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Kettle bells for alpine training?

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Dr Avinash Aujayeb 17 Feb 2015
Hi

Anyone use those ? And apart from the "swing", anything else you do? I am wanting more power and endurance in the calves and thighs

Lots of advice online, including books such as the one by Steve House etc which I have read but then I am just an amateur mountaineer/climber

I already do a fair bit of trail running, cycling, indoor climbing, and weights such as clean and jerks etc. i go hiking when I can. I think I have quite a good base, and every now and again prior to a trip, find that I need to up some specific training and been toying with using kettle bells for a little while now.

Thanks

Avi
In reply to Avinash Aujayeb:

cardio cardio cardio. Or, as Don Whillans said - "get fit: go slow"
1
 Damo 17 Feb 2015
In reply to Avinash Aujayeb:

> I am wanting more power and endurance in the calves and thighs

Generally, your quads are much more powerful than your arms and shoulders, so can take more work. This means the arms are a weak link and will tire before your quads, so it's hard to work you quads via your arms. The other stuff you do sounds better.
 Goucho 17 Feb 2015
In reply to Avinash Aujayeb:

Is this to get more efficient at cow rustling?
 Rich_cakeboy 18 Feb 2015
In reply to Avinash Aujayeb:

Would be useful for general conditioning and bulking up muscle and also might train areas of the body not touched by running/climbing/walking etc.

My first thoughts were these suggestions for Kettle bell uses for alpine training:
Put them in a rucksack and walk up a hill to make it harder
Attach to your harness to simulate gear when training indoors
Get your mate to throw them at you while cragging to simulate dodging falling rocks
 Robert Durran 18 Feb 2015
In reply to Rich_cakeboy:


> Put them in a rucksack and walk up a hill to make it harder
> Get your mate to throw them at you while cragging to simulate dodging falling rocks

Better and cheaper, just use rocks for the above. Easily the most relevant training for alpinism is flogging up hill with a heavy rucksack (because that is what alpinism mostly is). Rocks are best because they can be abandoned at the top of the hill, thus saving you from knackered knees on the way down. If rocks are not available then big water containers which can be emptied at the top work well too.

 Fredt 18 Feb 2015
In reply to Robert Durran:
> Better and cheaper, just use rocks for the above. Easily the most relevant training for alpinism is flogging up hill with a heavy rucksack (because that is what alpinism mostly is). Rocks are best because they can be abandoned at the top of the hill, thus saving you from knackered knees on the way down. If rocks are not available then big water containers which can be emptied at the top work well too.

Not sure about carrying rocks uphill, I'll have to think about that one, but I always train with four or five 2-litre pop bottles full of water, and empty them out at the top to save the knees. If its hot you can drink some.

And I agree there is no better Alpine training than carrying a heavy rucksack.
Post edited at 09:11
Dr Avinash Aujayeb 18 Feb 2015
In reply to Fredt:

Thanks. I am not discounting that best way is to go uphill with a big bag, and yes I do that, but I cannot do that every week - work and life gets in the way- after all as I said, I am only an amateur mountaineer.

Avi
 robw007 18 Feb 2015
In reply to Avinash Aujayeb:

Squats and lunges. Look up a youtube video - lots of 'interesting' exercises shown!
 planetmarshall 18 Feb 2015
In reply to Avinash Aujayeb:

The 'farmer's walk' is a good exercise, you'll want to use much heavier kettle bells than you can swing.
 Fredt 18 Feb 2015
In reply to Avinash Aujayeb:

> Thanks. I am not discounting that best way is to go uphill with a big bag, and yes I do that, but I cannot do that every week - work and life gets in the way- after all as I said, I am only an amateur mountaineer.

Well, carry a heavy rucksack all the time then!
(seriously, I can carry heavy rucksacks up mountains all day, but when my wife injured her back recently, i would often have to take her handbag off her while shopping together. It was so heavy, my back started aching after a few minutes, main reason being it has only one strap over one shoulder. and she carries it round all day, at work or play).

