BootsnAll Travel Community

My wife and I finalized plans to climb Kilimanjaro during the 2007-2008 Christmas/New Year's time period in early November or 2007.

This only gave us about 7-8 weeks to get into shape for the climb. As a starting point for us, we were healthy, not overweight, and in our early 30s, but also not in great shape either. At the time, I'd probably be winded after a mile or so of running at slow speeds.

Anyhow, our primary training involved climbing stairs (not stairmaster), without carrying any weight. This happened once or twice a week. Supplementally, we'd also run once or twice per week.

My stair climbing routine was pretty straightforward. I'd climb up 13 stories (about 212 steps with 2 flights per story) and then climb down. I did this a total of 7-8 laps depending on the day. My wife would do 3 laps of stairs at a nearby 30+ story hotel for her training sessions.

I maintained a slight jog on the steps as much as I could and walked on the landings. In the beginning of my training I was averaging more than 4 minutes and 15 seconds per lap. After a month or so, I was averaging about 3 minutes and 45 seconds per lap for my workout and feeling a lot better.

During our training runs at least once per week, we ran very slowly - probably about 11-12 minute miles. We would probably run 4 miles each time and walk when needed. At the end of our training I definitely could have run a lot further without stopping given the slow pace.

We didn't have any time to do any hiking during our training but we did get to do a few days of skiing in Colorado at 10,000 ft+ elevation.

During our 7-day Machame trek, we didn't have any problems. We really didn't get sore from hiking, get out of breath, or run out of energy at all - even on summit day. I had a heart rate/altimeter watch to prevent myself from going too fast and I focused on pressure breathing and using the rest step technique to conserve energy. The hardest part by far was descending from Barafu to Mweke and from Mweke to the gate.

The bottom line is that I think that stair climbing is a fantastic preperation for Kili or any kind of hiking. It builds strength in your leg muscles a lot more than running and it also gives you a great cardio workout.

I had a fair bit more time to prepare, and the staples of my training were:

- regular (almost weekly) hikes of between 3 and 6 hours carrying a backpack with 5-10kg of free weights and 2-3 litres of water. Always involving steep up hill sections and varying terrain. Had the boots I was going to climb Kili in the whole time too. They were like an extension of my feet by the time I left, so almost no problems with blisters or foot pain.
- weekly personal training sessions focussing on building leg strength and endurance (lots of lunges, squats, core strength/balance work)
- regular additional gym sessions for cardio and weight training

Plus my regular routine of playing social sport for running etc.

I ended my preparation by going hiking on 3 consecutive days for a minimum of 4 hours a day.

No elevation in my part of Australia, but enough steep bits to get some work in. Also in the middle of a drought so didn't get much chance to endure the elements. Thankfully I didn't encounter much rain on Kili so that wasn't a problem.

Steps and hills, ideally carrying a similar amount of weight to what you're going to carry on Kili is the ideal prep in my opinion. Mix in practicing with equipment you will be using (poles, boots, pack, clothes etc) is even better.

Thanks for the tips! I have about a year to prepare, and I wasn't sure how much work I need to put in to it. I'm thinking stairs with a day pack should do it...

Most has already been mentioned but ideally your training will encompass:

1. hiking
2. uphills(stairs and grades)
3. uneven terrain
4. a pack equal to what you will carry,
5. footwear that weighs at least as much as you will use
6. altitude

Since not everyone has a high altitude peak to climb in their backyard you can get most of what you need by doing the stairmaster (or stairs). Also include using a treadill set at maximum incline (or hills). Do both while wearing heavy shoes/boots and a pack. Since it is also important to strengthen your ankles, then if you can't get the stair or hill training on an uneven surface, throw in some trail running at least once per week. And, although less critical for Kili, it's not a bad idea to make sure you get some downhill training in once/week as well, so you don't get wiped out coming back down the mountain as well.

As far as altitude goes, if you can spend any time above 2400 meters (8000 ft) a week or so before you head out to Kili, it will give you a head start on the acclimization process. And the higher the better. It's not uncommon for climbers to spend time climbing and acclimating to 14,000 ft in the Sierras or Rockies before heading to Alaska and South America to save themselves a few days of acclimization.