“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves”, this statement was said by none other than Sir Edmund Hilary. For a lot of people, these words might seem like a simple statement, but for a climber or a trekker, these words hold a deep significance.

How? Well for a trekker, climbing a mountain is a secondary challenge. The first and the biggest challenge for every trekker is always going to be overcoming their own physical limitations, fatigue, and mental barriers. Now, the best way to overcome this first challenge is to build the right kind of physical fitness. So, once you have enough strength, stamina, and resilience within you, you will be able to conquer these challenges easily and complete your trek successfully.

Now, there are a lot of people who rarely put any effort into their physical fitness. In fact, there are many trekkers who only start to think about fitness after booking the trek, and that’s when it hits them that mountains are going to reward them with breathtaking views, but they are also going to test them thoroughly. Feeling that sheer, thin air hitting on the face while constantly walking on those steep trails, believe it or not but you do get humbled by nature.

But you don’t need to worry, because if you wish to do a Himalayan trek, then all you have to do is show up well prepared. And to make sure you are prepared for it, we have curated this detailed article for you all. First we will tell you about why trekking fitness matters; then how you can prepare yourself according to your trek level and know whether you're ready to go or not, and then finally, what habits of yours will sabotage your trek if you don’t work on them.

Why is Physical Fitness so important to do a trek?

Well, you all know that for trekking in the Himalayas, having good physical strength is very important. As walking on the mountain terrain is never easy, especially for those who have never done any kind of exercise in their life.

So, before sharing the complete list of exercises according to each trek level, we would like to brief you about the importance of doing physical exercise before going on any level of trek, and how these must do trekking exercises are going to help you out.

• Helps in Keeping Your Breathing Stabilised

Now, while walking on any high-altitude terrain, the higher you climb, the thinner air gets. In such times, your heart tends to beat faster, your breathing gets heavier, and your body starts getting exhausted. But, by starting proper aerobic and stamina exercises around three months prior to your trek, you can build your physical strength enough that your body won’t need to endure such problems, and you'll be able to acclimatize faster as well as enjoy the scenery instead of just surviving it.

• Helps in Building the Stamina to Walk Continuously

Walking for long hours is a major part of trekking, but a lot of times even this basic part of trekking happens to catch a lot of trekkers off guard. This happens when trekkers have to carry the weight of their backpack, which goes beyond their body capacity. To make sure this doesn’t happen with you, this is our firm advice to you all that you better start working on stamina, and stay consistent in your training.

• Decrease the Chances of Getting Injured

As we all know that most of the Himalayan terrains tend to be rocky, and uneven, so while walking on such terrains, having a strong grip on your body balance is important. That’s because once you have a core body strength, you will have a firm stability as you walk while carrying a heavy backpack on the trail. Apart from that, your legs and knees will remain protected, as with strong legs the chances of getting harmed will also decrease. After all, good ankle strength means fewer slips and sprains, and since the mountains won’t have any physiotherapy clinics, you will have to follow the golden rule, which says “prevention is better than cure”.

• Staying Physically Fit Helps In Staying Mentally Fit

Now, a lot of trekkers believe that when it comes to fitness, physical fitness should be the main priority. But what a lot of trekkers don’t know is that for trekking, staying mentally fit is also very important. When your legs are tired, and your lungs are constantly screaming in such times, if your mind is calmer, you will be able to think in a much better way. It is very important for every trekker to remember that if physical fitness helps in keeping you stable throughout the trek, then it's mental fitness that helps you keep your head straight in the game.

• Your Teammates Are Counting on You Too

Trekking is mostly done in groups, where, besides fellow trekkers, a proper team of porters, and guides accompanies you. In such situations, an unprepared trekker can really become a problem for everyone, not only will that person slow others down, but they can sometimes lead the whole group into a situation where they will have to turn around. So, to make sure that you don’t turn out to be such a trekker, it is very important that you maintain your physical fitness, and keep pace with the people you are trekking with.

These were the main reasons why every trekker should include physical fitness in their trekking preparation, so that everyone can truly experience an unforgettable trekking journey.

Now that you know all the reasons, why doing proper trekking exercise is important for trekkers. Let us walk you through the exercises trekkers should do according to different trek levels.

