Training for the Everest Trek: What is the Right Way?

Trekking to the highest peak in the world isn’t an easy task, right? You certainly need to have some kind of early training for the Everest trek or hiking in the areas of the Everest region.

Any adventurer, whether you are a seasoned one or a beginner, needs to understand that trekking to Everest Base Camp is a test of endurance, resilience, and willpower. And none of this comes naturally without proper training or preparation over a period of time.

The rewarding view of Everest definitely works as a good pushing factor for attempting this trek, but your success entirely depends on your training beforehand. Let’s get through the blog to find the right ways for training for the Everest trek.

Fitness Required for Everest Trek

Before diving into the training for the Everest trek, it is really important to understand what kind of fitness you need for trekking to the Everest Base Camp. And let me inform you that most people often confuse trekking to Everest Base Camp with the Everest summit. No, it isn’t the same!

Comparatively, trekking to the base camp is less of a technical trek than summiting the Everest. Still, you should train your body and mind as you need to trek through rugged terrains for at least 7 to 9 hours daily.

And the weather on this trekking trail can change any moment, thus it is necessary to build up your endurance to withstand the freezing temperatures. Lower oxygen concentration is another concern of trekking to high altitude terrains of Everest region. People often find it difficult to breathe in lower oxygen which eventually leads to altitude sickness.

Different Ways of Training for the Everest Trek

Training for Everest base camp isn’t just about increasing your speed or strength, it’s more about overall fitness. Along with strong legs, you also need healthy lungs to tackle crucial state when oxygen drops. Likewise, for successful ascent and descend, you need to have stronger lower body as traversing the difficult trails depends entirely on your legs.

Here are different ways of training for Everest trekking:

Breathing Exercises

To ensure your lungs remain healthy and you could easily breathe in lower oxygen conditions, it is essential to incorporate breathing exercises in your training. If you know proper breathing techniques, it will help you to manage altitude sickness, help you maintain you breathing rhythm in deficient oxygen, and also helps you to avoid dizziness that comes along.

Some of the breathing practices that you can include are:

• Deep breathing through your diaphragm: This exercise particularly includes deeply inhaling the air through your nose and filling up your belly then slowly exhaling.
• Alternate nostril breathing: Also known as the “Nadi Sodhana” technique in ayurveda, this breathing technique helps to increase oxygen uptake while calming your mind.
• Training to hold the breath: This technique is typically helpful for improving the capacity of your lugs. It involves inhaling deeply and holding your breath for a few seconds then releasing the breath slowly.

Stretching Exercises

Before you actually start strength training, it is necessary to stretch out your muscles that have remained stiff for a longer period of time. This exercise in particular helps you to make you body flexible on trek, reduces soreness of your legs, prevents cramping and other injury of your leg.

It is very important to stretch out your hamstrings, quadriceps, lower back, calves, and hips after every workout. Some of the effective stretching exercise are:

• Standing quad stretch
• Forward fold
• Hip flexor stretch
• Seated spinal twist
• Calf stretch

Strength Training

It is important to know that Everest Base Camp trekking isn’t the task of one day. Starting from trek in Lukla to boarding on the return flight after the trek, you will have to continuously trek uphill, downhill, and often on rough treks. And these treks often require you to walk at least 6 to 7 hours a day.

And such difficult walk on uneven roads isn’t possible if you haven’t build you core and calf strength. Anyone can feel excited to hike up for a day without any prep but continuing the same trek for over 10 days can really tire you up. Thus, you need to begin strength training at least 3 to 6 months earlier if you are a beginner in the world of exercise too.

Some of these strength training exercises you need to incorporate are:

For legs:

• Squats
• Lunges
• Strep-ups
• Leg presses
• Calf raises

For core strengthening:

• Planks
• Mountain climbers
• Russian twists

For upper body training:

• Shoulder presses
• Push-ups
• Pull ups

Additionally, it is a good idea to include weight lifting training to add on to the strength training and also to practice carrying your bag packs on trek. To practice walking with trekking boots, it’s a good idea to wear them on your hikes too.

Cardio is a Must

Even though it isn’t intense, including cardio in your daily exercises is a good way to train for trekking. Practicing good cardiovascular exercises helps your lungs and efficient hear function too. This exercise is crucial to help your vital organs adapt to extreme low temperature, thin air, and lower oxygen level.

Some of recommended cardiovascular exercises are:

• Regular jogging and brisk walking
• Running on trails
• Hiking uphill at a consistent pace
• Swimming

Yoga and Meditation

A good mental resilience is something you need for building your endurance for difficult trekking on challenging terrains. Doing regular yoga and practicing meditation helps you build that mental capacity.

Go on a Regular Hike

Just training in the gym isn’t enough for trekking to high altitudes like the Everest base camp. You need to practice going on a hike for at least a day or two to practice what going uphill and down hill feels.

If you live close to sea-level, try hiking up a hill or a comparatively higher altitude to help your body adapt to this

Know What Works Best for You

It is important to understand that every individual’s body reacts differently to the weather conditions and challenging terrains of the Himalayas. While some people have the natural capacity to tolerate extreme cold and lower oxygen level, just like the Sherpas of Solukhumbu, most don’t.

And to add on, if you are someone who is coming from the sea level, then it can be even more challenging to tackle the difficult situations in the mountains. In such instance, additional preparation with acclimatization and adaptation hikes on a higher latitude is necessary.

It is key to understand your limitations and strengths and train accordingly to build resilience. Always listen to your body and work at your own pace.

Train hard to trek sweet!