Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Fitness Training

What kinds of training do you do durning the off season or when you are not able to do that much hiking prior to doing Whitney? Besides running I do the stairclimber with weights, and also do leg strengthening lifts (squats, leg press, and step ups). Thanks for your advice.

Having just gotten back from about 100 miles out at Philmont (Scout ranch in NM), I would claim that my fitness regimen works reasonably well...

3 days/week: 2-mile loop, walking in 26-28 minutes.
1 day/week: 30 minutes on my Nordic Trak
1 day/week: 30 minutes swimming laps in the rec center pool (about 0.8 miles)

The couple of weeks before Philmont, I substituted/added some cycling to that...covered maybe 100 miles over 10 days, one fairly long one (25+ miles), a couple of 16s and the rest 5-10 at a time.

I should probably add some strength conditioning to that, but the primarily-cardio mix seems to work pretty well for normal backpacking and mountaineering. (I'm no spring chicken...well on the far side of 50...)

Randy, sounds like you've got it covered! I run marathons and lift like a fiend, but I see many people on the trail who at least appear to be much less fit than me, and they make the hike with no problem. Although fitness may make the day after a bit more pleasant. : o

The most effective leg exercise for me is walking lunges with a 45-50 lb. bar on my shoulders. This is a good overall exercise in preparation for hiking and backpacking. Works your legs, lower back, and your balance.

I absolutely love running the stairs at the local JC football stadium 3X a week. It is an amazing cardio and the leg strengthening is un-beatable.It is the first execise I have done in a long time that I can feel the endorphins kick in.Talk about a natural high.My calves have gotten huge and soooo strong. Another thing I really enjoy is that it is outdoors and I usually get to watch the sunrise.
I then go to my own gym 3X a week where i lift with isokenetic machines,core strengthening on a physio-ball,stretch bands,cardio-kick boxing and yoga.BTW I can't wait to recover from my surgery and get back to working out. I miss it.

I try to exercise 5 days a week alernating between cycling and walking. Walking is done with a 20-30lb pack on and half of my cycling is done pulling my daughter in a trailer or on her trail bike which adds about 65 pounds in total. Most exercise sessions last 1 hour. Plus, I do core strengthening exercises on a balance ball for 15 minutes a day. I get out on a hike in the mountains once every other week to do summit hikes of 4-6 hours.

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