Alpine Fitness
ALPINE FITNESS
Sherrie Trecker
As you gain climbing experience, if you’re like me, you’ll end up getting so hooked that you want to be out on alpine climbs every weekend, all summer long. Alpine climbing is challenging! Even the easiest routes up basic climbs take 8-10 hours to complete. On intermediate climbs, 20 hour days are not uncommon. Alpinism involves a tremendous amount of athleticism: you need the endurance to keep moving at a decent pace for many hours, the strength to climb 5000 or more feet with 45 pounds on your back and pull difficult climbing moves, and the agility to move quickly on very unstable terrain. To get the most of our short yet beautiful Pacific Northwest summers, you’ll want to be able to repeat this, week after week, for 3-4 months. In order to do this efficiently and injury-free, you’ll need to have an intentional, specific training plan that you can start a few months before the climbing season and will stick to. The best part about training is that if you do it right, you get to ENJOY every minute of the climb, rather than huffing and puffing the whole way up, wearing at your sore feet and legs.
Basic Training Plan
The most important part of any fitness program is finding one that works for you.
Example: Sherrie’s Goals and Progress Tracking
Overarching goal: In 2016, I want to climb moderate alpine routes on back to back weekends, pain free. Some of my goal routes involve a lot of steep scramble terrain that need to be covered quickly, which has been an area of weakness of mine since my knee surgery. Rather than improve the grade of rock I can climb, I’ve focused my training on improving speed on steep off trail terrain and building up my stability muscles. This will include the following:
Here’s what the basic plan I laid out in February looked like. I’ve added notes with actual distances/elevations/pack weights as they were completed. Being INTENTIONAL with my training plan, and TRACKING that training, has been key to keeping myself on track. If you think that simply adding a hike to a spreadsheet isn’t enough to keep you on track, I highly recommend signing up for the scramble and hikes that get posted on the Mountaineers website! That makes it harder to back out last minute, and also gives you a chance to work on being a good team member on an outing.
This is how I keep track of my weekly activity:
Sherrie Trecker
As you gain climbing experience, if you’re like me, you’ll end up getting so hooked that you want to be out on alpine climbs every weekend, all summer long. Alpine climbing is challenging! Even the easiest routes up basic climbs take 8-10 hours to complete. On intermediate climbs, 20 hour days are not uncommon. Alpinism involves a tremendous amount of athleticism: you need the endurance to keep moving at a decent pace for many hours, the strength to climb 5000 or more feet with 45 pounds on your back and pull difficult climbing moves, and the agility to move quickly on very unstable terrain. To get the most of our short yet beautiful Pacific Northwest summers, you’ll want to be able to repeat this, week after week, for 3-4 months. In order to do this efficiently and injury-free, you’ll need to have an intentional, specific training plan that you can start a few months before the climbing season and will stick to. The best part about training is that if you do it right, you get to ENJOY every minute of the climb, rather than huffing and puffing the whole way up, wearing at your sore feet and legs.
Basic Training Plan
The most important part of any fitness program is finding one that works for you.
- Start with your goals for the year, and work backwards from there. If your goal is simply to get in alpine climbing shape so you can do back to back weekends without pain, target the date of your first planned climb and create a training plan that builds up to that point.
- Map out any obligations that will interrupt your training. If you know in advance that you will miss a training hike and accept that it is totally OK, it will keep you from getting discouraged. It might also allow you to plan ahead for an alternative way to get the exercise in, such as doing it on a different day.
- Be gradual in advancing each one of your activities. Add distance, elevation and hours to your training schedule over time rather than entering into a training program at full capacity right away. This will allow you to adjust your personal schedule over time, reduce the risk of injury, and manage muscle soreness.
- Don’t get out of shape in the first place! Through the winter, keep going to the climbing gym, skiing, and scrambling. That way, as summer nears, you won’t be starting from scratch.
- Document your plan, and track your progress. Humans have a tendency to only remember the last few days of a pattern and then apply that pattern to the more distant past. Writing down exactly what you did, the day you did it, is the only way to truly know if you are making progress. It also keeps you honest! Below I’ve outlined how I track my own goals and progress. Feel free to take the idea and make it your own.
Example: Sherrie’s Goals and Progress Tracking
Overarching goal: In 2016, I want to climb moderate alpine routes on back to back weekends, pain free. Some of my goal routes involve a lot of steep scramble terrain that need to be covered quickly, which has been an area of weakness of mine since my knee surgery. Rather than improve the grade of rock I can climb, I’ve focused my training on improving speed on steep off trail terrain and building up my stability muscles. This will include the following:
- Conditioner hikes: weekly (as schedule allows), starting pack weight 30 pounds, building up to 45 pounds by May. Starting distance and elevation 8 miles, 2000’, building up to 10+ miles and 5000’ by May. Focused on fast pace, minimal breaks.
- Scrambles: weekly (as schedule allows). No set pack weight (my scramble pack tends to be 32 pounds though). Focused on navigating unstable terrain.
- Cardio (gym based): 2x per week for one hour. My knees take a beating from the hikes and scrambles, so I prefer 1 day of cycling class, 1 day of elliptical/rowing machine (30 min each). Running is also great for those who don’t have weak knees.
