Gettin In Shape, Part Deux
Getting in shape is certainly one thing that someone wishing to climb Kilimanjaro has control over. Nonetheless, stories abound about how some of the most fit trekkers fail to summit, while some of the least likely, seemly out of shape, hikers bound to the top like mountain goats. Ultimately how one responds to altitude seems to be the big unknown….
As always, I had much more ambitious plans for getting in shape than what I have actually done, but at least I’ve been consistent. I’ve averaged 4-7 hours of aerobic exercise per week, trying to get in at least one longer workout on the weekend with 1 hour workouts scattered throughout the week (plus some occasionally weight lifting thrown in). Most of it has been biking (either on the road or spinning), occasional running (limited due to an injury back in October), and taking Ajay’s lead, some workouts oriented towards getting use to hiking with pack.
I’ve done a lot of backpacking in the past; but most of these trips are relatively short, so putting up with sore hips, back, and blisters is usually pretty tolerable if you know that you’ll be kicking back in an easy chair with your feet propped up in another day or two. However, I definitely want to try to adapt to this as much as possible before Kilimanjaro. I started by climbing a 15 story stairwell in Building 10 at the NIH, carrying a 30 lb. pack, taking the elevators down, and doing it again. And again. And again. I managed to do 525 flights in about 3.5 hours one weekend (>5200 vertical feet) but would probably go insane if I try that again. Since then, I’ve joined a gym and have taken my side-show to the treadmill, and I’m glad I did. One hour of sisyphian climbing on a treadmill with incline and voila…blisters. I was somewhat surprised by this because I have been using my boots for many years and have never really had a big problem with blisters with this pair. However, usually I don’t hike with as thick socks as I have been using to train with (as these are what I will be using on Kilimanjaro). Better now than later. Although climbing an actual stairwell with pack was more of a quad buster (especially taking 2 steps at a time), it’s a lot easier to get the heart rate up on a treadmill. So far, I’ve done a lot of the workout with my HR 170-180 (85-90% max) as this is probably what it’s going to be doing at altitude. And judging by the blisters, the treadmill simulates actual hiking to a much better extent than stair climbing.
Still have a couple more weeks…
As always, I had much more ambitious plans for getting in shape than what I have actually done, but at least I’ve been consistent. I’ve averaged 4-7 hours of aerobic exercise per week, trying to get in at least one longer workout on the weekend with 1 hour workouts scattered throughout the week (plus some occasionally weight lifting thrown in). Most of it has been biking (either on the road or spinning), occasional running (limited due to an injury back in October), and taking Ajay’s lead, some workouts oriented towards getting use to hiking with pack.
I’ve done a lot of backpacking in the past; but most of these trips are relatively short, so putting up with sore hips, back, and blisters is usually pretty tolerable if you know that you’ll be kicking back in an easy chair with your feet propped up in another day or two. However, I definitely want to try to adapt to this as much as possible before Kilimanjaro. I started by climbing a 15 story stairwell in Building 10 at the NIH, carrying a 30 lb. pack, taking the elevators down, and doing it again. And again. And again. I managed to do 525 flights in about 3.5 hours one weekend (>5200 vertical feet) but would probably go insane if I try that again. Since then, I’ve joined a gym and have taken my side-show to the treadmill, and I’m glad I did. One hour of sisyphian climbing on a treadmill with incline and voila…blisters. I was somewhat surprised by this because I have been using my boots for many years and have never really had a big problem with blisters with this pair. However, usually I don’t hike with as thick socks as I have been using to train with (as these are what I will be using on Kilimanjaro). Better now than later. Although climbing an actual stairwell with pack was more of a quad buster (especially taking 2 steps at a time), it’s a lot easier to get the heart rate up on a treadmill. So far, I’ve done a lot of the workout with my HR 170-180 (85-90% max) as this is probably what it’s going to be doing at altitude. And judging by the blisters, the treadmill simulates actual hiking to a much better extent than stair climbing.
Still have a couple more weeks…
Labels: Conditioning, Preparation
posted by Phil at 12:58 AM
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