Climbing The Ladder (An Elevation Workout To Try)

​In this episode I share a fantastic workout a hiker can use to help develop muscular endurance in the legs (which can be great to use in the final stages of preparation before a big elevation hike).

Hours of steady uphill climbing. Heavy packs. Thin mountain air.

I know a lot of hikers are training for this kind of thing right now.

So today I want to share a fantastic workout for building the leg endurance that kind of climbing demands.

I call it the ascending ladder workout.

Realistically, this isn't a beginner's workout.

This isn't something you need to do throughout your whole training journey.

But it is a handy workout to slip into your final four to six weeks before a big adventure (if you have already been training diligently and have built some good foundations of strength and fitness).

So before you try it, I would recommend you have at least:

• At least four weeks (ideally more) of pack carrying behind you
• At least four weeks (ideally more) of consistent strength training.
• No current foot, hip, knee or back pain flaring up.
  
  

On top of that, to do this workout effectively, you will need access to either a stepper, a steep treadmill, a Jacob's ladder, or a set of stairs or a hill you can walk up (ideally with a way back down that isn't more climbing).

If you have none of these, you can do this off a small step/box (but you just need to be careful when you are 'stepping down' off the box each rep).

Here's how it works.

Take 5-10 minutes to warm up.

Then load your pack to about 10% of your body weight and climb for five to eight minutes at a relatively quick pace. (This isn't a 'sprint' but something a bit quicker than you would naturally climb on the trail.

Rest for two minutes. During that rest, add another 5% of your body weight to the pack.

Climb again for another five to eight minutes. Rest two minutes. Add another 5%.

And you just keep repeating that until you can't get any heavier.

The first couple of rounds won't feel like much.

But somewhere around four, five or six, your legs will really, really start to burn.

You'll get the jelly legs. Your pace will drop off.

That's exactly what's meant to happen.

You stop when you're cooked, either the pack's too heavy to carry comfortably or your legs simply won't hold the pace.

The whole thing usually takes 25 to 35 minutes, and it packs a serious amount of work into that short window.

I promise you, it develops that specific kind of muscular endurance, the ability of the legs to produce force again and again and again without folding, in a way that very few other sessions manage.

If you've got a big climb ahead of you and you're in your final stretch of preparation, give this one a try. I think you'll enjoy the challeng (even while you're hating it a little bit at the time).

Yours in trekking,​

Rowan

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