After climbing Mt. Rainier, as our teams are sitting in Ashford at the Bar & Grill, I am often asked, “What is a next best climb?” While that is a great question with many possibilities, my go to answer is typically Aconcagua. Aconcagua is the highest mountain in South America and one of the world's highest mountains. It is a great introduction to expedition style climbing, it is relatively safe, and it is a ton of fun!
Climbing a mountain like Aconcagua is a huge endeavor. It is a mountain that requires an athlete to be in top physical condition. Overall aerobic endurance training is very important and it is important that most climbers come to the mountain fully prepared. In regards to endurance training, I have always been a firm believer that you must do something aerobically that you really enjoy doing...because you must do a lot of it! For me, that activity is road cycling. I can get on the bike and ride for hours upon hours. For others, it may be running or hiking.
I have an additional workout that I incorporate into my training once a week, two months prior to my expedition, in order to prepare. The workout is “crossfit” style, but first I want to explain why I benefit from it.
High altitude climbing demands three things. One, you must have a high aerobic threshold. Without getting into too scientific, your body’s aerobic threshold simply means your body is still running on oxygen. Anaerobic system is when you are not getting enough oxygen and lactic acid builds up. This is when you are going so hard you begin to feel that “burn” in your legs and you simply feel you cannot maintain that effort. So your body slows down, you return to your aerobic state and your body begins to flush the lactic acid out. If you do interval training, going all out for a short time followed by a longer period of rest, you in a sense are building a higher aerobic threshold.
Two, you must have good overall strength for climbing at high altitudes. On Aconcagua you will carry a heavy pack to move between the three camps we have. So you must have strong shoulders, back, chest, core and legs.
Lastly, you must have a great deal of mental strength. We would all love it if climbing high mountains would be easy, but it is not! Climbing to high altitudes requires a little bit of suffering. How hard are you mentally willing to push it? You must break mental barriers to succeed at high altitude.
With all that I personally do a routine that has me crying at the end. Why? Because it requires all three things mentioned above. And here is the workout…but first, always consult a profession trainier before attempting a new workout.
1. Man Makers
2. 500 meter row
3. 30 – 50 full sit ups
4. Jump rope one minute
5. Kettle bell dead lift
6. Lying Leg raises
I perform these exercises in succession with as little time resting in between. A complete cycle of these exercises is one set. I perform a total of three sets. This workout is torture…but in a good way. It keeps my heart rate elevated very high, especially during the rowing and jump roping. It also incorporates overall muscle strength. And I have to push through a mental barrier because I guarantee you will either want to rest or quit.
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JJ Justman is a senior guide with RMI Expeditions. He has led 18 expeditions to Aconcagua, and guided and climbed around the world, including three expeditions to Mt. Everest. In addition to climbing and cycling, JJ is a talented Tango dancer. JJ will be leading several Aconcagua expeditions for RMI this coming winter.
Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts here on the RMI Blog!
Roy, I shoot for 15 manmakers (not to heavy dumb bells). 15 deadlifts, again not too heavy but find something that challenges you to barely get to 15 safely. And I go to exhaustion on the lying leg lifts. Hooe that helps. Keep the discussions going climbers. Lets stay motivated to climb higher!
Posted by: JJ on 10/7/2013 at 11:40 am
JJ,
This looks like a killer workout. For the suggested exercises you enumerated the number of sit ups and the time of jumping rope…how long and/or how many on the others?
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir September 15 - 19 led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and JJ Justman reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. Brent reported a beautiful day with no winds and blue skies all around. The team will conclude their week on the mountain tomorrow.
We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp tomorrow afternoon.
Hi everyone. You know...it certainly can be disappointing. I guess that's why they call it Disappointment Cleaver, which is where we are right now.
However, our team is having fun and smiling. Hey! That's part of climbing. The mountain said no and we have to respect that. We will climb another day and we are happy about that.
Now, we will finish taking photos and focus on the most important part of climbing, getting down safely.
