1000 Steps

megstar8686

I have a new goal for the year. Near where I live, which is at the foot of a mountain, there are a number of walking tracks of varying degrees of difficulty. Many of them (being on the side of a mountain) are graded moderate to steep. Tonight for the first time, I did a track that was graded moderate called the 1000 steps. I would estimate it went up the mountain at an average gradient of 25% (at a guess - judging by some of the roads in the area) and it's roughly 1.5km from the base to the top. Boy did I struggle!!! Most walkers were puffed and sweaty, but they were at least able to keep going! I considered turning back 3 times (but I'm glad I did it). It took me about 45 minutes to get to the top. One guy did it twice in the time I did it once!

My question is, for those who have conquered similar challenges or are good at this sort of thing, what can I do to get my time down and to increase my fitness to be able to cope with this track, so that I might be able to tackle more challenging tracks (i.e. ones that are graded as 'steep'). I go to the gym an average of 5 days a week. I often walk to the gym, which is about a 10km return trip, and I have no problem in doing this. I can walk forever on a treadmill at 6.5km/hr at a gradient of about 5%, and if I walk slower I can easily put the incline up. But I struggled so badly with this!!! I spoke to a few people who live in the area, and they said that even very fit people find it challenging. So... does anyone have any tips on how I can improve my fitness for this kind of activity?

Thanks!

Megs xo

rachefc

Just keep going!

If you keep repeating that same walk it will get easier each time.

I used to be the same situation as yourself and used to go to the gym and could walk for long periods of time. I never thought I could run at all but I have applied for a job with the police and have to pass a fitness test so I enlisted the help of a personal trainer. What he showed me is that I can actually run and by running a little my fitness sharply improved in all aspects.

If you are new to it and don't think you will be able to run just try some interval training, walk for 60seconds at a slow/moderate pace and then run for 60 seconds at around 5mph to start with and increase that speed as you feel able.

I have found that running has made a massive difference to my level of fitness.

Rachel