It's not a matter of opinion. It's a fact.
I'm a Strength and Conditioning Coach for some of the best endurance and ultra-endurance athletes in the world.
Getting in mountain shape with no mountains around?
- Thread starter KyleC
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I'm a Strength and Conditioning Coach for some of the best endurance and ultra-endurance athletes in the world.
Hand Skills
Well-Known Member
Interesting. When I learned mountaineering, I was taught to take small steps. Maybe my definitions are incorrect, but I have seen big strong guys crumble, and small females excell on the same trecks. What am I missing?
Skimbleshanks
Well-Known Member
Loads of stuff in Oregon to climb. 1 I really like is hiking from Timberline Lodge to the top of the Palmer chairlift as a fitness hike. Good excercise AND it's at elevation. In season or with the correct equipment South Sister is a great hike as well. Lots of conflicting ideas about fitness and mountain fitness in particular. Id say focus on strength, cardio, and flexibility. It all matters. Pick up the book Training For The New Alpinism: A Manual For The Climber As An Athlete. By Scott Johnston and Steve House. Its not just a do this excercise, get strong book. It tells you why you get strong and how to develop the different types of strength you might be lacking.
D
Deleted member 103481
Guest
Time machine
You missed where I said that you need to train for both strength and endurance
Alex Wheeler
Well-Known Member
Im sure technically speaking your right. Im basing my opinion on my own experience. When I stopped lifting I really did not notice a difference in the mountains. Im sure my strength is cut in half but I cant tell. But if I stopped running I know Id feel that when I got out in the mountains.
It doesn't have to be all or nothing
dargie12317
Well-Known Member
Stair master at the gym will do it!
Westdreamer
Active Member
I'm no expert by any means, but I have been going from 900' in South Carolina to 10k' - 11k' in Colorado every year for a while chasing elk. I work a ton of hours normally and don't have much time for gyms or mountains. I bought 2 used tread mills and stuck them in the basement. My daughters and I start training about 10 - 12 weeks before we leave. (They stay in shape though, unlike me.) We start with fully inclined (plus a couple 2x4's under the front) treadmill walks around 3-3.5 mph for 30 - 60 minutes. We also do step ups onto a bench press bench for 30 - 45 minutes, stopping only when you have to for about 60 seconds and going back at it. We switch back and forth between treadmill days and step up days. After 3 or 4 weeks of increasing the duration and speed (max speed for us is about 3.7 mph), we start doing the same exercises with 40 pound back packs and our hunting boots on with our liner and wool socks we plan on wearing during the hunt. The boots and socks add weight and will let you know if they are not broke in or have fit issues. This also conditions your feet. The backpack during these exercises adds weight, and works extra balance muscles I didn't know I had. In the backpack, keep the weight as high and tight to the back as you can, I find this to help in the field as well with anything in my pack. We do these exercises 2 - 3 times per week at first, then 3 times per week regularly closer to the trip.
Someone also mentioned small steps. I find taking steady, very small steps when going up really steep grades to really save my leg strength. I'm talking steps about the size of heal to toe.
Again, we are no experts, this just seems to work for us though and it's fairly simple and cheap. We are also usually able to go up and down mountain sides and canyon walls to find elk where a lot of other hunters won't or can't.
Cheers.
Someone also mentioned small steps. I find taking steady, very small steps when going up really steep grades to really save my leg strength. I'm talking steps about the size of heal to toe.
Again, we are no experts, this just seems to work for us though and it's fairly simple and cheap. We are also usually able to go up and down mountain sides and canyon walls to find elk where a lot of other hunters won't or can't.
Cheers.
The
original post was "where to start "looking at your profile you appear to be 48 years old I would start with a good physical by a qualified physician proceed from there.To the rest of the audience it is not strength vs endurance it's a combination of both and add a healthy dose of mental determination/ toughness.my $.02 from someone who has been in the shittiest places on earth, your mindset is as important as anything else.The most important thing is to stay in shape it will increase your quality of life beyond just hunting.Rant over .
original post was "where to start "looking at your profile you appear to be 48 years old I would start with a good physical by a qualified physician proceed from there.To the rest of the audience it is not strength vs endurance it's a combination of both and add a healthy dose of mental determination/ toughness.my $.02 from someone who has been in the shittiest places on earth, your mindset is as important as anything else.The most important thing is to stay in shape it will increase your quality of life beyond just hunting.Rant over .
I did a high country mule deer hunt in the holy cross 2019. I was 49 and my training was not geared around that hunt in particular but was geared toward the Mammoth Sniper Challenge I was shooting in Jan 2020. (my buddy had the Deer tag, I was bow hunting elk, there to help him)
I had been lifting for about 1 year 2-3 days a week, running for that time period once per week 3-4 miles.
I then started to do weighted rucks to get ready for Mammoth in July 2-3 a week and tuned weight lifting to once a week). The requirement was 16 minute miles or you are DQed. I got to the point I could do 10:30 miles for 5 miles with 45 lbs in my pack. Unweighted my fastest mile in a 3 mile run was 6:01. A hilly 5K i ran a month out from my hunt was 21:06.
I feel the biggest single thing I did to get ready for the Hunt was the weighted rucks. It was how we were going to hunt. Camp on our back for 6 days, carry camp every day and just go deeper. I figured we did about 40 miles, camped at or above 11,000 feet every night, the single fastest march was the pack out the last day of about 9.5 miles.
With that level of preparation I was far above my buddies level of commitment, but what I noticed was I didn't need rest breaks when walking loaded, scrambling up 3-500 feet to glass I would leave him behind, because he just slowed things down too much. He drank 2-3x the amount of water I did so needed to carry more water daily. He needed alot more calories to recover every night.
I'm shooting Mammoth again in 4 weeks. I'm now rucking to keep a stride pace length and foot speed that I can do 15 minute miles with out having to run. At 50 I'm not going to pound out 10:30 miles and cause an injury while loaded and screw up my event. I think last year I didn't know what to expect so I trained harder then I needed to but it made a high altitude hunt a breeze.
I had been lifting for about 1 year 2-3 days a week, running for that time period once per week 3-4 miles.
I then started to do weighted rucks to get ready for Mammoth in July 2-3 a week and tuned weight lifting to once a week). The requirement was 16 minute miles or you are DQed. I got to the point I could do 10:30 miles for 5 miles with 45 lbs in my pack. Unweighted my fastest mile in a 3 mile run was 6:01. A hilly 5K i ran a month out from my hunt was 21:06.
I feel the biggest single thing I did to get ready for the Hunt was the weighted rucks. It was how we were going to hunt. Camp on our back for 6 days, carry camp every day and just go deeper. I figured we did about 40 miles, camped at or above 11,000 feet every night, the single fastest march was the pack out the last day of about 9.5 miles.
With that level of preparation I was far above my buddies level of commitment, but what I noticed was I didn't need rest breaks when walking loaded, scrambling up 3-500 feet to glass I would leave him behind, because he just slowed things down too much. He drank 2-3x the amount of water I did so needed to carry more water daily. He needed alot more calories to recover every night.
I'm shooting Mammoth again in 4 weeks. I'm now rucking to keep a stride pace length and foot speed that I can do 15 minute miles with out having to run. At 50 I'm not going to pound out 10:30 miles and cause an injury while loaded and screw up my event. I think last year I didn't know what to expect so I trained harder then I needed to but it made a high altitude hunt a breeze.
Find a hill or something with an incline and ruck it. I live in New Orleans, I think the highest "peak" near me is 20 ft. I ruck up and down the levee at the lake front here with about 45-60 lbs and also use treadmills on the highest incline, usually (most are 15 degrees).