Are You Actually Ready to Trek? Here's How You Can Tell

Now, a lot of trekking enthusiasts believe that going on a trek is an easy task, but the truth is far from that. In reality, trekking involves proper preparation that, in fact, begins three months prior to your chosen trek. A lot of people wish to go trekking and witness the beauty of the Himalayas, but what they don’t understand is that just thinking or wanting to go on a trek is not enough. The truth is that to go on a trek, it is very important to know whether “you are ready or not”.

So, to help you all, we have listed out all the requirements that each level of trek will demand from you.

1. Easy Treks

Easy treks are neither that difficult to climb nor do they demand too much of physical fitness. To do an easy level trek, you need to be fit enough to walk for 2 to 3 hours continuously on uneven ground. Apart from that, just make sure that you don’t have any ongoing heart, lung or knee issues, and you will be ready to go on your first trek.

Note: To know more about how you can prepare your body. Here is the complete list of “exercises for easy trek” that you can start doing three months before your trek.

2. Easy to Moderate Treks

Now come the treks that are easy indeed but require a little more stamina then the easy level trek. This means that for easy to moderate level trek, you must have a capacity to brisk-walk for at least 4 to 5 hours on a daily basis, and carry a light backpack without facing any trouble walking on the mountain terrain. Apart from this, an easy to moderate level of trek requires some prior hiking experience too, before you can be considered a perfect fit for this level of trek.

Note: To know more about how you can prepare your body. Here is the complete list of “exercises for easy to moderate trek” that you can start doing three months before your trek.

3. Moderate Treks

From this moment, the requirements to be considered physically fit will start changing. As trek levels will keep leveling up, so will the physical requirements. Now, for a moderate level trek, you will need to be regular in walking, running, or cycling; you must do it for at least 4 days a week. Ideally, since you have already completed an easier level of treks, running for 30 minutes without stopping is a benchmark that can be easily achieved. Apart from that just make sure that you are able to do all the mentioned moderate trek level exercises without feeling breathless at all.

Note: To know more about how you can prepare your body. Here is the complete list of “exercises for moderate trek” that you can start doing three months before your trek.

4. Moderate to Difficult Treks

To be considered as physically fit enough to do a moderate to difficult level trek, it’s mandatory that you, as a trekker, are able to run for 20 to 30 km a week, and that you have completed moderate level treks before levelling up your trekking level. Apart from that, make sure that you have built enough strength to carry a loaded pack for several weeks without facing any kind of health issues.

Note: To know more about how you can prepare your body. Here is the complete list of “exercises for moderate to difficult trek” that you can start doing three months before your trek.

5. Difficult Treks

Now, we are sure that you must have understood how important fitness is if you want to conquer the mountains. Each trek demands a different level of fitness; similarly, a difficult level trek also demands proper fitness. But apart from that, a difficult level trekker must have prior experience in the following: camping in cold weather, knowledge of technical climbing, and the right knowledge about medical evaluation such as - what AMS, HAPE, and HACE are, along with understanding when the right time is to start descending. All this knowledge, combined with adequate physical fitness, is what makes you a perfect fit to do a difficult trek.

Note: To know more about how you can prepare your body. Here is the complete list of “exercises for difficult trek” that you can start doing three months before your trek.

6. Difficult to Challenging Treks

Last but not the least, comes the difficult to challenging level of treks. To be able to reach this level of trek, requires a lot of strength, both physically and mentally. With all the years of learning and experience, you have already mastered your technical climbing skills, know all the medical clearance rules, and understand the kind of fitness, passion and dedication this level of trekking demands. Only highly experienced and well-trained trekkers are qualified to do this or any higher level of treks.

Note: To know more about how you can prepare your body. Here is the complete list of “exercises for difficult to challenging trek” that you can start doing three months before your trek.

What Kind of Habits Can Affect Your Perfect Trek Fitness?

Fitness is the most important part of a trek preparation. Every trekker, who is gearing up to go on a trek should keep physical fitness as their top priority. In fact, while booking, a firm advice is given to trekkers that they should start training three months prior to their trek date, and that they need to avoid all the following habits at all cost. Otherwise, all the three months of hard training will go to waste, and you will be considered as an unprepared trekker.

