Hiking the highest mountain in Africa is a challenge that should not be under estimated. After gathering important information and prepare physically your chances of summiting have increased substantially. Stamina and mental determination to a great extent, will determine if you are successful or unsuccessful. Physical preparations will greatly influence your perseverance and confidence making you more likely to successful summit Mount Kilimanjaro.
How fit do you have to be?
The type of fitness is more important than the degree of fitness. Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro is a hike, therefore you have to be fit for a 6-day hike, the best preparation you can do is to hike, preferably under simulated conditions. Although jogging could be beneficial to your fitness level, it does not fully prepare your muscles for a strenuous 6-day hike. We therefore suggest that you spend some of your training by merely hiking. In addition to regular gym workouts, make sure you also go for walks in order to stimulate relevant muscle development. Try to do a one or two-day hiking trials in your area. This will not only be an excellent way for physical preparation, but also an enjoyable means to prepare yourself mentally.
We have furthermore developed a practical fitness preparation guideline to assist you in getting your body ready for a Mt. Kilimanjaro summit attempt. This guide contains a gym and a hiking program that should be followed simultaneously over an 8-week period.
Important points to remember – Before you start!!
Medical Check-up
Before starting on the program, it is always best to seek advice of a health expert. Feel free to share the program and your decision on taking the challenge to hike Mount Kilimanjaro. Getting a medical clearance on this is important.
Progressive Resistance
In essence, the gym section of our fitness program consists of regular and progressive resistance exercises with either free weights or free weight machines that are readily available in the gymnasiums. The idea behind progressive resistance is that your exercise program can be tailored to your age, physical condition and strength, steadily progressing to higher resistance level as you develop.
Safety Factor
Progressive resistance movements could be customized to individual strength and fitness levels; therefore, our fitness program is potentially safe. It is however essential that all of the exercises be performed correctly and that basic safety procedures are followed at all times. It is furthermore always a good idea to invest in reading material on physical fitness and to consult your local fitness instructor about performing each exercise correctly.
Tip
This workout consists of repetitions (reps) and sets. A rep is a single count of an exercise. A set is known as a series of reps – an average set consist of 8 to 12 reps.
Warm Up
It is important and highly recommended you warm up before starting with the routine, doing a variety of stretching movements relaxes and eases your body. This helps you avoid work out related injuries.
| Gym program – eight weeks guideline | ||||||
| Exercise | Monday | Wednesday | Friday | |||
| Sets | Reps | Sets | Reps | Sets | Reps | |
| Warm up and stretch | 5 minutes | 5 minutes | 5 minutes | |||
| Leg developing aerobics | ||||||
| Cycling | 10 minutes | 10 minutes | 15 minutes | |||
| Leg combination | ||||||
| Squats | 3 | 12 | 4 | 12 | ||
| Leg presses | 4 | 12 | ||||
| Thighs isolation | ||||||
| Leg extensions | 3 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 10 |
| Leg curls | 3 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 10 |
| Lower legs isolation | ||||||
| Calf raises | 3 | 20 | 3 | 20 | 4 | 20 |
| Toe pulls | 3 | 20 | 3 | 20 | 4 | 20 |
| Lower back combination | ||||||
| Hyper extensions | 3 | 12 | 4 | 12 | ||
| Good morning exercise | 3 | 12 | ||||
| Abdominal | ||||||
| Crunches (upper) | 2 | 20 | 2 | 20 | 3 | 20 |
| Leg raises (lower) | 2 | 20 | 2 | 20 | 3 | 20 |
| Leg developing aerobics | ||||||
| Stairmaster / climbing | 10 minutes low resistance | 10 minutes high resistance | 10 minutes low resistance | |||
| Cool down and stretch | 5 minutes | 5 minutes | 5 minutes | |||
| Total time | 1 hour 15 minutes | 1 hour 15 minutes | 1 hour 15 minutes |
More gym guidelines
- The above represents a guideline and can be adapted to your time schedule and current fitness level, but it will give you a good idea of which muscles you should concentrate on.
