Monday, July 4, 2016

Mountaineering: How To Go About Training For Kilimanjaro

By Charles Snyder


Mountain climbing has always been known to be a favorite pastime among adventure lovers. With several climbing spots available all over the world, Tanzania offers a unique thrill to anyone whole values this form of adventure. The nation is renowned for its game parks and one famous mountain. If you have plans of touring the country soon, you should condition your body beforehand by doing some training for Kilimanjaro.

When preparing to climb a mountain, it is always important to carry the right gear. Make sure your checklist includes important items such as water resistant jackets and pants, insulated shirts, hiking boots and a first aid pack. All in all, the clothes you wear should be able to withstand extremely cold weather besides offering you warmth.

Also ensure your first aid pack consists of medication that can help alleviate high altitude complications such as shortness of breath. In this case, it is always important to consult a medical practitioner beforehand. However, all these things should be done once you are confident enough in your ability to scale the mountain. This sort of confidence can only be attained once you are through with intensive training.

It is always advisable to begin your training two months before you depart for the actual climbing if you are an amateur climber. It takes more than a week to scale Mount Kilimanjaro. It is pretty easy to understand why, being that no other mountain in Africa is taller than it is. As you train, always strive to improve your stamina.

Considering you will be walking with at least twenty pounds of luggage on your back, you might want to consider carrying a similarly sized backpack back at home for a few miles every day. Some of the recommended exercises include hiking, bike riding, running and swimming. All these exercises are known to build muscle strength and increase stamina.

The terrain and weather will definitely change as you climb up, pushing your body to its limit in the process. If you train well, your body should metabolize optimally. You may experience some shortness of breath at higher levels due to reduced oxygen levels. To counter this effect, exercise gear manufacturers produce high altitude exercise equipment these days. The systems actually simulate mountainous environments, thereby helping the person exercising acclimatize easily. If your trip is fast approaching, find some good equipment and begin your exercise sessions.

Mountain climbing is not a venture that can be undertaken by anyone. Before going for it, you should have no serious medical complications. Your blood pressure and heart rate should be normal. Upon your arrival on site, park attendants will require you to go through medical tests for safety purposes.

In Tanzania, medical practitioners on site require climber to have a maximum heart rate of one hundred beats a minute. Once again, check all this with your doctor back home beforehand. If you exercise every day, you will know what your average heart rate is even under strenuous conditions.




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