Thank you to everyone who commented, encouraged, and congratulated me on my solo trip to Mount Kinabalu. I have received great feedback and was asked a common question like “How can I start? Am I fit enough to do it?” Yes and yes…
My thoughts are that anyone can climb a mountain. It all comes down to your preparedness and attitude. As I’ve started this passion of mine, I’ve met people with all kinds of fitness levels and age. That’s the great part of this hiking. Mountains can defeat you. Embarrass you. Challenge you. Give you peace and solitude. So let’s get into it.
1. Be physically prepared.
I am someone who has always been active so transitioning to this sport wasn’t too difficult. Especially being someone who was raised around mountains. I played school sports all throughout growing up. Ran track. Played competitive field hockey outside of school. As I got older, I challenged myself with goals like training for a half marathon, completing the Tough Mudder or doing a triathlon sprint. I must say doing any of these challenges is 40% physical and 60% mental. I would say if you could work up to 20 push ups without stopping or running a 10 k in an hour to 1.5 hr is a good gauge of fitness level. Hiking is a different kind of exercise though. You don’t need to be the biggest guy in the gym. You need to have muscle endurance and strength. You need a strong back to carry your weight and 7-9kg backpack up a mountain and strong core to balance that weight. If you want to practice this at the gym, go on a step machine and carry a backpack for an hour at a steady pace!!
I usually try to train 3-4 times a week. Now I’m not saying you have to train as much as I do but keeping yourself fit will definitely prepare you to do a hike. Give yourself enough time to train. For example, at least prior to a difficult hike is good .Please don’t train hard one week before that will not be enough and you are probably going to be very sore. Remember: you need to train your full body! Even with my training, my legs and body were pretty sore for 2-3 days after Mount Kinabalu. I usually do a mix of full body workout with legs, upper body, core and HIIT. I also high recommend using the Nike Training App which is a great tool. It offers great workouts to do in the gym or at home.
My workout
Full body workout- if you haven’t worked out before try body weight first then work to add weights to make it more challenging. You need to do 4 sets.
Squats ( body weight, weighted, or on the squat rack) 10 reps
Mountain climbers 45 secs
Lunges 4 sets of 10 reps on each leg
Burpees 10
Push ups 10
Plank ( on hands or elbows) 45 secs
Some kind of core work out like sit ups, either touch your toes with your legs straight in the air, flutter kicks, bicycles
2. Be mentally prepared.
As I mentioned before 40% is physical, and the rest is your mental strength. Your mental strength kicks in when you get to a certain point and you want to quit. Or when you say to yourself “I can’t do it.” Or when you start to doubt yourself. Or ask yourself “Why in the heck did I decide to do this.?” This is the kind of talk you do which prevents you from doing harder hikes. What kind of self talk do you say to yourself when things get tough?. Positive self talk is key. What you tell yourself constantly throughout the hike is what stops you. No one can stop you but you. You decide whether your feet stops or turns around. My encouragement to you is what I tell my Grade 2 students. What would Thomas the Train say?I think I can… I think I can…
Other good practices:
Meditation is a great practice to clear your mind.
Practice yoga and controlling your breathing is a great exercise. I’m a big fan of yoga. Make sure you stretch before and after a hike.
My friend got me into Hof method which is another excellent breathing technique that is super helpful. This was definitely useful for Mount Kinabalu when it was hard to breath. Your ability to control your breathing can help or even prevent altitude sickness.
3. Choosing your hike.
If you have never hiked anything before, I would recommend starting with hikes around 5km with 500m- 700m elevation that would take around 2-3 hours. Something easy.
If you’re in Vancouver, Vancouver Trails has a great list of all the hikes you could explore filtered by difficulty, region, time, distance and rating. Please google this since I cannot attach any links!
St. Mark’s Summit in the North Shore around 5 hours and 11 km hike.
4. Don’t do it alone!
Especially for inexperienced hikers, I would suggest doing a hike with friends. It is more enjoyable and an extra safety precaution.
5. Carry the essentials.
- Enough water, easy to go snacks
- First Aid kit
- Dress for the weather: extra clothing, hat, sunglasses, waterproof clothing
- Wear good shoes
- Sunblock. When you think there is no sun, there always is!
6. GOOD LUCK! HAVE FUN! ENJOY IT! Please share your experiences. I love to hear if any of these tips helped you.