6 Pack Workouts For Mountaineers

​Pack training is a foundation of all mountaineers' training. But if you are following a long-term training plan, these sessions can sometimes get a bit dull. To help, I'm sharing six different pack workouts you can use to add some variety to your sessions. 

Pack Training For Mountaineering 

​When it comes down to training for mountaineering, doing pack work and pack training should be a fundamental part of any program. 

It doesn't matter if you are planning on carrying a relatively light pack on your expeditions, or an outrageously heavy one (or anything in between) -
Loading up your body in such a sport-specific way is going to be incredibly beneficial.

Mountaineers will typically do this when they are hiking, when they are doing pack walking around the local neighbourhood or on the treadmill. It is one of the most specific and practical things for any mountaineer in their training.

However, when it comes to pack work over a long term training plan, things can get a little boring...

If you are training for six months, nine months, twelve months or more, sometimes pack training can get stale. And even though the workout is so beneficial, you can still hit that point where you have had enough.

In this situation, a little variance can be incredibly useful. 

Whether every four weeks you throw something slightly different in, or you spend three or four weeks doing something different before going back to your normal pack sessions, a bit of variety can help motivation. It can also challenge the body in slightly different ways. And it can make a really positive difference for your training.

So today I want to share six slightly different approaches to pack training. They are simple. They are useful. And they give you options beyond the classic put on a pack and walk.

Rucking Workouts For Mountaineers

​1) Tempo Walking

Most loaded pack walking is done at a normal pace for an extended period of time.

Tempo walking is simply alternating speeds between quicker walking and slower walking.

You walk for forty or sixty minutes. You do two minutes at normal pace and two minutes slightly quicker.

This is still a low-intensity workout. It is not a run. You are not getting super out of breath. But it is just slightly faster than your normal pace.

This will still fall into aerobic conditioning. But it mixes things up, keeps things interesting, and bumps up the challenge.

The interval structure you use can be flexible....

Two minutes quick and two minutes slow. Three and three. Four and four. Even one and one.

If you are not a big fan of using a timer and constantly looking at a watch, you can do the 'farklet approach':

• Pick a landmark
• Walk fast to it
• Slow down for a period
• Pick another landmark
• Repeat.

One important point: Do not ramp up the speed too hard. When you have a pack on your back, big speed jumps are an easy way to aggravate aches and pains. The uptick in pace should be slight. Breathing picks up a little, but you are not going into a full power march.

​2) Overloaded Pack Workout

The typical approach to pack training is we put on a pack, add a certain amount of weight and walk around. Over time, we build up to the pack weight we expect on the expedition, or slightly more.

The overloaded pack walk changes this slightly.

For this workout, you load up the pack with a weight that is significantly heavier than what you expect on the mountain.

And you load it heavily enough that you would not want to carry it for the full workout.

So you do not carry it for the full session. You reduce the weight as you go.

This is how you do it:

• You get a big pack
  
  
• Add water jugs or dry bags full of water.
  
  
• You load it to a weight that is heavier than your typical (if you usually carry 20kg, then load up 25, 30 or even higher)
  
  
• Start walking.
  
  
• Every once in a while, dump some water out and continue.

An example of a 60-minute workout might look like this:

• For the first 15 minutes, carry the full weight.
  
  
• At 15 minutes, dump a few litres.
  
  
• Walk another 15 minutes.
  
  
• Dump a few more litres.
  
  
• Walk another 15 minutes.
  
  
• Repeat.

The idea here is you start with a weight that feels uncomfortable. Then you slowly make it more manageable.

You get the overload stimulus early. You carry it long enough to be useful. And this heavier weight it becomes doable over time.

You can do this for sixty minutes, ninety minutes, or even two hours. You can also do it on a real hike for longer periods. Whatever works in your training week.

3) Varied Pack Carry.

This one is different, but effective in small doses.

You might do this for about 30-60 minutes, ideally, on a short trail. It is not meant to be a long workout.

This is how you do it:

• Load your pack with a reasonably challenging weight
  
  
• Walk normally for 5 minutes.
  
  
• Take the pack off and carry it in a different way (not on your back)
  
  
• Walk for 5 minutes in this position
  
  
• Every 5 minutes, keep changing position
  
  
• Every five minutes, change how you carry the pack.

