There’s no more fulfilling way to train for Kilimanjaro than to head out into nature. Of course, you’ll still need to hit the gym regularly and work hard to build up your core and leg strength. Yet there’s just something so satisfying about prepping for a journey like this by mirroring the experience in the great outdoors yourself. But where do you start?
Well, here’s your answer: if you don’t know where to start, we’ve made this list of 3 outdoor locations that complement your other training. We’ve tried to accommodate as many different types of terrain as possible, given that you might live far from a mountain or even a proper trail. The key is scaling up and making these locations a part of your routine.
Hilly Climbs
It seems obvious that a long, hill-filled climb will mimic the experience of being on Kilimanjaro, but why is that? It’s not the altitude: you can’t train for that, no matter what some people say. It’s because a hilly climb requires concentric and eccentric movement. Concentric exercises focus on building the big, bulky ones like the quads and hamstrings, think about when we work out. Gym exercises like squats and lunges are structured and targeted parts of your training, but a hilly climb offers the chance to see how that work is paying off. The duration and intensity of these treks should scale up over time so you’re conditioned for the workload you’ll do while you’re in Tanzania.
The descent has its benefits – it requires eccentric movement, which works out the same muscle groups, but differently. When climbing uphill, you’re using the force of your quads and hamstrings to propel you upwards. When going down, however, you’re using your muscles to counteract gravity and maintain your balance. It’s an investment that pays off when you don’t have to stop on your descent because your knees are in agony – a common ailment that many trekkers suffer from – or trip over uneven ground.
We recommend somewhere like the White Mountains in New Hampshire. They are the training hub for Boston-based Thomson staffers, full of paths and trails for all skill levels. If you have something similar nearby, it should be your go-to choice for outdoor exercise.
Parks, Arboretums, and Other Outdoor Locations
Every journey begins with a single step, and for the novice hiker, it often starts on a natural path. Arboretum trails, nature preserves, state parks, and other forested spots can help you build to those longer and steeper locales you’ll want to seek out later. Though you’ll miss out on the benefits of going up a steep incline, you can always take a long walk off a paved path to add extra cardio and lower-body conditioning to your gym workouts. A weighted backpack is also a fantastic way to up the difficulty level and get your core and back muscles in shape to carry your daypack on the mountain.
One way that hikers of all experience levels can use this kind of lower-intensity exercise is to test out gear. If you’ve bought new hiking boots for your Kili trek, you don’t want to realize that they’re the wrong size or that they’re rubbing the back of your heels raw when you’re halfway through a hike.
Or, maybe you have a new daypack that is too bulky to move in. It’s much better to find this out while you’ve still got time (and the receipt) than when you get to Kilimanjaro!
Stadium Steps
But what if you live somewhere that has flat terrain? Open-air stadiums and high school bleachers are fantastic spots for training. Like using a stair machine, they’re great at building strength and for some cardio.
Unlike a stair machine, however, you also go down the stairs. Traveling down a long staircase is another excellent way to add eccentric movement to your training regimen. Maintaining balance while descending a staircase is deceptively tricky for your muscles – you’re navigating your balance and gravity at the same time. As mentioned, strengthening them can save you from knee and back pain on your descent.
This method is a longtime favorite of Thomson staffers, who regularly use the large stone staircases in Harvard’s football stadium for training.
We can’t say that only doing these outdoor exercises will get you to the summit. Anyone who wants to trek up Kilimanjaro must add strength training to their workout and cardio to what a nice, long walk provides. This means that you will have to go to the gym, or at least work with weights and exercises at home, preferably with the help of a professional. But we hope you see from all this that you don’t have to limit yourself to the treadmill or the stair machine to get your heart pumping: these are a few great ways to try and incorporate outdoor exercises on even the flattest terrain.
