The verdict: Pilates for hiking
Well a little after three weeks since I climbed Mt Kinabalu I have recovered fully and I’m back into my regular exercise regime. It was by far the hardest physical challenge I have put mybody through and as tough as it was, the achievement of getting to the top was well worth the 8km of pain. I still managed to feel proud of my efforts even though it was raining, freezing, cloudy and there was no spectacular sunrise anywhere in sight.
We set out at about 10am at an altitude of 1,866 meters and after the first kilometre I had serious doubts about my ability to get to the top. There was one stretch of stairs (see below) in particular which I found challenging. I’m not sure if the sight ahead of me scared the breath out of me or if it was the pace we were climbing at but when we reached the top of these stairs I was beginning to doubt whether the amount of preparation I had done would be enough.
I was grateful for the Pilates training I did do. My Pilates training pulled me through though and my body and core felt strong, as I climbed I was able to keep my body upright and propelled myself up the stairs. I quickly started to focus on deep breathing, which is a skill we learn in group classes. I was struggling to catch my breath, which slowed me down even further. I would have to say that this is one of the best tools that Pilates gave me to climb as I was able to catch my breath faster even at high altitudes.
Four hours later we reached the hut (3,270 meters) where we were to spend the night and I felt surprisingly good considering the vertical metres we had just hiked. I thought for sure the Pilates had saved my legs from aches and pains.
The next day we left at 3am half an hour later the most other people as our guide was confident we could make it to the top in less time based on the pace of our previous day. My legs felt great, we climbed to the summit in conditions that were less than ideal. It was raining, windy, cold, cloudy and dark. We managed to power on despite all of this just to say we made it to the top (4,095 m) because there certainly wasn’t going to be a sunrise to greet us when we go there.
On the way down I felt good for the first kilometre and then my knees, quads and legs began to give up on me. I couldn’t believe it; I thought I was going to get out of this climb with some minor muscle aches. About half way down the mountain I knew that I was going to be in some serious pain the next day, but we kept going in the hope that soon thepain would be over and we could have a well-deserved buffet lunch.
The verdict, did Pilates help?
I would have to say yes I think Pilates did help with my preparation, my muscles felt strong and I felt that I had a strong core to keep my body centred as I climbed. In hindsight I would have liked to prepare by doing more eccentric exercises (exercises which allow muscles to generate force while lengthening which is ideal for going down the mountain) as that is the part which I found the most challenging. After chatting with some of our instructors they told me that some of the exercises in tower classes are great for this. I achieved my goal of getting to the top however my legs were sore for 6 days after the climb, but I think that is to be expected given that we climbed a total of 4458 vertical meters (up and down).
Related posts
Pilates for hiking and mountain climbing (exercise program)
Tags: Pilates for hiking
Written by: focuspilates
