Everest Base Camp Trek training for beginners should be gradual, safe and sustainable. Prior experience of mountaineering or the highest level of athletic achievement is not a prerequisite to preparing for Everest Base Camp Trek. Nonetheless, your body needs to adapt to pounding long days of walking, rising upward, descending downward, hiking on uneven surfaces, and towed an overnight bag in your pack. A beginner Everest Base Camp Trek training plan should include walking, cardiovascular activity, leg strength, balance work and a recovery plan. The aim should be to reach the scenic starting point feeling healthy, confident and physically prepared rather than to train yourself to an excess of fitness in a short amount of time.
Start With Your Current Fitness
Before you start training, think about your present level of activity. If you are already in the habit of walking, you will generally be able to cope with longer walks, while if you lead a very sedentary life, starting off slowly and gradually will be essential. Don‘t feel you have to measure yourself against any other trekker, your present level is unique to you. Start off slowly with achievable activity levels, and add time or intensity over a period of weeks. If you have an existing health condition, or any significant joint problems, or are unsure of starting an exercise program, seeking suitable advice first is a sensible precaution.
Make Walking Your Foundation
Walking is the most effective form of exercise to prepare for the trek as it is the most similar to walking on the walk. Regular, comfortable walks should be taken on a weekly basis initially and become progressively longer. However to increase the aerobic capacity hills and uneven ground should be introduced when this can be comfortably done. The walks do not need to become garrotes but simply focus on the ability to be on one‘s feet for prolonged periods. These longer walks should become a regular part of the training regimen so that a few hours walking does not come as a shock.
Add Uphill Training
Climbing is another essential on the Everest Base Camp route, so novice trekkers need to build up to uphill walking gradually. Use local hills, stairs, bridges or an inclined treadmill if you have one. Take it easy to start with and limit yourself to lighter slopes and shorter climbs. Walk at a pace that will allow you to remain in control and not run out of puff straight away. As your legs adapt you should be able to do more climbing than you have on previous days. Aim to develop consistent, steady uphill endurance and not a speed up to the summit. A slow, continuous climb is more like real trekking.
Strengthen Your Legs
For the novice, simple leg strengthening movements should be added to the program, e.g. squats, reverse lunges, step-up, calf-raises. Use body weight movements initially and focus on good technique. You do not need weights to stimulate the muscles. Stronger legs will ease the effort of ascending and descending stairs and may allow your muscles to better withstand continual walking. Use a relatively low volume and gradually increase the work load. Allow your muscles to recover sufficiently before the next hard session to avoid chronic pain.
Improve Cardio Fitness
Cardio will help you go further for longer. Fast walking, biking, swimming, stair walking, gentle jogging, etc., can be very effective. Pick what you enjoy, and can do comfortably for a while and work gradually to longer times. Beginners should not have to pump iron (cardio) every day as this can be counterproductive. The goal is to establish an aerobic base that can handle very long days of trekking. Easy targeted exercise is better than hard workout that ruins your week.
Practice With a Backpack
As walking normal feels easier, start wearing a small, light backpack for some of your training. Start with something very light and increase the weight to a more realistic load. Balance the pack by adjusting the straps to feel balanced while walking. Backpack training will help your shoulders, hips, core, and legs get ready for a load. It can also relieve the pressure or rubbing that a backpack sometimes creates. Don‘t make your training needlessly harder.
Train Your Feet
Those new to walking tend to ignore the pressure put on their feet when walking long distances. Training gradually to longer distances allows your feet time to adapt. Walk in your walking shoes and walking socks, gradually increasing the length of time you spend walking in them to identify problem areas for your feet. Be aware of hot spots and irritation causing rubbing or blisters. Don‘t wait until you‘re on your trek to realize your footwear isn‘t right. Healthy feet are vital to keeping walking endurance, so make sure you prepare your feet for walking speed!
Learn to Pace Yourself
Another common mistake for beginning is walking too fast at the start. Perhaps you are feeling fine in the first hour but then manage to run out of energy after quite a while. Try to learn how to keep a comfortable sustainable pace in training. But slow down naturally while climbing and take reasonable breaks and not waiting for the time you are exhausted. The same actually applies at high altitude. It is about arriving in a good state rather than doing each stage as fast as possible.
Include Long Walks
Once your fitness is increasing, slowly start to extend your walks. Over time these should extend to hours at a time and be good training for your full trekking routine. Take the backpack, the trekking shoes, water and any snacks you hope to take. Longer walks allow you to assess how your body copes with extended activity. It is also a good time to find faults with your kit, when you have enough time to rectify it.
Try Consecutive Training Days
Since there are multiple walk days on the trek, a novice can start to add 2 moderate training days back to back. Do not push yourself trying to do 2 very long walks at first, but monitor how your fee and leg feel on the second walk. If you think this might be useful, walk shorter distances at the start so you get a sense of recovery and pacing. As the train progresses, you can add longer days occasionally. There is no point replicating the entire Everest itinerary in training.
Include Rest and Recovery
Beginners think that if you run every day it will get you faster results but rest is a vital part of progression. Your muscles, knees and feet need to adapt to the intensity and age and weight affect your rate of adaptation. Incorporate easier days or rest days depending on your training. Eat healthy, get a good night‘s sleep and drink enough fluids for your body to recover. If you experience ongoing pain-back off, concentrate on fixing the problem and don‘t try to ‘run through it’. Each phase of training is more manageable when paced properly with recovery time.
Build Confidence Gradually
Physical training can also boost your mental confidence. Every long walk, hill day, backpacking trip will build your mental endurance. Do not be disappointed if a particular walk, or trek segment, is initially overwhelming. It may be a slow process, but progress occurs in small steps. Concentrate on what you can do now, compared to what you could do initially. Discovering your ability to keep walking when you are tired may be an important part of your mental preparation for that ultimate trekking day. Real confidence should be gained from experience, not from having an illusion of what will happen.
Avoid Last-Minute Training
Don‘t leave your hardest training until the final week. Last-minute hard sessions can leave you sore, tired or injured without giving your body sufficient time to adapt. Start months in advance if you can, training easily beforehand and then build up gradually. In the final few weeks don‘t do excessively hard sessions, giving your body time to recover. The last thing you want before flying to Nepal is sore legs and feet.
Remember Altitude
Physical fitness does not mean you won‘t get altitude sickness. The Everest Base Camp Trek is at very high altitudes. Your body needs to slowly adapt to less oxygen. Even fit athletes can be affected by altitude. Walk slowly, plan a gentle itinerary, rest wisely, be alert for symptoms, don‘t rush just because you ‘feel’ like it! Fitness sustains the muscles and heart but acclimatisation prepares the body to live at high altitude.
Conclusion
Everest Base Camp Trek training for beginners needs to be easy, steady, and build gradually. Steady walking should be the base, with hills, cardio-vascular workout, legs strength, backpack packing and walking, and hikes of longer distances gradually added on as fitness improves. Train your feet and how to walk slowly; do not race. Include recovery time and gradually build up the workout. You do not have to be an elite athlete to prepare well. With plenty of time and steady effort, beginners will develop the trekking endurance, strength, confidence, and sanity to reach Everest Base Camp.
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