Mont Blanc Training 2025 – My Endurance, Strength & Cardiovascular Training with an Alpinism/Mountaineering Personal Trainer from Cardiff Met Sport.

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Benjamin Thomas – Cardiff Met Sport, my PT for Mont Blanc 2025

Follow my Mont Blanc Training Program.

1. Why a Strength & Conditiong Coach?
2. Working the Hypertrophy Block

Recommended Sports Nutrition: Bulk – All In One Recovery, the perfect post-workout drink.

Recommended Water Filter Bottle: Water-to-Go, named ‘2024 Best Water Filter Bottle For Travel‘.

Training for Mont Blanc 2025 started in January, and this marked the beginning of a more structured approach to my overall fitness. In the past, my training was a mix of solo workouts, group fitness classes more particularly the Les Mills programs, and YouTube routines that anyone could follow. While these methods helped me maintain a good general fitness, climbing Mont Blanc is a different beast altogether. It is classified as an extreme sport, so this challenge required a shift in my mindset and a highly specific training plan.

After reading Training for the New Alpinism: A Manual for the Climber as Athlete by Steve House and Scott Johnston, it became clear that I needed expert guidance. This led me to Cardiff Met Sport at Cardiff Metropolitan University, where I teamed up with ‘Strength & Conditioning’ Coach Benjamin Thomas. Ben’s expertise lies in preparing athletes for specific physical challenges, ensuring their bodies can endure the demands of their sport.

Ben created for me a structured nine month program designed to build the strength, endurance, and resilience necessary to summit Mont Blanc and Gran Paradiso, and this complimented my ‘Fitness & Endurance Plan‘.

Understanding Strength Training for Alpinism

Strength training for mountaineering isn’t about lifting the heaviest weights possible; it’s about developing functional strength that can be used in real world endurance events. Muscles need to be conditioned for prolonged exertion, dealing with steep ascents, carrying heavy loads, and maintaining stability on uneven terrain. Ben designed a program targeting the key muscle groups that would experience the most stress:

• Lower Limb Strength: Essential for uphill movement, stability on rocky terrain, and preventing fatigue during long ascents.
• Core Strength & Stability: A strong core is crucial for maintaining posture under load, reducing energy wastage, and preventing lower back strain.
• Upper Body Strength: While leg power dominates, upper body endurance helps with scrambling, using trekking poles, and handling a heavy pack.
• Lactic Acid Threshold Training: This ensures that my muscles can sustain prolonged effort without excessive fatigue, improving endurance at altitude.

Periodized Training: The Phases of Preparation

Phase 1: Hypertrophy (January – February 2025)

This stage is all about increasing muscle mass and developing a strong foundation. The hypertrophy phase isn’t just about looking stronger; it’s about increasing the size and endurance of muscle fibers to handle prolonged strain. Workouts include higher-rep strength exercises (8-12 reps per set) with moderate loads, focusing on:

• Squats, lunges, and step-ups to develop powerful leg muscles.
• Core exercises like hanging leg raises, planks, and rotational movements to build a solid trunk.
• Upper body strength movements such as pull-ups, push-ups, and rows to enhance endurance.

Phase 2: Strength (March 2025 onward)

With the muscular base established, we transition into maximal strength training. This involves lower reps (3-6 per set) with heavier weights to develop raw power. Exercises become more specific to mountaineering demands:

• Unilateral Lower Limb Training (single-leg exercises) to improve balance and reduce muscle imbalances.
• Core Stability Work to maintain strength under load during prolonged climbs.
• Upper Body Strength Work to support the demands of carrying a heavy pack and scrambling.
• Lactic Acid Threshold Training to extend endurance and delay muscle fatigue.

The Science Behind the Plan

One of the fascinating aspects of working with Ben is our discussions on the science behind training. Having read the Training for the New Alpinism book before meeting Ben, I noticed whilst chatting that many of the principles discussed in the book aligned exactly with Ben’s approach, and he hadn’t read the book. Like for example, when we discussed the hypertrophy phase, he explained the rationale behind muscle fiber recruitment and endurance adaptation, without even realizing he was talking to me what I had read in the book. This then made me super confident that I had found the right guy to get me to Mont Blanc, and back!

Applying training practices from other endurance sports, it demonstrates that following a carefully designed regimen is as effective for alpinism as it is for any other endurance sport and leads to better performance, and myself and Ben are taking full advantage of the training facilities at Cardiff Met Sport in order for me to be successful.

Looking Ahead: Beyond Mont Blanc

My goal is not just to climb Mont Blanc but to push beyond, with an eye on Imja Tse (Island Peak) in the Himalayas at 6,165 meters. However, one step at a time, I first need to test myself on Mont Blanc and see how my body responds to the altitude, endurance demands, and physical stress of a major climb.

So to recap, when preparing for a physically demanding challenge like climbing Mont Blanc, a structured and periodised strength and conditioning program is essential. One of the fundamental phases in this process is the hypertrophy block, a crucial period of training designed to build muscle mass, endurance, and structural resilience. This phase not only enhances an athlete’s ability to handle prolonged exertion but also lays the groundwork for future strength development, ensuring the body is fully prepared for the demands ahead.

Mont Blanc Training Overview

In another post, I’ll dive deeper into the hypertrophy stage, breaking down the workouts, how they build endurance, and what I’ve learned so far. Follow my journey to Mont Blanc, and I hope it inspires you to challenge yourself, find expert guidance, and take on your own adventure!