Exercising for Mount Kilimanjaro
Every climber ought to practice regular aerobic exercise in order to get ready for Kilimanjaro. Running, jogging, cycling, and even aerobic dancing courses are all examples of cardiovascular exercise, or simply "cardio." Cardiovascular exercise boosts respiration and heart rate, making it a useful way to prepare for climbing Kilimanjaro.
Cardio is not the only workout to concentrate on, but it is a crucial one to help your body become in shape. To tone your legs for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, try to frequently engage in aerobic activities that also strengthen your legs. Cycling or trail running are excellent forms of exercise.
Strength Training for Hiking the Mount
No one climbs Kilimanjaro by heart alone (physically or metaphorically) (physically or metaphorically). Climbers use their legs to get them to the summit, so be sure your legs are strong!
Set aside 2 sessions a week for strength training, especially for legs. However, don’t focus only on the legs. Be diversified in your exercises and include back, chest, and arms as well. You will be carrying a day pack during your trek, after all.
Kilimanjaro climbs include 6-8 hour days of ascending hikes for 5 or more days, and a very long descent. Your legs need to be ready for this tough climb, so ensure you are getting the muscles toned.The climb up will be a challenge on your calves and hamstrings, while the descent will put your quad muscles to the test.
With this weight training, you're not going for definition and bulk; instead, you want your muscles to be strong and able to withstand hours of hiking at a steep incline.
Stretching and Warming Up is a Must
Make sure you always warm up the muscles with mild exercise before beginning strength training or targeted cardiovascular activity. This reduces the risk of muscle tears, pulls, and even worse, strains! No sense in skipping a five-minute warm-up and having to miss a week or more of practice to recuperate from a muscle injury.
You should not skip five minutes of brisk walking or a light jog, followed by stretching.
Remember, training is as much a process of caring for your body as it is targeting specific muscles or improving endurance. Push yourself, but respect your body’s boundaries and gradually increase the difficulty of training. Always warm up before a workout, and take time to stretch your muscles.
Practice Hiking at Altitude
Hands down, the most effective exercise to prepare for climbing Kilimanjaro is to trek as much as possible!
It takes several days and a very difficult climb at successively higher altitudes to get to the summit. Hiking at high altitudes is the best way to prepare your heart and lungs for what’s to come.
The most effective activity to prepare for climbing Kilimanjaro is to trek as much as possible
If you are fortunate to live at or near a higher elevation, take advantage of the hikes in your region. A nearby mountain can be climbed on a weekend, or you can drive to the highest point and spend the afternoon jogging or walking in the reduced oxygen.
You will be developing your leg muscles, participating in aerobic exercise and exposing your lungs to a higher altitude.
Some trekkers climb Mount Meru (4,564 m), in Arusha National Park as preparation for Kilimanjaro. If your time and budget allow, this is a terrific alternative!
Simulate High Altitude
Not everyone has the advantage of a mountain in their backyard: if you cannot physically get to a higher altitude to train, you can simulate one. Altitude simulators come in a variety of forms, from transparent tents that cover your bed and work while you sleep to exercise-related masks.
Masks
There are oxygen deprivation masks or altitude simulator masks that can be worn either while exercising, or even just while watching television. The idea is that they reduce the amount of oxygen reaching the lungs as a form of preparing for the less saturated oxygen at higher elevations.
Training with masks to prepare for Kilimanjaro is discussed in more detail further on in this article.
Tents
Altitude simulator tents are sold either as a transparent fitting that covers your own bed at home, or a separate actual tent that can be set up on a flat surface in the home. The ‘chamber’ is controlled using a generator that pushes out the usual oxygen of your area and pumps in less saturated oxygen, emulating a higher altitude. These items should be used as long as possible to help your body adjust to the simulated elevation, preferably while sleeping or resting rather than during physical activity.
The benefit to sleeping in an altitude simulation tent around your own bed at home is that your body experiences reduced oxygen levels for a prolonged period of time. It is unlikely that anyone could exercise with a mask for a full 8 hours a day, but if you get a full 8 hours of sleep, your body experiences the simulated altitude for that time.
Tents or bed enclosures are available from Altitude Tech or Hypoxico. They work by altering the oxygen in your sleeping space to replicate that of a higher altitude. You don’t need to do anything but lay down and sleep, while your body naturally adapts to the mimic-ed elevation.
Altitude simulation products require an investment, but could be well worth it if they help you acclimatize more easily to the intense elevation of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Oxygen deprivation training - Mask Workouts
As mentioned above, there are several options for preparing for a higher elevation if you cannot physically get to an increased altitude. One such option is to exercise while wearing an oxygen deprivation mask.
The purpose of these masks is to encourage the body to adjust to lower oxygen levels at higher altitudes by wearing them while exercising. A hard run already exhausts athletes; add in the fact that you're wearing a mask to reduce your oxygen intake, and you're in serious trouble. Your lungs will experience it!
Some climbers adopt this strategy to enhance their endurance and ‘trick’ their lungs to thinking they are already at a higher altitude, right in the gym.
Alternatively, this article by Hypoxico suggests that while, admittedly, the masks do not replicate altitude in regards to the decreased saturation of oxygen, they do help the lungs to exercise in such a way as to prepare them for the conditions at higher elevations.
Those wishing to train with oxygen deprivation masks should have doctor’s approval and ensure they are following the directions precisely to avoid injury or negative side effects.
Simulated training without altitude
If you aren’t interested in making a financial investment in altitude simulation items, especially while they are under controversy; consider focusing purely on your physical condition. How well, frequently, and seriously you train for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is ultimately up to you.
It’s difficult to get motivated to train for climbing Kilimanjaro when you aren’t in Tanzania. Or maybe your hiking group is dispersed all over the world. You would rather stay out of the snow and cold since it is winter.
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