Endurance Is Not Strength (For Mountaineers)

Muscular endurance is incredibly important for a mountaineer. And so is muscular strength. And while these two things do build off each other, they are not the same thing.

And to get the best benefits for the mountain, a mountaineer needs to be developing both.

One common mistake I see from mountaineers is that they dedicate ALL their gym (or strength training time) to developing muscular endurance.

I am sure you are familiar with this, endless box steps, leg-burning circuits, and repetition after repetition after repetition...

And doing these workouts is fine. But PLEASE don't think they are getting you stronger.

There is a big difference between strength and endurance. And if you are not developing both, you are shooting yourself in the foot.

Here are a few things which will NOT develop your strength:

1. Loaded pack intervals
2. High rep box steps
3. Cycling
4. Skipping
5. Long hill intervals
6. HIIT sessions
7. High rep circuit training
   
   

These things can all be beneficial for a mountaineer, and I am not saying you should avoid them. But you cannot say that over the long term, they will be effective for developing muscular strength.

There are only a couple of ways to develop genuine muscular strength:

1. Higher load resistance training* (weights or bodyweight)
   
   
2. Hill/sled sprinting (VERY short intervals)  
   
   

* This option is MUCH more effective

If you are not regularly including one of these two things in your training, you are missing out on major benefits when it comes to injury prevention, movement efficiency and performance.

And this might come back to bite you on the mountain.

So please, make it happen. 

If you do need help finding a mix between strength and endurance in your training, and ensuring you are doing the RIGHT things to get you fit, strong and resilient for the mountain, you can find the Online Summit Program here:

https://www.summitstrength.com.au/online-mountaineer.html

Yours in adventure,

Rowan