Step Training? Affirmative

Posted on July 3, 2017 by The Year I Touched My Toes

Three Months Until Your EBC Trek? Get Training

Do I need to include steps in my training ? You bet. By the end of your training you should be able to do 1 hour of steps with a ten minute break in the middle.

Main Everest Base Camp Trail between Namche Bazaar and Tengboche treacherous steps but a great view.

There’s the man with the vision and the all the plans. Trek to Everest Base Camp, Nepal. He had been to trek the Annapurna circuit in the 80s and he knew there is a lot of uneven ground so he insisted on finding uneven hills to train on and lots of stairs too.

And stairs were in abundance …..

trekking Phakding to Monjo Everest Base Camp Trek September 2015 — Between Phakding and Monjo

Donkeys making their way down these stairs – wait for them to pass.

Kids an their way home from school running down the stairs. October 2015

An eighty plus year old woman with 40 kilos plus of cabbages, beating me down these stairs. November 2013

Everest Base Bamp Trek — Everest Base Camp Marathon day 2015

Base Camp Marathon runners after Tengboche heading to Namche Bazaar. October 2015

If you are planning a trek on the Annapurna Circuit or to Everest Base Camp and you’ ll be there in three or four months you need to start your incline training, or hill training now. Find some good hills close to home to start walking them twice a week with a more intense session on the weekend. All you need is one good hill with some uneven ground. Go up the hill, turn around and go back down. Turn around and do it again and again. Ad nauseum.

Find Some Stairs to Train on

We did stair training for the last two and half months once a week and twice a week for the last six weeks. We started off at ten or twenty minutes building up to 45 minutes to an hour. Up four flights , down four flights. You get the picture.

EBC Trek — There’s the river between the trees…

Namche to Tengboche — Approaching some tricky steps …

November 2013

Oh course you will be rewarded by fabulous views at the top … before you go down hill to go up again…

Everest Base Camp Trek Tips

Practice with your boots and all your gear.
Buy trekking poles to protect your knees, especially going down hill. Train with them before you leave for Nepal. I mean for a few months at least. If you not used to them you will really feel the pain.
We recommend taking a porter and or porter guide. The photos of me with the orange pack are our 2013 trek without a porter. The shots with the small purple pack were taken on the 2015 trek when we took a porter guide.
Remember your step training and then you will enjoy your trek.
Go slow. Slowly, slowly. Bistari, bistari. It is not a race.
And remember another reason you train and do all of the above – the elevation see Everest Base Camp Trek Elevation profiles and my comments.

35 thoughts on “Step Training? Affirmative”

leggypeggy on July 3, 2017 at 9:47 pm said:

I certainly identify with the pic of the cabbage-laden woman beating you down the stairs. I’d probably be behind you! 🙂

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The Year I Touched My Toes on July 3, 2017 at 10:06 pm said:

Haha yes she was off like a rocket.

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Streets of Nuremberg on July 4, 2017 at 3:44 am said:

So beautiful, Louise! Love the first one and that with the kids!

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Donna on July 4, 2017 at 7:37 am said:

This reminds me that I need much more training for our upcoming 30+day Camino Hike. Yikes – only two weeks to go. Thanks for the inspiration!

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Francesca on July 4, 2017 at 9:18 am said:

I love that pic of the old woman with cabbages Louise. Amazing.

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The Year I Touched My Toes on July 4, 2017 at 9:35 am said:

Thanks Marcus, yes the kids running down areas where I had to slowly pick my way down and up!

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The Year I Touched My Toes on July 4, 2017 at 9:36 am said:

How exciting… get out there then. Have a great trip. I look forward to the posts. Will you post and short posts while you are on the trail?

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The Year I Touched My Toes on July 4, 2017 at 9:36 am said:

She was amazing…

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The Year I Touched My Toes on July 4, 2017 at 9:37 am said:

PS Safe travels

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Deb's World on July 4, 2017 at 11:29 am said:

Great advice Louise! The steps were unrelenting on our trip and we came up with a very simple motto – up up, down down!
The people carrying those huge baskets were amazing and I have the utmost respect for them. Great pics too!

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Boots on July 4, 2017 at 11:46 am said:

It looks like two of my cousins want to do Nepal with me. Yay! But of course it won’t be in the near future. Hopefully in within two years. Boy I hope I’ll have the strength to do all of these up and down you’ve done!

