A high altitude training plan is like using a GPS.
Once you’ve put in your destination, zoomed in on your location and hit start, all you have to do is follow the instructions and you will 1000%, undoubtedly end up at your chosen destination.
Training the human body to be fitter and stronger for long days, steep ascents and descents at high altitude is exactly the same as that GPS provided you are consistently following the instructions of that strategic training plan.
So, today I wanted to share with you 3 tips to MAXIMISE that training plan and help get you even fitter and stronger by applying them:
1. Always Assess Your Starting Point
Your starting point: your current strength and fitness levels
Your end point: being fit enough and strong enough to climb or trek *insert your planned peak/route*
To maximise the efficiency and success of your training plan, it's crucial to establish a starting point that serves as a benchmark for measuring and assessing your progress in relation to reaching the end point.
Progress and physiological adaptation (aka getting fitter) is a journey, and measuring it from the start ensures you stay on track, celebrate the physical wins along the way and make informed decisions to continually advance your fitness levels.
2. Gradual and Strategic Progression
If you’re training properly, you should be adjusting the intensity, duration and difficulty of your training every 4 to 6 weeks to promote progress and avoid plateaus.
Your training stimulus needs to be great enough to cause a physiological change but without being so much that it’s demotivating.
On the same note, if your training stimulus isn’t great enough then it’s not doing anything and you’re wasting your time.
Jess, a client of mine who followed the GPS all the way to the summit of Gran Paradiso
3. Plan for Variety and Life
Variety keeps boredom at bay but it also gives you the flexibility to adjust as life happens without compromising on your training.
Variety is one of the things my clients love about working with me is the flexibility and variety they have without deviating from their plan and process…
A quick, unexpected work trip - no need to skip training - just adjust their sessions so they can be done in a hotel room with limited time.
A niggle in your left knee - add in extra mobility work and send a tutorial on how to do myofascial release on their quad muscles. Focus on core stability and non impact movements that week.
Lack of sleep because your kid has kept you up all night - no problem, I completely understand *she says with 3yo twins* and then sends the pep talk they weren’t expecting because being tired is a part of high altitude pursuits and not a reason to call it quits for the day.
The thing is, life happens and this goal and training plan that you’ve got comes second to life so being able to adjust and vary as life happens is essential to the overall success of your plan.
Having a plan that is measurable, flexible and strategic to your peak/route will make all the difference. It is your GPS route to your destination, the way you move from start to summit.
If for any reason, you doubt your GPS route/training plan and aren’t sure if it’s really enough to get you fit enough for your high altitude pursuit then let's talk.
I offer a free 30 min call to help give you clarity, focus and a strategic way of getting fitter, stronger and better prepared for your peak/route, without working with me. No strings attached. Just a powerful, generous conversation all focused on you, where you want to get to and how.
All you need to do is answer a few questions that will give me an insight into your biggest concerns and help me focus on the solutions you need during our 30 minutes together.
Being completely transparent, IF, at the end of the call, you think you’d benefit even more by having me coach you then I’ll walk you through what I actually do with my clients that makes their high altitude pursuits so successful.
Either way, you’re going to finish that call with a definitive map of what you need to be doing and how to get fit enough for your adventure.