Highlights:
- If you have a basic level of fitness, plan on spending at least 4-6 months preparing for challenging adventure travel trips.
- Don’t be a weekend warrior. Training doesn’t work if you aren’t consistent.
- Basic health and fitness guidelines should be used to establish a base fitness level, and then a workout should be customized for the individual going on the trip.
- Adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week.
- Finding out the longest mileage, altitude and terrain changes ahead of time makes it much easier to plan your training schedule.
If you’re thinking about climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Heli Skiing in the Alps or cycling around Italy, realize that training for only a few weeks may not be enough to allow you to enjoy, or possibly even complete, the trip. Here are the levels of fitness you need to consider before taking off.
If you are an experienced adventurer, you can skip this section, but I would love to hear all about your health and fitness routines and follow along with your adventures!
General Tips
Outdoor activities and adventures demand a higher level of fitness than your average trip to Disney World or many vacation spots. You need cardiovascular endurance, strength, flexibility, and specific skills (i.e. knowing how to ride a bike or swim).
Definitely don’t wait until 2 weeks before you go to get in shape and DO NOT go on a crash diet right before you leave. (Crash dieting is just plain dumb, but that soap box is for another book.)
Pre-Training Time
If you have a basic level of fitness, plan on spending at least 4 to 6 months preparing for challenging adventure travel trips. If you’re going on an easier level trip (most companies rate trips’ exertion levels), I recommend a minimum of 6 weeks of pre-trip training.
If you are out of shape and looking to do an extreme adventure trip, you may need up to a year or more to get in shape before attempting your ultimate experience.
I’ve seen numerous people forced to abandon part of their trip due to over-estimating their fitness level. Vacations and holidays don’t come around enough, so why risk ruining your trip due to something that you have control over?
“What if I only have 2 weeks?” is a question I often hear. You’re just not going to get the most out of your trip. Some last minute tips include stretching and walking. If you know you’ll be walking, walk everyday to get your shoes in shape. Go for the fun, and make plans to never be out of shape again.
Check Tour Ratings
Some adventure trips don’t require any special training other than having a solid, basic level of fitness. A tour company can give you a good idea of what’s involved and how much training you need. If they offer a training program for the trip you want, take it.
Some good questions to ask include:
- How would you rate the physical fitness of the trip?
- What’s the longest mileage we’ll have to bike/hike/(insert activity here)?
- What are the terrain changes like?
- What’s the risk involved in the different activities on the trip?
- Are there any skill level requirements?
- Should I have any altitude training concerns?
- Are there any medical issues and warnings?
- Is the trip kid-friendly?
- Are there any other health and physical fitness factors that I should know about?
Even if you can't duplicate altitude, the terrain or the actual physical activities that are going to be involved, you can at least replicate some of the situational intensities, frequencies and durations of time that you’ll be exercising.
Reach A Baseline Level Of Fitness
150 Minutes A Week = Healthier You
Recommendations from the American College of Sports Medicine include cardio, resistance, flexibility and neuromotor exercise. Here are the basics for getting to a baseline level of fitness.
1. Cardiorespiratory Exercise
Adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. You can start even as little as 10 minutes a day - though, sometimes it’s easier to jump in with 30 minutes - and work up to 150 minutes a week.
Exercise recommendations can be met through 30-60 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (5 days per week) or 20-60 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise (3 days per week). If you do shorter sessions, they have to be a minimum of 10 minutes.
If you want even greater health benefits aim for 300 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity, or 150 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity activity and muscle-strengthening activities on 2+ days a week that work all major muscle groups.
One way to get started is to just start walking. Start with 20 minutes. Then add a couple of minutes every 3rd day.
Physical Activity Guidelines (1.usa.gov/1DB9ud) For Americans is a great resource to start with.
2. Resistance Exercise
Adults should train each major muscle group (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms) 2 or 3 days each week. Two to 4 sets of each exercise will help adults improve strength and power. For each set, 8-12 repetitions improve strength and power, 10-15 repetitions improve strength in middle-age and older persons starting exercise and 15-20 repetitions improve muscular endurance.
Adults should wait at least 48 hours between resistance training sessions.
3. Flexibility Exercise
Adults should do flexibility exercises at least 2 or 3 days each week to improve range of motion. Each stretch should be held for 10-30 seconds to the point of tightness or slight discomfort. Repeat each stretch 2-4 times, accumulating 60 seconds per stretch.
Static, dynamic, ballistic and PNF stretches are all effective. Flexibility exercise is most effective when the muscle is warm. Do a light aerobic activity before stretching.
4. Neuromotor Exercise
Neuromotor exercise (sometimes called “functional fitness training”) is recommended for 2 or 3 days per week, 20-30 minutes per day.
Exercises should involve motor skills (balance, agility, coordination and gait), proprioceptive exercise training and multifaceted activities (tai chi and yoga) to improve physical function and prevent falls for older adults.
If you are unsure of where to start or would like additional information, contact a fitness professional. I recommend finding a professional with an ACSM degree or NSCA certification.
High-Intensive Fitness
It’s hard to recommend a one-size-fits-all training guide for extreme sports, challenging activities and adventure travel.
However, there’s one tip that always holds true: don’t be a weekend warrior.
The weekend warrior thing doesn’t get you anywhere. You work out, get sore and your body goes backwards. And you start again the next weekend. It doesn’t get you better at your sports, you don’t get the full advantage of anything and you get injured a lot more.
If you just work out a couple of times a week, you don’t get the benefits. You just need to put in consistent effort to see major gains.