- Strength training (gym based): Focused on body weight exercises that build up stability muscle groups. I try to do 1 hour legs, 1 hour arms, and 1.5 hours of physical therapy-related exercises that really hone in on those stability muscles. When I run short on time in a week, my hour long strength training sessions are what gets cut (I’m usually sore from climbing and hiking anyway). The key for your strength training sessions will be to build the muscle groups that support climbing activity. See Sources below that contain good information on the types of exercises to do.
- Rock climbing: 1-2x per week. This is enough to keep me confident leading moderate trad routes. Do more if you have time, but more than 3 days of hard climbing isn’t recommended (unless you’ve been doing it for years) because it can lead to tendon and other overuse injuries.
- Stretching: I LOVE yoga, but yoga is the one thing I couldn’t fit into my schedule. I try to stretch daily after my workouts, and use a foam roller to relieve tension in my legs and back.
Here’s what the basic plan I laid out in February looked like. I’ve added notes with actual distances/elevations/pack weights as they were completed. Being INTENTIONAL with my training plan, and TRACKING that training, has been key to keeping myself on track. If you think that simply adding a hike to a spreadsheet isn’t enough to keep you on track, I highly recommend signing up for the scramble and hikes that get posted on the Mountaineers website! That makes it harder to back out last minute, and also gives you a chance to work on being a good team member on an outing.
- 2/14/2016 - Oyster Dome, 7.7 miles, 2023', 28 lb pack, 3 hrs 18 min total, 2.5 mph moving speed, Avg HR 137, high 165
- 2/27/2016 - Dirty Harry's Balcony and Peak, 9.4 miles, 3326', 33 lb pack
- 3/6/2016 - Si, 8 miles, 3200', 35 lbs, 1:53 up, 1:15 down
- 3/12/2016 - Mount Washington, 30 pounds, 9.5 miles, 3250', 2:35 up
- 3/19/2016-3/20/2016 - Climbing in Joshua Tree
- 3/26/2016-3/27/2016 - Lead Rock 1 Field Trip
- 4/2/2016 - Teneriffe, 9 miles, 3960', 36 lbs, 3:12 up
- 4/6/2016 - Little Si Conditioner, 5 miles, 1300', 37 lbs
- 4/9/2016-4/10/2016 - Aid Climbing Course
- 4/16/2016 - Camp Muir and Anvil Rock, 10 miles, 5000'
- 4/20/2016 - Mason Lake, 6 miles, 2550', 38 lbs
- 4/24/2016 - Dickerman, 8.2 miles, 3400'
- 4/27/2016 - Mount Si, 8 miles, 3200', 40 lbs
- 4/30/2016 - Cowlitz Rocks, 8 miles, 2400'
- 5/4/2016 - Old Si, 7.2 miles, 3300', 41 lbs
- 5/7/2016 - St Helens, 12 miles, 4800'
- 5/11/2016 - Mount Washington, 9.5 miles, 3250', 42 lbs
- 5/14/2016 - Teneriffe, 9 miles, 3960', 43 lbs
- 5/18/2016 - Bandera, 8 miles, 3400', 44 lbs
- 5/21/2016-5/22/2016 - West Ridge of Stuart, 5250' (1.5 days)
- 5/28/2016-5/30/2016 - Brothers Traverse, 6200' (3 days)
- 6/1/2016 - Old Mailbox (down new), 8 miles, 4100', 45 lbs
- 6/4/2016 - Tooth Basic Rock Climb
This is how I keep track of my weekly activity:
Why Si isn’t a good indicator of Alpine Fitness
As a basic student, it’s easy to think that as long as you had a decent time up Si, you’re in shape for climbing. However, when was the last time you did a climb with an approach that was as easy as Si? When was the last time that you were on a climb that only lasted 3.5 hours, car to car? While Si is a great conditioner to get your speed up with a heavy pack when you have limited time, it doesn’t really transfer to being able to move quickly and efficiently over alpine terrain for 10-20 hours at a time.
As the climbing season approaches I recommend getting out on some longer scrambles, either with the Mountaineers or with friends.
When training for alpinism, your best bet will probably be to take a look at what you are already doing for exercise, emphasize what you really enjoy, and tweak it for specific alpine objectives you have in the coming year. Then track your plan, your actual workouts, and any incremental gains religiously.
Sources:
- Training for the New Alpinism by Steve House: This is considered the Bible of alpine training. It’s got some great tips and tricks, but it is geared toward the alpinist who wants to tackle one or two major objectives each year rather than the alpinist who wants to perform at a moderately high level from late May through early October. That said, it has excellent information on how your body reacts to training (and not training) and you can take the information to adapt to your own training goals. For instance, Rob has read the book and has taken it to mean that he needs to run in Zone 1 for 2-3 days a week on top of his gym climbing and weekend activities. Cardio has always been Rob’s area of weakness. I read the book and have largely ignored the emphasis on Zone 1 training during the week, since I work too much and don’t have time for 2 hour runs, but I do like the strength training recommendations as well as the tracking advice.
- RMI Guides: This is really tailored to PNW climbing. It is also more specific and easier to follow than the guidelines put forth in Training for the New Alpinism. https://www.rmiguides.com/resources/fitness-and-training
Top picture: Scrambling to the summit of Mount Stuart, 6/7/2015