Sets FITT Goals based on training hiking or sport climbing (changing the you plan ahead and get
you plan ahead and get the quality volume
principles to achieve and/or maintain
HRF
Frequency: refers to the frequency of
exercise undertaken or how often you
exercise. Example, how often you
complete your long hike or your strength
training
Intensity: refers to the intensity of exercise
undertaken or how hard you exercise.
Example, longer hiking sessions will be
performed at a lower intensity whereas
shorter weekday sessions will be a chance
to push hard and get the heart rate into the
anaerobic range.
Time: refers to the time you spend
exercising or how long you exercise for.
Type: refers to the type of exercise
undertaken or what kind of exercise you
do. Hiking, of course, is perfect. A stair
master or elliptical machines is good.
Cycling uses similar muscles and energy
systems.
It's at this point you want to manipulate
one or more of the FITT Principles such as
adding another day of bouldering
(changing your exercise Frequency),
timing a circuit or add some interval
training (changing the Intensity), climbing
for a longer period of time (changing the
Time) or trying something different like
Type).
Heart Rate Fluctuations
Hard physical exercise usually increases
your heart rate, which can sometimes cause
changes in your heart rhythm
FITT principles can be used to ensure
our training provides the results we
expect
Significance of Using FITT
principles
The FITT Principle puts your workouts
into an acceptable range that works against
injuries. Knowing the frequency, intensity,
time, and type that fits into your lifestyle
and fitness experience level will keep you
from doing too much, overtraining, and
getting negative consequences from your
efforts.
FITT FOR CLIMBING
Frequency
For you to be better at climbing you have
to be climbing more, if you can’t get
outside then you should be planning to
climb at The Depot for those three
sessions. That is on top of any other
training you do such as CrossFit, weights,
running, etc. So, it is very important that
of climbing in.
Intensity
How hard are you training, this is tricky as
I feel you need to be careful you don’t
injure yourself. You should listen to your
body carefully, your climbing should be
planned and be at the level you need it to
be to make sure you are working out
properly. Doing colour circuits, then time
them. Using the circuit board, use your
stopwatch. There are plenty of articles in
the archive to help you plan the correct
intensity for your climbing sessions.
Type
Variety is the spice of life, the wonderful
thing about climbing is that there is such a
variety of styles so when you begin to
plateau and get bored you can just change
tack. You can Dry tool, Boulder, Winter
Climb, Alpine Mountaineering, Sport
climb, Track climb or even Deep Water
Solo so much variety how could you ever
get bored!
Time
For most people, training for climbing
specifically two to three days a week (one
to three hours per session) should be
sufficient, especially if you plan to climb
on the weekend. The training goal is to get
physically and mentally prepared to fully
engage in the sport of mountaineering. The
climbing goal will be to perform strong
and steady throughout your adventure.
Tips to remember:
Fitness for mountaineering requires a high
overall level of physical conditioning. Both
cardiovascular and motor fitness are
needed to climb at varying levels of
intensity and to navigate challenging
terrain, often while carrying a loaded pack
and at high altitudes.
MOUNTAINEERING TRAINING
PROGRAM
Training for mountaineering focuses on
building an endurance athlete by
developing cardiovascular fitness (fitness
of the heart and lungs) and motor fitness
(particularly endurance, strength, and
balance), using specific goals and
following a defined timeline.
THE ENDURANCE ATHLETE
a solid mountain athlete is an endurance
athlete. More than any other specific
fitness skill, endurance is the fitness area of
greatest importance to a mountaineer. An
endurance athlete is able to perform at a
variety of intensity levels all day long and
not a specialist in "long and slow" or "short
and explosive" activities. Endurance
athletes have both excellent cardiovascular
and motor fitness.
CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS
Cardiovascular Fitness is measured
through your aerobic capacity: your body’s
ability to take in and use oxygen.
Cardiovascular training is directed at
conditioning your heart and lungs to
deliver oxygen to your muscles.
TRAINING GOALS
Training goals are critically important
given the time constraints placed by
weather, route conditions, objective
hazards, and the effects of altitude. Proper
physical conditioning allows you to
perform better by climbing longer, stronger
and faster, be more comfortable on steeper
and awkward terrain, carry heavier loads,
recover more quickly at rest, and better
enjoy the entire adventure.
STRETCHING EXERCISES
stretching helps reduce muscular tension
and increases flexibility.
With static stretching, don’t stretch through
pain; you are stretching and tearing muscle
fibers with this activity. Improper
stretching can lead to injury and
disillusionment with this aspect of motor
fitness training.
TIMELINE AND SCHEDULE FOR
TRAINING
Phase 1 : Building your body FITNESS
Your training should incorporate both
cardiovascular fitness and motor fitness
training from the star
Phase 2 : Tuning your body
MOUNTAINEERING SPECIFIC
TRAINING
Begin making your workouts more
mountaineering specific with hikes and
climbs and occasional interval sessions
aimed at broadening your range of comfort
at various effort levels.
Final phase : Making use of your body
SPECIFICALLY FOR THE CLIMB
AHEAD
Train on terrain similar in steepness and
difficulty to the mountain and with a pack
mimicking what you will be carrying.
Trainings you'll have to do
Cardiovascular Fitness -Ability to act in
long periods of time -maintain composure
in thinner air
Aerobic -Your ability to flexibly climb up
or down.
Endurance -Build a more durable
condition that can withstand continuous
vigorous acts. Persevere at unforeseen  Get off your butt and start squats
physical challenges and lunges
 Bike to hike
Strength and Power -Basically Your
 Set your goals at the beginning of
prowess, you'll be doing heavy lifting
your training program.
during climbs
Begin by asking these questions:
Balance And Agility -It's basically your
flexibility and ability to have a steady WHAT IS THE FITNESS NEEDED ON
footing in uneven terrain THE CLIMB?
Stretching -It allows your body to prepare How many days does the climb require?
for the climb and prevent any injuries from What type of terrain and climbing will you
occurring Motor Fitness -Training your encounter? To what altitudes will you
body to the environments of nature climb? How heavy a pack will you carry?
WHAT IS MY CURRENT FITNESS?
THE FITNESS AND What are your current cardiovascular
ACCLIMATIZATION CONNECTION strengths and weaknesses? What are your
current motor fitness strengths and
The greater your level of fitness, the more
weaknesses?
efficiently you can acclimate (i.e., adjust)
to altitude. Simply stated, fit climbers WHAT IS MY TIME FRAME?
spend less energy on certain tasks (i.e., a
How long do you have to improve your
day of hard climbing), leaving their bodies
fitness before the start of the climb?
ready for the task of acclimatization.
Workouts that will help you get fit for
your next trekking
 Step up to trekking fitness
 Start taking the stairs
 Brisk walks and jogging help get
fit for trekking
 Skip the gym but start skipping