In practice, you might rotate through something like this:

• Wear the pack on your back.
  
  
• Holding it in your arms at your belly.
  
  
• Carrying it under one arm.
  
  
• Carrying it under the other arm
  
  
• Carrying it on one shoulder
  
  
• Carrying it on the other shoulder
  
  
• Etc

The pack on the back is always the most comfortable. So carrying it differently will likely feel a bit uncomfortable. It will challenge different muscles. And it creates a stability challenge because your body has to fight to stay upright and stable.

This one is not for technical terrain. But it is a nice option for variety.

​4) The Pack Circuit

This workout builds on the varied carry and adds strength exercises.

I like to do this around a sports oval. Something with four sides and corners.

This is how you do it:

• You start on one corner of the oval.
  
  
• Carry your pack along the perimeter.
  
  
• When you get to the corner, you do ten to twenty reps of a strength exercise (e.g. squats with the pack on your back, Glute bridges with the pack on your hips, Romanian deadlifts holding the pack, Squat presses, Shoulder presses, push-ups, or anything)
  
  
• Then walk the next edge carrying the pack a different way (e.g., on one shoulder, at your chest, etc.).
  
  
• At the next corner, do a different exercise.
  
  
• Repeat around the oval.

On each side of the oval, you carry the pack differently. In each corner, you do a different exercise.

This will not replace a real strength workout. But it gives you movement variety. It challenges different muscles. And it breaks up pack walking.

If you want to make it a longer workout, walk thirty minutes to the oval, do the circuit for thirty minutes, then walk thirty minutes home.

5) The Mindful Pack Walk.

This is great when you are stressed or low on energy. When you need some emotional relief but still want a pack session.

This is how you do it:

• Put a moderate-weight pack on your back (it shouldn't be too strenuous)
  
  
• Go somewhere with a bit of nature (e.g. a park or a short trail), somewhere without traffic.
  
  
• Start walking
  
  
• Every 5 minutes, put your attention into one of your senses
  
  
• Then focus on another sense
  
  
• Repeat for the entire walk

In practice, this might look something like this:

• In the first 5 minutes, you fully focus on sight. You take in the trees, the sky, the leaves, the animals. Really immerse yourself
  
  
• Then you focus on sound: the wind, your footsteps, the leaves rustling.
  
  
• Then smell: your sweat, flowers, the scents of nature.
  
  
• Then touch: how your feet feel, how the wind feels on your skin, the weight of your pack

Spend 5 minutes per sense. Rotate through them. And really immerse yourself.

It is simple. It is grounding. It is a nice emotional boost. And you will finish up feeling amazing. ​

6) Breathing Control Workout

For this workout, you will have a moderately challenging pack and go somewhere with plenty of inclines.

The idea is to purposely get your breathing huffing and puffing, then practice bringing it back under control while still moving (ideally while you are still going up the incline).

This is how you do it:

• Find a hill or stairs.
  
  
• Walk until you hit the incline.
  
  
• Hustle up it - Push to the point where your breathing is working hard (however long this takes)
  
  
• Once you hit that point where your breathing is getting challenging, keep moving, but slow the pace slightly and focus on gaining control of your breathing (Try to get back to nasal breathing if you can)
  
  
• Then walk until you find another incline and repeat.
  
  

Hustle. Breathe heavy. Slow down. Bring it under control.

This teaches breathing control under effort. It is a powerful skill. You can also do this more structured in a gym on a Stairmaster, but it works well casually outdoors.


==

Six simple pack workouts for mountaineers:

The tempo walk. The overloaded pack walk. The varied pack carry. The pack circuit. The mindful walk. And the breathing control walk.

Standard pack walking will always be the foundation. These are slight variations.

You can use them in two easy ways.

1. If you train in 4-week blocks, you could do three weeks of normal pack training, then in the fourth week, swap in one of these workouts for variety.
   
   
2. Use them in phases: Do three or four weeks of normal pack training, then three or four weeks of one of these, then back to normal pack walking, then back to variety, etc.
   
   

They keep things fresh. They keep you moving forward.

If you are a mountaineer doing lots of pack work and getting bored, try one of these. They are not major changes, but they might give you the motivation or challenge you need to stick with things.

Yours in adventure,

Rowan

Want to get
fit, strong and resilient
for your
mountaineering adventures?

​Check out
The Online Summit Program