or by cranking the treadmill or
other machine towards the toughest incline. I think stair steppers are perfect for this.
You will notice that during all these exercises, the speed (MPH) that you are going will decrease over the course of the workout in order to
keep you in the proper zone. It always surprises me to see how slow I am actually going to stay in the zones.
If you want to add weight training try these exercises: Dumb-bell squats, dumb-bell lunges and dumb-bell calf raises are recommended.
rock climbing instruction • mountaineering guide service • indoor climbing centers
7125 C Columbia Gateway Drive • Columbia, MD 21046 • 800-CLIMB-UP
410-872-0060 • fax: 410-872-0064 • [email protected]
www.earthtreksclimbing.com
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