So, let’s take a look at all the habits that you must avoid before and during your trek.

• Smoking:This one is probably the most common habit that many trekkers have, and it can truly affect your health on many levels, especially if you are thinking of going on a trek. The reason is that smoking tends to shrink your lungs capacity, which can definitely become a problem as you try to climb higher. Therefore, if you smoke, try to cut back or quit at least 6 to 8 weeks before your trek.
• Consuming Alcohol: Drinking alcohol is also another habit that trekkers should avoid at all cost, as it tends to dehydrate a person, messes with their sleeping schedule, and affects their body fitness in such a way that makes acclimatization much harder. Therefore, just like smoking, try to cut your alcohol consumption too for at least 6 to 8 weeks before your trek as well.
• Avoid Constant Sitting: A lot of people don’t know this, but sitting continuously is more harmful to the body than anything else. When a body that has a habit of sitting for 8 to 10 hours straight, suddenly starts walking for more than even 1 km, that sudden activity shocks the body system. Therefore, before thinking of going on a trek, make sure you are physically active in going for a walk at least on a daily basis. In this way, when you actually start preparing for the trek, your body will be able to adjust to that change.
• Avoid Crash dieting: Now, a lot of people believe that if they go on dieting for a while , they will become physically fit to go on a trek. But the truth is far from it. In reality, going on a crash diet is a bad idea because to be prepared for a trek, your body will need fuel like proper carbs for energy, protein for muscle repair, and healthy fats for warmth and sustained effort. If you show up undernourished for a trek, it will result in early fatigue, poor cold tolerance, and slower recovery while trekking.
• Ignoring old injuries: Now, whenever we experience any injury and according to us it’s not major, we tend to ignore it. Which is a classic mistake that a lot of trekkers made. Because when you go on a trek, that weak, still not healed injury that felt “fine” before, will become very evident when you will be walking carrying a 12 kg backpack on uneven terrain of a mountain. So, make sure that you are not travelling to mountains while carrying any kind of old injuries, as it won’t take long for that injury to flare up while trekking.
• Avoid going on a trek with unmanaged stress or anxiety: Now, to be considered fully prepared for a trek, apart from physical fitness, mental fitness also matters. Because if you are going to a high altitude place while you are feeling exhausted internally, it can cause emotional distress on many levels. So, If you're dealing with something heavy, it's worth addressing before heading into an environment that strips away all the usual distractions.

Conclusion

See, witnessing mountains in their most breathtaking form is an experience that every trekking enthusiast wishes to see at least once in their lifetime. But to be able to experience this beauty, you need to understand what mountains really care about. For them, neither your gear list or your instagram plans matter. What matters most is that if you are exploring the mountains, both you, and your body need to be well prepared - physically and mentally.

Now, preparation doesn’t demand too much, all you need to do is give your proper time, stay consistent, and be willing to start even if you don’t enjoy it at first. Just train yourself steadily, fix your habits, pick the right trek for your body’s capacity and voila! the mountains will take care of the rest. So, remember just do the work, and the views will be worth every squat. Prepare smart, acclimatize patiently, and most important of all trek responsibly, and you will have one of the best experiences of your life.

Frequently Asked Questions About Trek Fitness (FAQs)

1. Can a beginner do a Himalayan trek without being physically fit?

See, any trekking enthusiast can do a beginner level of trek as long as they keep themselves physically fit enough that they won’t feel exhausted while trekking or get injured in any possible way due to poor body fitness.

2. How many weeks before should I start training myself for a trek?

The ideal time to start training yourself before going on a trek is at least 3 months. In this way, your body can easily acclimatize itself once you set your foot in the mountain area.

3. What exercises are best for me to prepare myself for a trek?

The best exercises that you can do to prepare yourself for a Himalayan trek are brisk walking, running, stairs climbing, cycling, squats, lunges and core building strength.

4. What are the common mistakes a trekker commits while preparing for a trek?

Some of the most common mistakes that a trekker commits while preparing for a trek is that they tend to underestimate the altitude, sometimes skip the proper acclimatisation, and sometimes they even don’t do the cardio exercise properly while training themselves.

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