TRAINING PLAN
Want to join us on a multi-day trekking adventure? You do not need to be an uber athlete or have a lot of trekking experience. You will need to invest some time to train so that you have a base level of physical fitness so you enjoy your time in the mountains.?Train today, to enjoy the trail tomorrow.
Preparing for treks that may summit multiple peaks through steep slopes and big steps requires persistent training. It is important to be able to carry a pack of up to 15kg while hiking 6 to 8 hours per day. Focus on both strength endurance and cardiovascular conditioning. Your training plan should incorporate all 4 elements below, and some examples of what you can do to prepare yourself are included.
| Focus area | What to do | Details |
| Conditioning | ??????? Stairs training
??????? Up and down hill hiking |
Min. 20 flights continuously
Macritchie to Bukit Timah and back Interval training (ie. climb steadily up for several minutes with a 10-15kg pack and recover coming down 30-40 mins/rep) |
| Strength | ??????? Squats, lunges, step-ups, pull-downs, dead lifts, bench presses
??????? Plank, mountain climbers |
2 full-body strength workouts twice a week for 30-45minutes each |
| Cardiovascular | ??????? Trail running
??????? Walking on inclined treadmill ??????? Swimming |
45-60 minutes each time |
| Stretching | ??????? Stretch the calves, glutes, hips, and thigh muscles well | 15 minutes of stretching muscles in use after every workout. |
You will need to progressively ramp up your pack load, hiking time, distance and elevation gain (at roughly 10% per week) to safely and effectively build your trekking-specific conditioning. It is important to build this gradually as trying to cut short the weeks of training and ramping up too quickly will increase the risk of injury.
| Week | Cardio | Stairs Training | Strength | Rest |
| W1
|
1x ? 45mins | 1x ? 5kg pack
22 flights x3 |
1x ? 30mins | 4 days |
| W2
|
2x ? 45mins | 1x ? 6kg pack
22 flights x4 |
1x ? 30mins each | 3 days |
| W3
|
2x ? 60mins | 1x ? 8kg pack
30 flights x6 |
2x ? 45mins each | 2 days |
| W4
|
2x ? 60mins | 1x ? 8kg pack
40 flights x8 |
2x ? 45mins each | 2 days |
| W5
|
2x ? 80mins | 3x ? 10kg pack
40 flights x8 |
2x ? 45mins each | 1 day |
| W6
|
2x ? 80mins | 3x ? 12kg pack
40 flights x8 |
2x ? 45mins each | 1 day |
| W7
|
2x ? 80mins | 3x ? 15kg pack
40 flights x8 |
2x ? 45mins each | 1 day |
| W8
|
2x ? 60mins | 3x ? 10kg pack
30 flights x8 |
2x ? 45mins each | 1 day |
| W9
|
2x ? 45mins | 1x ? 8kg pack
22 flights x5 |
2x ? 30mins each | 2 days |
| W10
|
1x ? 45mins | 1x ? 5kg pack
22 flights x5 |
1x ? 30mins each | 4 days |
Example of a Week 2 schedule
| Weekly breakdown | Cardio & Stretch | Conditioning & Stretch | Strength & Stretch |
| Day 1 | Distance ?
Walk/Jog 5km
|
Core strengthening (plank, dolphin pushups, warriors, bow, boat, shoulder stand)
Balancing (Tree, dancer, garuda)
Spinal flexibility (cobra, locust, triangles) |
|
| Day 2 | Rest | ||
| Day 3 | Duration: 30mins
10mins: Strength training 1 set of 100: ??????? 30 Lunges, ??????? 30 Squats, ??????? 10 Burpies, ??????? 30 Mountain climbers 2-mins/set; 1 min recovery. Go for 3 rounds at least.
10mins: Core conditioning Thighs, gluts, quads ??????? Chair & Warriors ??????? Triangle/Side-angle stretches Arms, Abs, Back & Shoulders ??????? Shoulder stand ??????? Warrior III ??????? Plank, Side plank Superman ??????? Bow
10mins: Balancing & Abdominal stretching ??????? Tree, Garuda ??????? Cobra, Locust
|
||
| Day 4 | Load of 5kg
4x 22 flights |
||
| Day 5 | Rest | ||
| Day 6 | Distance ?
Walk/Jog 5km |
? | |
| Day 7 | Rest | ||
| In all cases, build in a 15min stretching at the end of each session. | |||
Example of a Week 4 schedule
| Weekly breakdown | Cardio & Stretch | Conditioning & Stretch | Strength & Stretch |
| Day 1 | 50mins: Jog 6-7km
Start to jog with some incline / uneven terrain |
||
| Day 2 | Duration: 45mins
20mins: Strength training 1 set of 180: ??????? 50 Lunges, ??????? 50 Squats, ??????? 20 Burpies, ??????? 60 Mountain climbers 3-mins/set; 1 min recovery. Go for 5 rounds at least.
10mins: Core conditioning Thighs, gluts, quads ??????? Chair & Warriors ??????? Triangle/Side-angle stretches Arms, Abs, Back & Shoulders ??????? Shoulder stand ??????? Warrior III ??????? Plank, Side plank Superman ??????? Bow
10mins: Balancing & Abdominal stretching ??????? Tree, Garuda ??????? Cobra, Locust
|
||
| Day 3 | Rest | ||
| Day 4 | Load of 8kg
8 x 40; or 12 x 22 |
||
| Day 5 | Rest | ||
| Day 6 | 50mins: Jog 7-8km
Start to jog with some incline / uneven terrain |
? | |
| Day 7 | Power/Core yoga or any other core workout. | ||
| In all cases, build in a 15min stretching at the end of each session. | |||
Example of a Week 7 schedule
| Weekly breakdown | Cardio & Stretch | Conditioning & Stretch | Strength & Stretch |
| Day 1 | 60-80mins: Jog 9-10km
some incline / uneven terrain |
||
| Day 2 | Duration: 45mins
20mins: Strength training 1 set of 180: ??????? 50 Lunges, ??????? 50 Squats, ??????? 20 Burpies, ??????? 60 Mountain climbers 3-mins/set; 1 min recovery. Go for 5 rounds at least.
10mins: Core conditioning Thighs, gluts, quads ??????? Chair & Warriors ??????? Triangle/Side-angle stretches Arms, Abs, Back & Shoulders ??????? Shoulder stand ??????? Warrior III ??????? Plank, Side plank Superman ??????? Bow
10mins: Balancing & Abdominal stretching ??????? Tree, Garuda ??????? Cobra, Locust
|
||
| Day 3 | Load of 13kg
8 x 40; or 12 x 22 |
||
| Day 4 | Rest | ||
| Day 5 | 50mins: Jog 7-8km
Start to jog with some incline / uneven terrain |
Same as Day 2 | |
| Day 6 | Load of 13kg
8 x 40; or 12 x 22 |
? | |
| Day 7 | Rest | ||
| In all cases, build in a 15min stretching at the end of each session. | |||