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Title image:  Getting ready for expeditions, resources and tips

Training for Travel with Personal Trainer Terri Truman

Training Program: Month Five

Tapering for Peak Performance

For endurance-dominant sports the fatiguing element is intensity. As we get closer to our end goal, it’s time to reduce the intensity and focus on endurance.

As we shift focus more from strength to stamina, we should be targeting 4-6 different strength exercises. From all the exercises we have discussed, choose ones that will target the muscles you will be using the most, taking into account balance. So, if you choose squats, perhaps you can choose the leg press and as opposition, choose the hamstring curl. If you are targeting your chest with a chest press, consider a seated row to balance the front and back. As another consideration, if you are working your hip adductors (pulling your leg across the body to work the inside of your thighs), do not forget about hip abduction (pulling the leg across and away from the body as far as possible while maintaining good posture and pelvic position), working your abductor muscles.

It’s important to reduce the weight but not enough to make it easy. You’ve worked really hard to produce great muscle mass and you don’t want to lose it but this is more about maintaining what you have built. Lower the weight and increase the repetitions. As you get closer to your target, take more time to rest in between sets and reduce the number of times per week you weight train. Instead, shift your focus on the trip ahead and train outside to try to simulate your upcoming climb. Choose hills or uneven terrain, varying your hiking to accommodate a variety of situations.

As with all our previous suggestions, don’t forget to train to your situation. If your summit day requires many hours or continuous hiking, build your workouts to reflect your summit day. If you are only training an hour or two, don’t expect miracles when you haven’t trained adequately.

Don’t forget to stretch and roll out your muscles. Sometimes it makes all the difference in having your muscles do what they need to do.

Have a great climb and don’t forget to take a lot of pictures. Photos from your adventures last long after your muscles stop hurting.

Follow Terri’s training trips for your next great mountain adventure!

Follow Terri’s training trips for your next great mountain adventure!