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Mountaineering Training | Strength Training Beyond The Gym

November 4, 2013

Categories: Mountaineering Fitness & Training

When most people think about strength workouts, they think about joining a gym and lifting weights to build muscle mass. I grew up as an alpine ski racer and continue to stay involved in the sport now as a ski coach. If you have watched an alpine ski race, in person or on TV, you know that ski racing is all about leg strength. Although mountaineers don’t need to be hitting the weight room to the same extent as a ski racer, strength is a key component to climbing.  Traveling around the world as an athlete, coach, and guide, I do not always have access to a weight room. During the season I still need to do exercises to maintain strength. I make use of local parks or playgrounds (where the entry fee is free) or even my own living room. Below are a couple of key exercises that you can do either in a gym or in the comfort of your own home. Remember, whenever doing strength workouts, it is important to get a proper warm-up and cool-down and listen to your body in order to stay injury-free and get the most from the workout. Warm-Up: This involves 15 - 20 minutes of running or biking to get your muscles warmed up. This is imperative since diving into strength training cold is a great way to hurt yourself. This time can be spent on a stationary bicycle, a couple laps around the neighborhood on a road bike or mountain bike, a few laps around the track or soccer field, or a jog around the neighborhood. Body Weight Squats: Start your workout with two legged squats, feet hip width apart, with no weight. As you up your training, adding weight is a viable option as long as your form and technique stay correct. Jugs of water, rocks, or chunks of firewood all make good weight additions. To maintain form and avoid injury, make sure that your knees are stacked over your ankles. Start with doing three sets of 10 reps. I usually go down for a count of 2 - 3 seconds and up for the same count. One-Legged Squats: These are my personal favorite; still a leg strength building exercise, one-legged squats also add a balance component. In order to protect your knees during any squats, I recommend going no deeper than a 90-degree bend in the knee (doing these in front of a mirror when you first start can be beneficial). Start out with the non-weight bearing leg parallel to the standing leg. As you master this, play around with the position of the leg in the air. It can be in front, out to the side, or back. Now not only are you working on leg strength but you are also working on balance. Work up to 3 reps of 10 on each leg. Depending on your baseline strength you may start with 2 reps of 5 on each leg and then slowly work up. Again as this gets easier for you, add weights in your hand or try these on grass or sand. All of this will change your balance and the difficulty. Wall-Sits: Simply sit against a wall with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle like you are sitting in an invisible chair with your back and butt against the wall. This is a real thigh burner. Start by holding this for 30 seconds to a minute and doing two or three sets, shaking your legs out in between. As you get better at this, increase the time you are holding to up to a few minutes. Another way to increase the difficulty is to hold an object straight in front of you, such as a ski boot or climbing boot. Lunges: With an emphasis on quad-strengthening exercises it is important to incorporate some hamstring-strengthening exercises as well. One suggestion is lunges. The key to these is that they are done slowly; you are building strength as you lower your body weight and raise it again. Make sure that your knees are lined up above your ankles and feet, and do not push your knee beyond your toes. I usually start with my hands on my hips doing 2 to 3 sets of 10 - 15 lunges on each side (20 - 30 total in a set), and alternate which leg is in front. Again, as this becomes easier for you, you can add free weights. Pull-Ups: These are nice because they can be done anywhere. Not only is it good arm strength exercise, but it also involves the core. Pull-ups can be done with a pull-up or chin-up bar in your house, or at the local playground on the monkey bars. Start out with 2 sets of five. If this is hard for you, have someone hold your knees to assist you after doing a few on your own. You will be amazed how much you will improve just by trying them on your own and then going through the motion with someone assisting you. Cool-Down: In order to aid recovery for the following days, do a proper cool-down. Spend another 15 minutes on a bike or finish with a light jog to get out some of the lactic acid. Don’t forget that stretching is also an important aspect of the cool-down process. Listen to your body with any workout. All of the recommendations of sets are exactly that - recommendations; do what makes sense for you. Depending on your starting point you may have to start with fewer and work up. That is okay; continue to work on strength exercises and you will see improvements. Set benchmarks and goals for yourself so that you can see the improvements! Often times the process of seeing yourself improve is all the motivation you need! ______ Lindsay Mann is a senior guide at RMI Expeditions and a NCAA D1 Skiing Champion. She has climbed and guided around the world, from Peru to Alaska. Lindsay is leading a team of female climbers to scale Mt. Rainier on a special Four Day Summit Climb next summer, August 12 - 15, 2014. Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts here on the RMI Blog!

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Mt. Rainier: Five Day Teams Descend from Camp Muir

June 13, 2022

Posted by: Eric Frank, Alex Halliday, Erika Birkeland, Tatum Whatford, George Hedreen, Cal Seeley

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 10,080

The Five Day Climb June 9 - 13 enjoyed a beautiful sunrise from Ingraham Flats and Camp Muir this morning. Route conditions did not allow the teams to ascend above 11,200' yesterday or today but the team got in some good training and enjoyed two nights at Camp Muir. The teams descended to Paradise arriving around noon today and will conclude their program at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.

Photos: RMI Guide Eric Frank

Five Day Mt. Rainier Climb Turns Due to Hazards

June 30, 2021

Posted by: Eric Frank, Jenny Konway, Kiira Antenucci, James Bealer, Nathan Delmar, Lauren Macklin

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 11,300'

The Five Day Mt. Rainier Climb teams, led by RMI Guides Eric Frank and Jenny Konway, turned at High Crack today due to hearing and seeing a significant amount of rock and icefall. They are back at Camp Muir and will be descending early this morning.

