You could be like Peter Croft before his free solo of Astroman...lie in your tent the whole day before eating Saltines (TM)...

mvs wrote:You could be like Peter Croft before his free solo of Astroman...lie in your tent the whole day before eating Saltines (TM)...

Ha! There ya go. . . Excellent.

Thanks everybody for these insights.

@NewDayRising...

Not sure why you want to be RUNNING with a heavy pack? That's asking for sore knees.

By running, I meant spending time on the tread-mill or outdoors with as fast a pace I'm comfortable with. Thanks for that tip, I'll keep it in mind.

@peninsula...

I'd highly recommend reading Born to Run.

Thanks! Seems like a good book, I'll read it soon.

@ bird...

you need to jump on a program and stick with it.

My thoughts exactly. I don't have a very concrete plan yet, I'll look into your links.

@ Woodie...

If you work out alone, like I do, it could be hard to maintain a consistent regimen- keeping a weekly log might be helpful.

Yes, I work by myself most of the times and I do struggle with discipline. I'm not really a log keeping kind of a person but I'll give it a try this new month.
I'd guess my base fitness is above average. I sometimes run for an hour or take the skates over long distances. Endurance is an area I've to work with.
Thanks for all the excellent advice.

@DanTheMan...

For mountaineering, it's all about your uphill slogging ability. Load a pack with water, hike up the biggest hill around. Drink and dump the water, then go down and repeat it until you can go the whole hill without a break. Then add more weight.

Thanks for the advice, I look forward to trying that.

@VitalityM...

Good luck in India.

Thanks!

@Marcsoltan...

Going up and down those steps, singles and doubles, no pack, about ten times, three times a week, does wonders.

Nice suggestion, I like it. Thanks!

@3Deserts... Great post, thanks!

there's that hill on the west end of town, near Frederiksberg I believe; maybe it's Roskildevej? Either that, or, uh, the bridges to Amager?

I'll look these places up, thanks for the info.

mvs wrote:You could be like Peter Croft before his free solo of Astroman...lie in your tent the whole day before eating Saltines (TM)...

Actually I do salt load a bit and use salt pills during strenuous events if I feel it's going to be necessary. I don't openly recommend it though because for some people it might not be appropriate medically.

Try to change up your stamina program a bit.

The longer-slower runs are good for building an endurance base, but it would benefitial to include intervals and sub-VO2 max steady-state runs, which improve your aerobic maximum. Personally, depending on your timing

Start out the first month just doing endurance days

next few monthes
day 1: long-slow endurance (run, bike)
day 2: easy recovery day of moderate endurance work
day 3: steady state run at 2/3rd to 3/4 the distance of your long slow run (the more advanced you are in your training, the longer (and more painful) this will be).
day 4: another recovery day of moderate endurance work
day 5: easy moderate endurance for warm up, interval training, easy moderate endurance for a warm down
day 6: easy recovery day of moderate endurance

also do hip flexor and extensor strength training excersizes. There is a lot of data saying strong hips will protect your knees.

be nice to your knees. Save the carrying heavy weghts for only once or twice a week, or when you are actually in the mountains. This is a lifelong thing, and if you destroy your knees, it will no longer be possible.

Personally, the only time I hike with a heavy pack is when I am climbing as for the approaches or descents, but since I live in the mountains, I will do this weekly, and depending on the gear I am taking, it is often much more then I carry on alpine climbs.

A friend here in flatland suggests loading the pack with a 40# bag of water-softener salt and walking considerable distances with whatever elevations can be found. The plastic bag is very sturdy, whereas I've had trouble with plastic water jugs leaking through the top or outright splitting. Maybe not workable in south asia.

There are plenty of ways to skin this cat, many good ideas already mentioned. You have to design your program around how much time you want to invest, how many days a week you want to work, and how hard you are willing to push yourself.

Ideally, steep uphill walking outside should be the basis of your regiment, as it would be closest in functionality to the real stuff. If not feasible, then the best would be 1) uphill walking on treadmill 2) stairclimber 3) running, 4) cycling (not nearly as good though).

You could do as little as 2-3 workouts a week, to twice that, but you have modify intensity. Personally, I like 3 core cardio workouts a week of varying intensity and duration. For instance, repeated high intensity 6 minute intervals, a 30 minute steady state "time trial", and a 1-2 hour + endurance bout. Other days can be passive or active rest, or perhaps some weight training.


Nutrition: Enough protein & veggies all the time, and carbs post workouts for glycogen recovery.

All the physiological variables are fun to measure and analyse (i've done plenty of that), but the important variable is being able to push yourself and systematically improve your exercise times / workloads.

Work, eat, recover.