Ciao from Rainier.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
These are the days that I really love being a mountain guide. Sharing the beauty of Mt. Rainier in September can only be understood by experiencing the beauty of Autumn on Rainier.
The wild flowers are popping in full color. The marmots are whistling. And despite marginal weather, the low marine layers really make the mountains appear luminous and majestic.
The photos don't do it justice so get off the couch, push yourself away from the desk and get on out here!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Janet & Peter, Random says 4 hooves up for the summit tomorrow! Resting and relaxing at home, Gretchen says “I could have done the first 17 miles with you!” We are hoping the weather will be perfect and that you enjoy your climb to the top in the morning. Cheers!!!
Pat and Jeanne
Our Four Day Summit Climb Teams led by RMI Guides JJ Justman and Billy Nugent did not leave Camp Muir last night. High winds, heavy precipitation and low visibility made Camp Muir the high point for the team. The teams enjoyed breakfast and hot coffee this morning and are now en-route to Paradise and will be back at RMI Basecamp early this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's teams!
JJ, Billy, Katrina, Steve, Lindsey and Brian(?) were AWESOME!!! Thank you so much for the expert instruction, professionalism, the laughs and most importantly for making sure we all were able to make it back home safely and in one piece. Best of luck to all of you.
Sincerely,
Two-timer(Roger) and Treadmill(Debbie)
P.S. Sheik Rules!!
Posted by: Roger and Debbie on 8/31/2013 at 12:03 pm
The Four Day Summit Climbs led by RMI Guides JJ Justman and Garrett Stevens reached the summit this morning at 6:40 a.m. They reported partly cloudy skies, 35 mph winds, and freezing level around 10,000'. The climbers ventured over to Columbia Crest, the highest point in Washington, before beginning their descent at 7:50 a.m.
Congratulations to the climbers!
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Solveig Waterfall and the Five Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide JJ Justman reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Solveig and JJ both reported moderate, gusty winds; clear skies; and warm temperatures. The teams began their descent back to Camp Muir around 8:30 am. The Five Day Summit Climb will return to Camp Muir for their final night on the mountain while the Four Day Summit Climb will rest and refuel before descending to Paradise. We look forward to greeting the Four Day Summit Climb team in Ashford later today.
Congratulations to today’s climbs!
RMI Guide JJ Justman and his team spent today at Ngorongoro Crater viewing some spectacular animals on day two of their safari. Check out JJ's video below.
After spending the night at the Dik Dik Hotel celebrating our summit success, our team loaded into “pop-top” Land Rovers to begin our safari. Today we explored Lake Manyara National Park and saw many animals, which some are included in the video below.
The team is doing great and enjoying the different landscapes that we are experiencing here on safari.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
This is JJ calling from the summit! Climbing Kilimanjaro we had a lot of wishes, but one of them was that our entire team would reach the summit of Kilimanjaro together. That is where we are right now. I can't say enough great things about this team. The entire gang did a amazing job today! We did a lot of hero shots by the sign at the summit. Going to spend a little more time on Uhuru Peak before we start our descent. The team all says hi to family and friends. We will touch base with you letting you know we are safe at camp. We had a fantastic day. Take care everyone.
Thank you for following a long on our summit day.
Ciao, ciao from Kili!
Update 1:40 a.m. PST
Hi everyone, this post is going to be brief. First, all Kili climbers are back in camp safe and sound. Everyone made the summit on a terrific day. We are now refueling and packing up camp. We will head down to 10,000 feet making tomorrow's exit of Kilimanjaro Park nice and casual.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Roy, I shoot for 15 manmakers (not to heavy dumb bells). 15 deadlifts, again not too heavy but find something that challenges you to barely get to 15 safely. And I go to exhaustion on the lying leg lifts. Hooe that helps. Keep the discussions going climbers. Lets stay motivated to climb higher!
Posted by: JJ on 10/7/2013 at 11:40 am
JJ,
This looks like a killer workout. For the suggested exercises you enumerated the number of sit ups and the time of jumping rope…how long and/or how many on the others?
Thanks!
Posted by: Roy on 10/7/2013 at 6:30 am
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