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Mt. Rainier: Hahn, Delaney & Teams Summit!

August 29, 2021

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Jack Delaney, Henry Coppolillo, Tatum Whatford, Axel Ryd, David Shuer

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 14,410'

Mt. Rainier summit! The teams led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Jack Delaney reached the top at 7:13 a.m. They reported clear skies, a light breeze, and smoke to the East. After spending some time at the crater rim marveling in the sights from the highest point in Washington, the team began their descent.

Mt. Rainier: Teams Turn due to Wind and Precipitation

August 11, 2022

Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Alex Halliday, Sam Hoffman, Sam Marjerison, Cal Seeley, Brian Walters

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 12,300'

The Four-Day climb led by Pete Van Deventer and Alex Halliday turned around at 12,300’ this morning. The teams were facing 45 mph gusts as a wet cloud cap descended on them. They reported that the weather at Camp Muir was far more favorable with a light breeze to welcome them.

The teams are on their descent back to Basecamp, with warm showers and good food in their sights.

Vinson: Move to High Camp

January 9, 2011

Posted by: Ed Viesturs, Peter Whittaker

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif

Elevation: 12,400'

Good morning, good morning. It is January 9th, and this is Peter checking in, we're just finishing up a great breakfast of Cream-of-Wheat and a hot drink. The sun just hit our camp, and we’re packing up and getting ready to make the move up to high camp. It was cold last night, cold this morning, but we have a little bit of sun right now. Weather looks good. And I'm gonna walk out and let my tentmate say a few words, Ed Viesturs. Morning everybody, it’s beautiful day. We are loading up the camp here and we’re gonna make that ascent back up to high camp another 3,500 feet higher, and weather looks good and the forecast is pretty descent and we hope to go to the summit of Vinson tomorrow, Monday the 10th so be sure to check in tomorrow, follow the progress and we hope to be hootin’ and hollerin’ from the top of the bottom of the world. Ed Viesturs and Peter Whittaker signing out.

Peter Whittaker and Ed Viesturs talk about their move to high camp

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Mt. Rainier: July 24th Climb Update

July 24, 2021

Posted by: Win Whittaker, Andy Bond, Chase Halbert, Seth Burns, Axel Ryd, Daniel May

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 12,500'

The American Lung Association Climb for Clean Air team attempted their Mt. Rainier summit bid this morning. With an overcrowded route and standstill foot traffic, which would have made continuing on unsafe due to the time of day, the guides turned at 12,500'. The team is at Camp Muir and will begin their descent around 10:00 a.m.

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Mt. Rainier: Expeditions Skills Seminar - Muir Wraps up Great Week

September 13, 2022

Posted by: Matias Francis, Henry Coppolillo, Daniel May, Ellison Boord, Nick Sinapius

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 10,080'

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir September 8 - 13, 2022 enjoyed a great week of training at Camp Muir. RMI Guides Matias Francis and Henry Copolillo led the team with instruction on ice climbing, crevasse rescue, student led glacier navigation, fixed line travel, intro to multi pitch climbing, rappelling, alpine bouldering, nightly talks about altitude and avalanche awareness. The team is doing a bit more training this morning before starting their descent to Paradise later today. They will conclude their program this afternoon at Rainier Base Camp.

Nice work team!

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Mt. Shuksan: Smith & Expedition Seminar Team Reach Summit

August 29, 2022

Posted by: Hannah Smith, Evan Sather

Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades

Elevation: 9,131'

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Shuksan August 26 - 31 reached the summit of Mt. Shuksan via the Sulphide Glacier today around 11 am PT. RMI Guides Hannah Smith and Evan Sather are leading the six day seminar and reported a beautiful day with a light breeze. Prior to their summit attempt the team conducted basic mountaineering skills training. Their training will continue and expand to include anchor placements, various self and team crevasse rescue techniques, belays, rappelling, knots, route finding and fixed rope travel. Thus giving them sufficient skills to continue their mountaineering persuits.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

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Aconcagua Expedition: Summit Day!

February 6, 2022

Posted by: Luke Wilhelm, David Price

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 22,841'

While not everybody reached the summit of Aconcagua today, we all soaked in the entire experience. It was a perfect day to simply be in the mountains. Stars illuminating the landscape this morning. A windless day with not a cloud in the sky. Shadows creeping across peaks far in the distance, helping gauge the time of day. It was very easy to be distracted from the strenuous climbing by the surrounding beauty.

Till next time,

RMI Guide Luke Wilhelm

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Most Popular Entries

Mountaineering Training | Strength Training Beyond The Gym

Mt. Rainier: Five Day Teams Descend from Camp Muir

Five Day Mt. Rainier Climb Turns Due to Hazards

Mt. Rainier: Hahn, Delaney & Teams Summit!

Mt. Rainier: Teams Turn due to Wind and Precipitation

Vinson: Move to High Camp

Mt. Rainier: July 24th Climb Update

Mt. Rainier: Expeditions Skills Seminar - Muir Wraps up Great Week

Mt. Shuksan: Smith & Expedition Seminar Team Reach Summit

Aconcagua Expedition: Summit Day!

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