Mountaineering Training | Fit To Climb: Week 9
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Categories: Mountaineering Fitness & Training
Fit to Climb: Week 9 Schedule
BRIEFING
This is a big week! This week’s hike will be the longest yet and will mark the end of the foundation phase of your training. After last week's fitness test, Day 6 reverts back to cross training this week.
DESCRIPTIONS OF WORKOUTS
Day 1: Rainier Dozen + Easy Hiking (30 Minutes)
Today’s hike is a recovery workout and you can always substitute it with a different activity, such as running, biking or swimming. The important thing is to move at a moderate pace for 30 to 45 minutes. The pace can be conversational, and you do not need to be dripping with sweat at the end of the workout.
Day 2: Rainier Dozen + Stair Interval Training (60 Minutes)
After the Rainier Dozen, warm up for about 10 minutes, and then climb up and down a set of stairs, at a consistent pace, for about 40 to 50 minutes. Cool down with some stretching. You don’t need to carry a pack on your stair interval training, the focus in this workout is on speed and intensity.
Day 3: Rainier Dozen / Rest
Begin your day with the Rainier Dozen. Feel free to take another 30 to 60 minutes of light exercise if you feel like it (a brisk walk is a great option). If you feel tired, today is a good opportunity be good to take a complete rest day instead. Listen to your body.
Day 4: Strength Circuit Training x 4
Repeat the strength circuit training workout introduced in Week 3. After warming up, perform four sets of the following exercises:
• Steam Engine
• Push Up
• Three Quarter Squat
• Russian Twists
• Lunge
• Steam Engine Laying down
• Mountain Climber
• 8 Point Bodybuilder
Spend 40 seconds performing the exercises, and take 20 seconds between exercises to rest and rotate. Take a full minute of rest between each set. Take a full minute of rest between each set. Take ten minutes to cool down by stretching after you’re done.
Day 5: Rainier Dozen / Rest
Begin your day with the Rainier Dozen. Feel free to take another 30 to 60 minutes of light exercise if you feel like it (a brisk walk is a great option). If you feel tired, today is a good opportunity be good to take a complete rest day instead. Listen to your body.
Day 6: Rainier Dozen / Cross Training (1 Hour)
Warm up with the Rainier Dozen and then spend an hour in some moderately vigorous activity as cross training (find out more about cross training here). Listen to your body, and have fun with it.
Day 7: 5 Hour Hike
Find a location to hike that is about 9 to 10 miles in distance and takes about 5 hours. Maintain the same weight for your pack as last week. If the weight of your pack has to increase a little bit to account for the additional time you’ll be on the trail, that’s ok too.
SUMMARY
How do you feel at this point of the program? Compare where you are now to week one; in what ways do you feel different as a result of the endurance, strength and skills that you’ve earned?
You are on-track to being a strong member of your rope team. Individual focus, skill, coordination and a multitude of factors make up the basis of split-second judgements in the mountains but physical fitness is the foundation for your climb, and you’ve got it. With the foundation you’ve built over the past nine weeks, and with the seven weeks remaining, you’ll have what it takes to be a strong member of your climbing team.
- John Colver
Have a question? See the Fit To Climb FAQ for explanations of specific exercises and general pointers to help you through the Fit To Climb Program.
John Colver is a longtime climber, former mountain guide, and certified personal trainer with the American Council of Exercise. Colver introduced outdoor fitness classes to athletic clubs throughout the greater Puget Sound region before creating his adventX brand. Currently, adventX leads training programs in Seattle and Colver presents clinics on outdoor fitness at companies such as Microsoft, Boeing, the American Lung Association, and REI. Colver lives in Seattle, and is working on his second book, Fit to Climb - a 16 week Mount Rainier Fitness Program.
| DAY | WORKOUT | TOTAL TIME | DIFFICULTY |
| 1 | Rainier Dozen / Easy Hiking ( 30 min) | 42 min. | Medium |
| 2 | Rainier Dozen / High Intensity Stair Interval Training (60 min) | 72 min. | Very Hard |
| 3 | Rainier Dozen / Rest | 12 min. | Recovery |
| 4 | Strength Circuit Training x 4 | 54 min. | Hard |
| 5 | Rainier Dozen / Rest | 12 min. | Recovery |
| 6 | Rainier Dozen / Cross Training | 60 min. | Medium |
| 7 | Hike (5 hrs, 15lbs of pack weight) | 300 min. | Medium |
| Total | 9 hrs 12 mins |
Comments (1)
I am 64 but keeping current on these weekly training segments. I have 4 stents and on blood thinners, can I climb if I still am on a blood thinner….deferring to my cardiologist but would like your opinion on past climbers in my situation ?
Posted by: Joe Snyder on