5 Ways To Train For Everest Base Camp
Daniel and I will be attempting to climb to Everest Base Camp (EBC) with Mosaic Adventure in October this year and we’re really looking forward to it!
Climbing EBC is kinda no joke though, it has an altitude of 17,598 ft (5,364 metres) and most people say that the challenging part of it ain’t the trek itself but the high altitude! Also because the trek is spread over 20 days, that means that a huge amount of stamina is required as there will be at least 6-8 hours of non stop trek per day! The good thing though is that no technical experience is required to climb to EBC. So here are 5 ways that you can train for Everest Base Camp.
1. Weekly treks at MacRitchie Reservoir or Bukit Timah Hill
Usually we hike an average of 10km-15km averaging around 2 hours per session. It’s best to trek with a loaded pack to train up your stamina too. Sadly in Singapore the highest altitude that you can train at is only 164m which is at Bukit Timah Hill.
Ps. Read till the end of the post to find out where you can train at an altitude of up to 4,500m in Singapore!
2. Climb stairs to train your thigh/calf muscles
One thing about Singapore is that we have a lot of high rise buildings (aka HDB flats), some with even up to 30 storeys. Daniel and me will climb up the stairs with a loaded pack (7kg for Gina and 14kg for Daniel) and usually we’ll do about 3-4 reps each time.
Tip: If you have weaker knees, take the lift down instead!
3. General fitness activities to improve your stamina
Both Daniel and I are very into rock climbing lately and that has become part of our weekly exercise regime! We normally climb at Onsight or Climb Central and each session usually lasts for about 3-4 hours. You can basically do anything that you love as long as you’re active and it gets your heart pumping! It can range from dance classes, swimming, muay thai boxing to zumba! Anything that excites you and makes you happy! 🙂
4. Weekly gym sessions to increase our strength endurance
To improve our strength endurance, we train a lot using the TRX at Altitude Gym where we focus on working our different muscle groups which are usually our arms, legs, back and core. Trust me, just try one session of TRX and you won’t be able to feel your arms and legs for the next 3 days! We do a lot of squats and other exercises that specifically target our quads and glutes which will be vital in helping us ascend to Everest Base Camp!
5. Hiking on an inclined/steps treadmill
On days that you’re feeling too lazy to head all the way to Bukit Timah Hill or MacRitchie, you can workout out at a nearby gym instead! We usually walk for about 30-45 minutes on the treadmill with an inclination of around 10 and speed about 3.5-4. Sounds easy, but trust me, you will find yourself breathless after the 30 minutes! Alternatively, we like training using the steps treadmill where you really work out your thigh muscles!
To train up both our cardiovascular endurance and strength endurance, we’ve been training at Altitude, Singapore’s first simulated altitude training facility where we get to train at a higher altitude (up to 4,500m) even when we’re on low grounds! That’s 25 times higher than the highest point in Singapore which is Bukit Timah Hill!
We’re at 3,996m in Singapore!
How it works
Altitude Gym makes use of this special technology where it reduces the oxygen level in the gym to around 13-14% as compared to the normal oxygen level of 16%. This lower level of oxygen simulates how you will feel at a much higher altitude where the oxygen is a lot lower.
So it’s pretty much like a regular gym with guided classes, only difference is that you’re training with a much lower oxygen level which will train your heart to pump faster and harder. They also have a wide variety of guided classes ranging from TRX, yoga to circuit training for you to choose from!
