Training

Training Basics

The principles of mountain fitness: how strength, aerobic work, conditioning and Mountain Days fit together, and how to handle missed sessions.

Trekking asks for the same few things day after day: sustained walking, climbing, controlled descending and carrying a load, while you keep recovering. Good preparation trains those things progressively and leaves room to recover.

In short: Train what the trek demands, add load gradually, recover, and stay consistent. Mix strength, easy aerobic work, conditioning and one Mountain Day a week. If you miss a session, carry on.

Two kettlebells on a gym floor, being lifted

Strength work supports the climbing, descending and carrying trekking asks for.

Five principles that do most of the work

Specificity. You get better at what you practise. Time on feet, hills and a pack train trekking better than general gym work alone.
Progressive overload. Add a little more duration, load or difficulty over time. Change one thing at a time.
Recovery. Adaptation happens between sessions, not during them. Sleep and easy days are part of the plan. See Recovery & Adjustments.
Individuality. The same week suits different people differently. Adjust to your health, experience and life.
Consistency. Regular moderate training beats occasional heroic weeks.

How a Trek Ready week fits together

Each week blends strength sessions, easy aerobic work, conditioning and a Mountain Day. Base (4 sessions a week) or Summit (5 sessions a week) — the tracks differ in weekly workload, not in purpose.

Session	Its job	Read more
Strength	Muscle and joint resilience for climbing, descending and carrying	Strength Training for Hikers
Easy aerobic	Builds the engine without burying you in fatigue	Aerobic Pacing
Conditioning	Links strength and endurance together	RPE & Choosing Weights
Mountain Day	Rehearses time on feet, elevation and pack	Mountain Day Field Guide

Strength and endurance work together

A common worry is that lifting will blunt endurance, or the reverse. A 2022 review of 43 studies found that combining aerobic and strength training generally did not compromise gains in maximal strength or muscle size compared with strength training alone, although explosive strength was more sensitive. That supports doing both. It does not validate any one exact week.

Warm-ups and exercise substitutions

A warm-up prepares your joints, muscles and nervous system: a few minutes of light movement, then a lighter set before your working sets. If a prescribed exercise does not suit your equipment, mobility or experience, choose the closest variation you can control. Good form at a lighter load beats poor form at a heavier one.

Missed sessions and difficult weeks

If you miss a session, carry on with the next scheduled one rather than trying to make it up. In a demanding week, shorten or ease a session instead of skipping it. Never stack several missed sessions into one day. Short breaks cost less fitness than most people fear; longer breaks are worth rebuilding into gradually.

Common mistakes

Comparing your week with someone else’s.
Skipping easy sessions because they feel too easy, or turning every aerobic session into a hard effort.
Adding unplanned extra sessions to catch up.

Myth versus evidence

Common belief	What the evidence suggests
Lifting will slow my endurance.	A review of 43 studies found combining strength and aerobic training generally preserved gains in strength and muscle size; explosive strength was more sensitive.
If I miss a week I lose everything.	Short breaks cost less fitness than most people fear, and it is usually better to resume gradually than to cram.
Harder is always better.	Studies of endurance athletes often find most of their sessions are done at low intensity, with a smaller share of hard work.

Coach’s tip: write down the one thing you will do differently next week. Small, specific changes compound.

Frequently asked questions

How many rest days do I need?

Most people benefit from at least one full rest or very easy day each week. If you feel flat for several days, add another.

Should I train through soreness?

Normal muscle soreness is fine and eases as you repeat the exercise. Sharp, joint or worsening pain is a reason to reduce load and get advice. See Recovery & Adjustments.

Can I add extra sessions?

It is tempting, but extra unplanned sessions early on raise injury risk without adding much fitness. Follow the plan, then reassess.

Last updated September 2026. General education, not medical advice or a personalised prescription. Stop and seek qualified advice if you have sharp, increasing or persistent pain, or a health condition that may affect exercise.

Keep exploring

Research behind the advice

Apply this to Annapurna Base Camp

Planning the Annapurna Base Camp trek? Apply these principles to long walking days, stone steps, repeated descents and a realistic daypack. Use the ABC route and training guide.

About the author

Nathan Gee is Peaksted’s founder: a sport scientist (BSc Sports Science) with a strength and conditioning background and eight years of coaching experience, focused on hiking and trekking performance. Meet the Peaksted team.