A Different Strength Workout Structure For Mountaineers

​In this article and podcast, we explore an interesting workout structure a mountaineer can use to develop maximal strength, muscular endurance and resilience for the mountains. 

​Today I want to talk through a slightly different strength workout structure for mountaineers.

When it comes down to strength training, there are a million and one ways you can structure a workout.

I have previously talked through some simple ideas around how I like to structure strength training for the majority of my mountaineers. Mostly because it is simple, effective, and works pretty well.

But without a doubt, there are plenty of other ways you can approach this.

Today I want to walk you through a slightly different structure you can use for your strength workouts.

This one is particularly useful for mountaineers who do not have a huge amount of time to commit to strength training, but still want a really effective and well-rounded workout.

This workout is best done if you have gym access, or at least access to a decent range of weights at home.

This is how it works:

Strength Training For Mountaineering

Choosing Your Main Lift

First, you choose one key exercise which will be your 'main lift' for the workout.

For a mountaineer, nine times out of ten, this will be a lower-body exercise.

For time efficiency, it usually makes sense to choose a bilateral movement (an exercise that uses both legs at the same time).

You also want to choose a movement you are confident in loading with a bit of resistance.

If you are comfortable with heavier lifting, this could be something like

• Barbell back or front squat
• Barbell deadlift
• Barbell Romanian deadlift
  
  

If you are not super confident with barbells, or you just do not have a long history with heavier lifting, you still have plenty of good options.

In the gym, you could use:

• Leg press
• Hack squat machine
  
  

Or if you don't have access to the machines, you could do a barbell or dumbbell glute bridge (which is easy to load up safely, even if you are not super experienced with heavier lifting).

If you prefer, you can do this with a unilateral (single leg) exercise like a step up, Bulgarian split squat or assisted single leg deadlift - but this will make the workout significantly longer.

Structure

For the main lift, you are going to be doing five sets.

The rep scheme will look like this:

• Set 1: 10 reps (moderate amount of weight)
• Set 2: 8 reps (add some weight)
• Set 3: 6 reps (add some more weight)
• Set 4: 4 reps (add some more weight)
• Set 5: 20 reps (take off a lot of weight)
  
  

The first set should feel challenging, but not like you are pushing to the limit. It is partly a warm-up and partly finding your groove.

As you add weight to each set, you gradually ramp into the heavier work.

This structure works really well as adding extra weight (and reducing reps) each set can be a nice, gradual progression towards heavier lifting, and it can often make things a bit more approachable (compared to a standard rep scheme of just going 4, 5, or 6 each set)

Another great benefit to this structure is the jump from four heavy reps to twenty reps.

You will notice that following this structure, you can lift significantly more on the 20 reps compared to if you just did 20 reps on its own (without the heavier sets before).

The reason for this is something called 'priming'.

Those heavier sets wake up the nervous system, dial in the movement, and prepare the body to work harder. So when you strip back the weight, you can work really, really hard on the final set (and give us a really solid muscular endurance exposure to finish things off).

(This 'priming' strategy can be used in many different ways during strength training)

Important Points

Rest matters.

Between sets of the main lift, you want to give your legs at least two minutes of rest.

Shorter rest periods will compromise how much you can push and how effective the strength stimulus will be.

That said, sitting around scrolling on your phone is not the best use of that time...

A better option is to fill the rest periods with one or a combination of:

• An upper-body exercise
• A core exercise
• A mobility exercise
  
  

For example, you might do your squat set, then spend some time on a core movement, take a short breather, and go squat again.

One important rule here:

Make sure whatever you do in the rest periods does not interfere with the main lift.

If your main lift involves grip strength, like deadlifts or Romanian deadlifts, avoid things like pull-ups, chin-ups, or hanging leg raises (which all challenge the grip). Let the relevant muscles actually rest.

Once you finish the five sets of your main lift, you are probably feeling pretty good.

But we have a little bit more to go for the workout...

The Workout Finisher

This is where we get a bit more work done without blowing the workout length out.

The finisher is very simple.

You choose three exercises:

• One upper-body exercise
• One calf exercise
• One lower-body exercise

For the lower body exercise, choose something that works the opposite muscles of your main lift.

For example, if your main lift was 'quadricept dominant', like squats or leg press, choose something more hamstring dominant (like a deadlift or leg curl) for the finisher.

If your main lift was hamstring dominant, do the opposite.

Once you have your three exercises, set a timer for about ten to fifteen minutes, depending on how much time you have.

Then simply cycle through the three exercises until the timer is done.

A few important points:

• This is not a race. This is not CrossFit. You are not rushing or flinging weights around. Keep your reps slow and controlled.
• For reps, you can choose anywhere between 8-15 reps for each exercise (whatever you prefer).
• Choose a load that actually challenges you. This doesn't have to be a max effort, but it wants to be something that will give you a challenge. Not a max effort, but not something you could do all day either.

Once the finisher is done, the workout is done.

Workout Summary

The main lift usually takes around fifteen to twenty minutes.

The finisher takes ten to fifteen minutes.

So you end up with a short, sharp, very effective workout.

You get:

• A heavy strength stimulus
• Some muscular endurance work
• A nice spread of training across the body

And one of the biggest benefits is that it can be fun!

A lot of people get bored doing the same structure over and over again.

Changing reps each set and finishing with some 'density training' (which is what the final finisher is) can make strength work feel fresh again.

If you have been doing the same strength structure for a while, this is a simple way to think outside the box.

You could apply this for four weeks.

Do one workout where the main lift is quad-dominant.

Do another workout in the week where the main lift is hamstring dominant (to balance things out).

And then after 4 weeks, you could change the main lifts or find a different structure.

Simple, but it can be very effective!

Strength Workout Plan Example For Mountaineers 

To give an example of this in action:

Workout One:

1a) Barbell back squat x 10/8/6//20
1b) Hanging leg raise x 15

*5 sets. Rest 30 seconds in between each exercise.

2a) Slider Hamstring curl x 10 reps (4 sec on way out)
2b) Soleus Wall Raise x 15
2c)  Dumbell bent over row x 10 reps

*10 minutes continuous circuit

Workout Two:

1a) Barbell Romanian Deadlift x 10/8/6//20
1b) Banded Hip flexor march x 15 (each side)

*5 sets. Rest 30 seconds in between each exercise.

2a) Deficit Forward Lunge x 8 (each leg)
2b) Double Leg Calf Raise x 15 reps (4 sec lower)
2c) Close grip push up x 15 reps

*10 minutes continuous circuit

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And if you are a mountaineer who needs some help with their strength training, and want to be sure everything you are doing is time-efficient, effective and specific to your mountaineering, then you can check out The Online Summit Program here:

Online Personal Training For Mountaineers

Yours in adventure,

Rowan