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JakobFisker wrote:Find a crossfit center and a lot of stairs.. all you need..

I think you need to read, he said he wanted outside the gym.

I agree on going to the park and doing pushups, pullups and such (does that count as not gym for you?). You need some real cardio still, though - if you want to have great conditioning for the hills. Stairs, although I don't know if there's any long enough for a good 10 + sustained climb. running and cycling will work well too.

I live in a two-story home. When I can't get out, I go up and down the stairs 120 times. I carry two 10 lb dumbbells and do alternate presses and curls for 3 of every set of ten flights. I do the steps 2 at a time for the in-between-dumbbell flights. The full set takes about 35 minutes and definitely gets my heart beating.

You can get an amazing amount of exercise from simple chair squats -- try doing 200 in a set!

Of course the city is the epitome of the Vertical World and is loaded with climbing opportunities.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzXEfzl16Wo

Others have said that training stress through the heat and humidity of a Florida summer helps compensate for the lack of oxygen when you go to altitude. Not sure I believe that, but is sure was a pleasant relief to leave Florida in July or August and go to Colorado or upstate NY for a week.

Do what I do... hike yourself to exhaustion 5-6 days before your big climb.

It won't get you highly fit, but that conditioning is enough to make your climb go a bit better.

I'm stuck for half of the year on oil rigs which I would have thought is a place that has much less options for exercise than most locations.

My current regime on the 25 m x 25 m helideck is

(150 skips, 25 alternate walking lunges, 10 dips, 25 walking lunges) x 4
(150 skips, 15 pushups, 25 squats) x 4
(5 burpees, 25 sprint, 5 burpees, 25 m side step, 5 burpees, 25 m run backwards, 5 burpees) x 5

It takes me about 1 hour depending on cloud and wind conditions..more cloud and more wind, the cooler it is.

Run at least 5 days a week combined with push-ups, sit ups, and pull ups. Before my most recent hike, I also bicycled for an hour each day and I noticed a big difference in cardiovascular performance. Bicycling will whip you into shape in no time!

billisfree wrote:Do what I do... hike yourself to exhaustion 5-6 days before your big climb.

It won't get you highly fit, but that conditioning is enough to make your climb go a bit better.

Anyone know of any research or a scientific explanation for why this is. I've experienced this as well. Is it simply, psychological?

John Duffield wrote:Of course the city is the epitome of the Vertical World and is loaded with climbing opportunities.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzXEfzl16Wo

Very true, cities are a climbing haven....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U0tDU37q2M

If you're not up for that sort of stuff, road biking would be good, and it's fun too, not as monotanous as running up and down stairs with a loaded pack (although that works).

And CrossFit is awesome! (but i guess it is a gym...)

Joe White wrote:

billisfree wrote:Do what I do... hike yourself to exhaustion 5-6 days before your big climb.

It won't get you highly fit, but that conditioning is enough to make your climb go a bit better.

Anyone know of any research or a scientific explanation for why this is. I've experienced this as well. Is it simply, psychological?

Pushing your body and then giving it time to recover is effective conditioning. There is nothing mysterious about it. It's a lot more than psychological.

A Concept2 ergometer fits all needs.

I've never been to London, but if there are any good hills nearby to ride a road bike on, those would do wonders. Laps on hills are key.

Same applies to mountain biking if you have a network of trails nearby that you can go to. Even a short ride 3 days a week with one or two longer rides on top of that would keep you in pretty good shape