With so many miles on my boots, preparing for Mount Kilimanjaro should of been an easy task. But after a recent accident while skiing in Lake Tahoe my progress was greatly set back. With a hairline fracture in my tibia, forcing me to be on crutches for 2 months and rehab for an additional 2 months. My fears of reaching the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro grew with every passing day.
My training for the 23-40 miles and 19,341 ft elevation hike to the summit has been intense (in-tents). At the local gym I started with 30 minutes on the stair climber with and 30 minutes of Maximum incline on the treadmill at a rate of 3 miles per hour. In addition to the cardio exercise, I focused on core exercises, arm exercises and leg exercises in a rotation.
Weekly routine consists of the following:
(Note: Push yourself, but do not over exercise)
Day 1:
(Switching between the stairs and treadmill every 10 minutes)
30 minutes of stairs (1500 stairs min)
30 minutes of treadmill (Max incline (15), speed 2-3)
Arm and Back exercises: Curls, Pull Down, Bench Etc.
Day 2:
(Switching between the stairs and treadmill every 10 minutes)
30 minutes of stairs (1500 stairs min)
30 minutes of treadmill (Max incline (15), speed 2-3)
Core exercises: All things Abs
Day 3:
(Switching between the stairs and treadmill every 10 minutes)
30 minutes of stairs (1500 stairs min)
30 minutes of treadmill (Max incline (15), speed 2-3)
Leg Exercises
Day 4: Rest Day
To increase the difficulty, you can begin to add weight after a couple weeks. It’s important to note that 1 pound on your foot equals approximately 8 pounds on your back, adding additional weight slowly using ankle weights is recommended. Using a weight vest can be used to increase weight and difficulty, but it’s important to remember that you will only be hiking Kilimanjaro with a 10-25 lbs. pack.
Here are quick links for the weights:
Weight Vest
Ankle Weights
Try to balance your training and avoiding wearing your body down. It’s recommend increasing your protein intake to help repair muscle and don’t forget to drink water.
Remember, you are training and planning for an amazing trip and failing to reach the summit would be a heartbreaking moment.
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