12 WEEKS KILIMANJARO FITNESS AND TRAINING PROGRAM

What fitness training should I follow to prepare before Climb Kilimanjaro?

Start Training For Kilimanjaro At Least 12 Weeks Before Or Even More Of Your Kilimanjaro Climbing Trek Depending On Your Level Of Fitness. Climbers should remember that on a standard Kilimanjaro ascent, failure to reach the summit is far more likely to be due to exhaustion due to inadequate training than any altitude-related causes. 

Please make the most of your chance to reach the highest point in Africa by committing yourself to an appropriate training regime such as the one below. 

Not every element of this training regime is mountain specific. There are two aspects: cardiovascular training – which will strengthen the heart and lungs to the necessary extent to cope with the rigours of a high altitude expedition, and endurance training – which is more specific to walking uphill over long distances.

You must consult your doctor before partaking in any training program.

KEY TO TRAINING PROGRAM ABOVE

Jog:

The most effective cardiovascular exercise has a high impact and carries a risk of injury. Always stretch off and warm up thoroughly before each session. Jogging should be at a pace at which it is just about possible to maintain a conversation with a partner, provided sentences are kept very short. If the injury appears likely, it may be necessary to substitute with cycling or swimming.

Timed run: 

Try to accurately determine a 1.5-mile course with a little rise and fall but no big hills. Warm-up thoroughly and aim for the best time you’re capable of. Note your time down. As your training course progresses, reduced times are reassuring proof of increased cardiovascular strength.

Hill training: 

Try to find an incline near where you live that would be long enough to sprint up for a minute (if ever you were capable of this!). A single repetition involves an ascent and descent without any break in between. If you choose to jog down, ensure that you take small strides and that your knees are never locked. Aim to minimise the time spent resting between repetitions.

Hillwalking: 

This is an essential aspect of preparation for Kilimanjaro. Navigation skills are not important; rather, ensure that you are on the ground familiar to you and aim to keep moving at a good pace with only short breaks now and then. Take plenty of water with you and drink a little and very often. You’ll be carrying more weight than when you’re on Kilimanjaro and simulating the exaggerated sense of fatigue experienced at high altitudes.

Swim: 

A useful non-impact cardiovascular exercise with the added benefit of strengthening your shoulders for load-bearing. If you experience pains or niggles when you jog, substitute some jogging sessions for swimming. If you thoroughly dislike being in water or can’t swim, cycling is a good low impact alternative but is difficult in bad weather and carries peculiar risks.

Circuits Training: 

Strengthen the midriff and shoulders and minimise the risk of neck strain and shoulder and back injuries caused by carrying your daysack on the mountain. Typically, a circuit session could consist of: 25 press-ups; 35 sit-ups; 15 dips; 5 pull-ups; 20 press-ups; 30 sit-ups; 12 dips; 4 pull-ups; 15 press-ups; 25 sit-ups; 8 dips; 3 pull-ups.

Interval training:

 This is a vigorous and very effective form of cardiovascular strength training and is a run that is punctuated with short periods of very intensive output. Typically jog at a moderate pace for 5 minutes then sprint for 20 seconds exactly; jog for 3 minutes moderately than run hard for 1 minute; jog 4 minutes, sprint 30 seconds; jog 8 minutes, run hard 2 minutes; speed 5 minutes, sprint 30 seconds, etc., etc. Very hard work but reaps dividends.