It’s almost pitch black. It’s 15 below zero. Terrible headache takes the lead. Fatigue ain’t helping either. 5 inches on your left is a 1500 metre drop. Another 5 inches on your right is your left’s twin. The tiny space separating the twins of forever after is called the ridge in the mountaneering slang. It’s a sharp part of the mountain top you keep moving on. And the wind blows. Oh yeah, the wind blows like hell. Step by step, each and every next you take requires a whole world of force to get through. A recurring question stands the test of time : „what the hell am I doing out here?“
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Long story short, this would be the exact representation of how the worst part of the process towards getting to the top of Mont Blanc, the highest peak of all the Alps, looks and feels like when you opt for an Italian route. I will admit right off the bat – it was undoubtedly the most dangerous and trechareous thing I have done in my life so far.
So, how fit do you have to be in order to reach the summit? Can an average person climb Mont Blanc? How long and what exactly shall you train if you wanna reach the summit?
It’s not so easy to answer, guys. There are layers to this. I would make a division to it and separate those in two major: physical fitness and emotional fitness. Emotional widely regarded as mental. Recall that this blog is all about mental fortitude as much as it is about physical.
Okay, there’s also a whole spectrum of technical knowledge you must acquire if you don’t wanna stay on that mountain for the rest of the time. Although of supreme importance, I won’t go in too much detail with this. Go speak to your local mountain guide for more.
When it comes to nutritional part, that is scheduled for another blog.
Right; physical first. Needless to say I have been lifting heavy weights, doing bodyweight movements, calisthenics, crossfit and extreme cardio sessions for years now, few months before an actual climb, I did switch the main frame of training significantly. To break it down; Mont Blanc included mostly walking in harsh conditions with a backpack and full gear on. And sometimes using your arm strength for parts where you gotta climb. Bearing these movements in mind – if you are a guy or a girl who regularly goes to the gym and squats, bench presses and deadlifts and thinks they are ready for it – guess what, you are not. Neither will you get the bang for the buck if you’re doing yoga all the time and decide to climb.
What I did for approx. 3 months before the event:
3 times a week of cardio
2 times a week of bodyweight session that develops strength
1 session of heavy lifting in the gym
Speaking of cardio, guys – find the hill in your vicinity and jog all the way up as long as you can and as fast as you can before stopping and slowing down. Then start jogging again as long as you can. Take a small break. Then do the thing again. Do it all the way until you reach the top of the hill. This program will launch your endurance and respiratory system to outer space.
If there ain’t no hills where you live, use the flat surface for jogging fast (but don’t sprint!). Jog at your 60% of your maximum speed for 4 minutes and then walk for another 4 minutes. Repeat the scenario 4 times.
Strength is inevitable if you wanna carry your backpack and gear (which are by no means light), so strength training is critical. HOWEVER, it excludes the 5-week deadlifting and squatting as this will get you in trouble in no time. Remember, this is an uphill marathon and you are an adventure seeker on an empty street, just an alley creeper light on your feet (guess the song).
That is why the bodyweight strength development is crucial; you are carrying your body most of the time up the mountain along with the technical and survival gear. Your capability of doing this is often related to your relative strength. These include all kinds of push and pull movements on the ground or using the bar, whole lot of bodyweight flows centered around building strength and number of static positions so you enhance not only your dynamic, but your static strength as well. You can message me directly and we can arrange the 2-month bodyweight program for you regardless of your will towards climbing a 5000 meter mountain.
Finally, the absolute strength part in the gym. Go in there once a week and freaking kill it; balls to the walls with your one-rep-max squat, deadlift or shoulder press. Mix in whole bunch of different moves that require heavy ass weights to get you going. Again, feel free to DM me about the classical gym programme as well.
Guys, even if you did all that stuff from A to Z on a micro level, there is no guarantee you will reach the summit or get down the mountain safely. This is my take on what I am doing and what increased the odds of me emerging on the top. It will work you for sure, but might not work for you at the same level. The mountains are inexplicably dangerous areas where people vanish and die frequently; you can only increase the odds of getting where you want with the program I shared with you. So stay grateful and look for joy in small things all all times.
All of all, now or never. See you in the next blog. Imperative.