Curious on how speed mountain climbers train?

[DanO]

Hello,

I did Excelsior peak this weekend, thought I was in sorta

shape but it is kicking my calves like crazy. I have been doing

flatland hiking since this is what close to home and it didn't

prepare me for uphill at all. I wish I had Excelsior close to home, would be one heck of a regular workout.

I remember Anatolia Boukreev writing that he trained for

climbing by doing two 4000 meter peaks a week when he lived

in central Asia.

So I wonder what kind of workouts being done out there? It

seems to me that to really train you need a steep uphill for

several thousand feet and carry a pack? I am not interested

in running.

 

 

Thanks

Dan

Edited August 21, 2007 by DanO

[Kevin_Matlock]

I'm no speed mountain climber, but you might have to suck it up and GET interested in running.... uphill.

I know that Ed V. is a running fool and look where it got him. I think probably the best training is actually doing. Climb (hike) uphill as much as possible. I think running comes into play since it taxes your system more than if you were simply walking up the hill, thus over preparing your body for the beating it takes in the hills.

 

Other options might be stair master, walking on a treadmill with the angle cranked, or biking hills.

 

For me, running is as close as I can get to training for climbing. When I'm really into a training regime, I find that hill work is hard to beat.

[ClimbingPanther]

I think probably the best training is actually doing.

so true.

when I can't be "doing," i like biking against the clock and up hills. lower impact than running but still good aerobic work. gotta be pushing yourself to get worthwhile training out of a bike.

[lizard_brain]

Too bad. I love to run. I will say though, that running and climbing are definitely two different things. I still get sore from climbing, even while running 3-4 times a week in addition to climbing 2 days a weekend.

 

Doing is the thing.

 

When I have a hard or fast climb coming up, the weekend before I throw 3 - 4 gallons of water in a pack and head up Mailbox or Muir (depends on the weather, usually) as fast as I can. If I'm up to it, then I go for Si on my way home.

[lizard_brain]

By the way, I'm no speed climber, but I am somewhat fast-paced, and another hobby of mine is distance running (okay, marathoning). I do at least one long run a week, and one speed run a week, and decide on the other runs based on mood or what I feel I need.

 

So what I'm getting at is I train for the marathon by running (what do you know). When I'm getting ready for a particularly heavy-duty climb, I train by going up steep hills with a pack full of extra weight.

 

Hmmmmm... Let's see here... Training by doing. I think we have a correlation.

 

Got hills?

[DavidHiers]

During the week, I'm all over the stairmill, 5lb ankle weights, 50-100 lbs in the pack. Other than that, I climb every chance I get.

 

No matter what you can do now, bump the speed, weight, or distance by about 5-10% per week until you plateau. Hold what you've for a while, then bump something.

 

I run a bit for cross-training and bouncing the innards around a bit.

 

You perform as you train, so training must mimic the performance activity as closely as possible.

[bstach]

I have found biking (preferably up hill) and rollerblading provide better training for climbing than running. Funner, too. Just my $0.02.

[G-spotter]

The best way to train to be the fastest speed climber is to register a whole bunch of avatars on cc.com and get a dog. Then when you fake some sort of world record human/dog speed ascent you can get your avatars to back you up.

[Couloir]

The best way to train to be the fastest speed climber is to register a whole bunch of avatars on cc.com and get a dog. Then when you fake some sort of world record human/dog speed ascent you can get your avatars to back you up.

And of course threaten to litigate.

[Spencer]

Tiger mountain west both the main trial and the cable line much steeper, you get 2000 ft of elevation gain, keep it under a hour with a 30 lb pack.... it also has great canopy so even on the crappiest northwest days there's no excuse not to train. sadly though my cell phone works all the way up and I just cant seem to ignore it!

[cj001f]

The best way to train to be the fastest speed climber is to register a whole bunch of avatars on cc.com and get a dog. Then when you fake some sort of world record human/dog speed ascent you can get your avatars to back you up.

And of course threaten to litigate.

 

And postcaninecoitus runs in forest park with the dog