We're all amateur mountaineers, and as someone once said, hills are only as steep as you want them to be.
 Si Withington 18 Feb 2015
In reply to Avinash Aujayeb:
Avi, drop me an email and I'll send you a couple of docs with various exercises in, some climbing specific.

Si
Post edited at 09:38
 DanielJ 18 Feb 2015
In reply to planetmarshall: ? For farmers walk you'll need two kbs and total weight is for sure higher than on one kb swing. However, I use higher weight on swings than on farmers walk per kb.

Good kb-exercises for you would also be farmers walk in stairs (careful when going down, not for people with bad knees) clean and press and/or thrusters
Kbs are a great tool to train with at home. Combined with some push-ups, planks and pull-ups, 30 minutes/3/week will get you a decent finess base. Throw in some running as well.

2 different kb with at least 50% weight difference is handy.

And of course, this doesnt substitute climbing or hill walking but if time is limited not too bad option.

Dr Avinash Aujayeb 18 Feb 2015
In reply to DanielJ:

Thanks Si for the docs and the others for advice. I can hardly carry a heavy rucksack every day! I do not think it will look well when I am operating or doing my clinics.....

I am just thinking of KB to complement what I am already doing, as all the runs/hikes/cycling/weights have served well over the last few years, but variation, I think, is the key to not getting very bored doing those.

Cardio on its own does not work, but that is just my opinion

Avi

In reply to Avinash Aujayeb:

> Cardio on its own does not work, but that is just my opinion

The Turkish get up might be worth a look.

 AlanLittle 18 Feb 2015
In reply to Rich_cakeboy:

> Get your mate to throw them at you while cragging to simulate dodging falling rocks

There's a great quote from Mark Twight, something along the lines of: if you're mainly worried about whether you're going to fall, it's cragging. If you're mainly worried about what's going to fall on you, it's alpinism

 SenzuBean 18 Feb 2015
In reply to Avinash Aujayeb:

Extreme Alpinism [Mark Twight] has a fairly substantial alpine training regiment. Basically he suggests doing weight lifting for a few weeks, then transferring over to cardio and muscular endurance - get the book.

What I plan to try (preparation for 2016) is to just do both together and see how that works out. I suspect that it will be physically harder, but conceptually easier, and cheaper - to focus on both at the same time. I'll get a weight-vest, and progressively make it heavier while keeping the amount of running I do the same (will be running on dirt & turf, not concrete). Depending on how much I care, I might wear it around too. I'll also try out this Tabata stuff, which I suspect will help too:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training#Tabata_regime...
 AlanLittle 18 Feb 2015
In reply to SenzuBean:

Extreme Alpinism is a classic and well worth reading for the insight into the mindset of a cutting edge alpinist. The training sections are probably a bit dated in comparison to the newer book by Mr Twight's former partner in crime.
 Robert Durran 18 Feb 2015
In reply to AlanLittle:

> Extreme Alpinism is a classic and well worth reading for the insight into the mindset of a cutting edge alpinist. The training sections are probably a bit dated in comparison to the newer book by Mr Twight's former partner in crime.

And also probably largely irrelevant to the the vast majority of alpinists of modest and realistic ambition. Just get hill fit and do as much climbing as possible.
Dr Avinash Aujayeb 18 Feb 2015
In reply to Robert Durran:

Thanks all.

It seems some of the confusion on here is that I need to get hill fit but that, I am pretty sure, already am.

The KB will, I think, be a way of varying training, and complementing all else

Avi
 AlanLittle 18 Feb 2015
In reply to Robert Durran:

> And also probably largely irrelevant to the the vast majority of alpinists of modest and realistic ambition. Just get hill fit and do as much climbing as possible.

Quite. It's striking that the fans of the "New Alpinism" book on the American forums are overwhelmingly people who live in flat places and want to get fit for easy snow plods like Rainier or Hood, and overwhelmingly not people who want to put up new routes alpine style on Nanga Parbat. Not that there's anything wrong with wanting to do easy snow plods.

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