- Unfit people should utilize light weights during the first two weeks of this program.
- To stimulate sufficient muscle growth and development, the weights should be increased progressively at least every two weeks.
- For effective muscle development every muscle or muscle group should be given a resting and recuperation period of at least 48 hours after every strenuous exercising session if weights where utilized.
- It is important to execute the various exercises in the same order as listed above.
- The above program can be adapted for home gymnasiums
- If time permits it always a good idea to include some upper body development exercises in your program, in order to achieve a more balanced and overall body development.
Walking program
It is advisable to go for frequent walks which should include some uphill and down hills sections. Take your daypack with you and carry at least three litres of water or three kilograms with you. This will simulate the conditions you will encounter. As mentioned before, doing a one or two-day local hiking trial in your area is not only an excellent way of preparation but also most enjoyable. We have developed an adequate hiking program of least 8 weeks to ensure an adequate level of fitness.
If your local weather conditions do not always permit outdoor activities, you can do part of it on a treadmill and simulate the flat, uphill (inclined) and downhill (declined) sections. Terminate your hiking program at least 7 days before taking on the Kilimanjaro challenge
| Walking program – eight weeks | |||
| Week 1 | |||
| Tuesday | Thursday | Sunday | |
| Warm up and stretch | 8 minutes | 8 minutes | 8 minutes |
| Walk | |||
| Flat terrain at 4,5km per hour | 10 minutes | 10 minutes | 10 minutes |
| Walk – lower leg development | |||
| On heels, toes lifted | 3 minutes | 3 minutes | 3 minutes |
| On toes, heels lifted | 4 minutes | 4 minutes | 4 minutes |
| Walk | |||
| Flat terrain at 4,5km per hour | 40 minutes | 40 minutes | 40 minutes |
| Cool down and stretch | 5 minutes | 5 minutes | 5 minutes |
| Total time | 1 hour 10 minutes | 1 hour 10 minutes | 1 hour 10 minutes |
| Week 2 to 3 | |||
| Tuesday | Thursday | Sunday | |
| Warm up and stretch | 8 minutes | 8 minutes | 8 minutes |
| Walk | |||
| Flat terrain at 4,5km per hour | 10 minutes | 10 minutes | 10 minutes |
| Walk – lower leg development | |||
| On heels, toes lifted | 3 minutes | 3 minutes | 3 minutes |
| On toes, heels lifted | 4 minutes | 4 minutes | 4 minutes |
| Walk | |||
| Flat terrain at 4,5km per hour | 40 minutes | 40 minutes | 30 minutes |
| Uphill at 2-3 km per hour | N/A | N/A | 20 minutes |
| Downhill at 5-6 km per hour | N/A | N/A | 10 minutes |
| Cool down and stretch | 5 minutes | 5 minutes | 5 minutes |
| Total time | 1 hour 10 minutes | 1 hour 10 minutes | 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Week 4 to 8 | |||
| Tuesday | Thursday | Sunday | |
| Warm up and stretch | 8 minutes | 8 minutes | 8 minutes |
| Walk | |||
| Flat terrain at 4,5km per hour | 10 minutes | 10 minutes | 10 minutes |
| Walk – lower leg development | |||
| On heels, toes lifted | 3 minutes | 3 minutes | 3 minutes |
| On toes, heels lifted | 4 minutes | 4 minutes | 4 minutes |
| Walk | |||
| Flat terrain at 4,5km per hour | 40 minutes | 30 minutes | 50 minutes |
| Uphill at 2-3 km per hour | N/A | 20 minutes | 40 minutes |
| Downhill at 5-6 km per hour | N/A | 10 minutes | 20 minutes |
| Cool down and stretch | 5 minutes | 5 minutes | 5 minutes |
| Total time | 1 hour 10 minutes | 1 hour 30 minutes | 2 hours 20 minutes |
The above training program will prepare you physically for Kilimanjaro to the extent that you are capable of hiking 100 kilometers in a week. If you follow the guidelines for both the gym training as well as the walking routine, you are definitely ready for Kilimanjaro physically.