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The Year I Touched My Toes on July 4, 2017 at 12:30 pm said:

Thanks Deb. Yes up, up down,down,down! Your t-shirt idea was good one. Louise

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Donna on July 4, 2017 at 12:32 pm said:

I don’t have that part figured out yet. I will only have my iphone with me (no computer or ipad) so I’ll see what I can come up with. Right now its on my list as ‘insert miracle here’!

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The Year I Touched My Toes on July 4, 2017 at 12:32 pm said:

Yay! That’s great news that your cousins want to go too. You just have to make sure you are all at the same fitness level and you should be right. if I could do so will you… Happy 4 July, Boots! Louise x

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The Year I Touched My Toes on July 4, 2017 at 12:33 pm said:

You just need the wordpress phone app I believe, 🙂

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Boots on July 4, 2017 at 12:52 pm said:

Yes my other cousin and I hike together. Her brother is probably a little better than us but I think we should almost all the same.

Thanks Louise! 4th of July means a lot of BBQ! Yum! 😊

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Julie on July 4, 2017 at 4:36 pm said:

Hi Louise, did you ever need extra ankle supports and what kind of boots did you wear?

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Francesca on July 4, 2017 at 6:06 pm said:

Thanks Louise

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carolinehelbig on July 5, 2017 at 1:38 am said:

Oh my God…I can’t belief that old woman on the steps with that giant load. I feel like such a wimp with all my high-tec gear. I couldn’t agree with you more Louise on the need for specific training for such a trek. That last photo of you on the steps is particularly nice. At least there are lots of “excuses” to stop and catch your breath with those glorious views. Cheers, Caroline

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Sheri @trail2peaktheadventurouspath on July 5, 2017 at 8:11 am said:

The downs are always the toughest! Great advice here.

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The Year I Touched My Toes on July 5, 2017 at 1:30 pm said:

Thanks Caroline. I was very good at catching my breath i did a lot of it. Or psyching myself up for the next bit…

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The Year I Touched My Toes on July 5, 2017 at 1:32 pm said:

Thanks Sheri – yes hard on the old knees…

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The Year I Touched My Toes on July 5, 2017 at 1:46 pm said:

Hi Julie, I wore high, heavy duty boots. next time I would like to go with something a bit lighter. But they do need to be fairly heavy duty. No extra ankle supports though.

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Image Earth Travel on July 10, 2017 at 10:20 pm said:

I’m always amazed on any trek how locals race up and down stairs or hills as if they’re walking on a flat terrain. Just goes to show how unfit we are but guess they’ve done it all their lives (my excuse). 😉

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The Year I Touched My Toes on July 11, 2017 at 4:13 pm said:

Yes Nilla they have done it all their lives and they are acclimatised to the altitude. The porters were the only ones to go slowly. We saw guys with 120 kilos loads of building materials on their backs. Thanks for stopping by. Louise

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Image Earth Travel on July 11, 2017 at 5:34 pm said:

Wow, that’s such a lot of weight. I struggle with my 30kgs of backpacks.

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maisiethenewfieandcompany on July 12, 2017 at 1:37 am said:

I’m amazed, look forward to reading more!

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The Year I Touched My Toes on July 12, 2017 at 6:59 pm said:

Yep I kept my backpack at 5.5 kgs the first time when I carried my own pack! I would never do 30kgs, Or even 20!. Let’s face it I would hate 10kg.

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Image Earth Travel on July 12, 2017 at 9:29 pm said:

I remember having 10kgs on the lat day of the Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu, which was hard enough as we walked about 20kms – a killer.

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The Year I Touched My Toes on July 12, 2017 at 9:41 pm said:

I take my hat off to you. Well done.

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darwinontherocks on July 17, 2017 at 7:28 am said:

It’s quite impressive to see the locals walking so easily with heavy weights

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The Year I Touched My Toes on July 17, 2017 at 3:12 pm said:

Yes … not sure about easy… but the fact that they can, is amazing.

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Miriam on August 11, 2017 at 10:09 pm said:

Terrific advice and great tips too Louise. My sister is heading off to do the Camino Trail in just under three weeks.

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The Year I Touched My Toes on August 11, 2017 at 10:11 pm said:

The Trainer wants to go there next year. I”d like to hear about your sister’s trip.

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Miriam on August 11, 2017 at 10:20 pm said:

She’s in prep mode big time. Wow, another trip for you on the cards then?

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