This is a great workout to prepare for the hiking season too!

This first phase of training is four weeks, and builds a base for the rest of the training.

1) strive for 4,500′ of vertical per week

You can break this up just about any way that makes sense, but at least 2,500′ needs to be outside and it’s better if it’s like 3 x 1,500′ though it can vary depending on conditions available.

Stairmaster – is great and about the right inclination, or angle of ascent, for Elbrus Race training. Work at 75 steps per minute at this level. 20 minutes at 75 s/m = 1000′
Incline Treadmill – set at 28% and strive for 1.8 mph. 20 minutes at 28% and 1.8 mph = 890′
Incline Ellipticals – while this is great training for your legs, I can’t recommend including this in your weekly vertical targets. None of them have you using anything close to your full bodyweight, and it’s not directly proportionate. If you want to, you can use them as a warm-up for strength days.
Jacob’s Ladder – Far out. Excellent. Not quite directly applicable to climbing Elbrus, but a great workout. If you move at 60 feet per minute (on the gauge) you’ll do 1200′ in 20 minutes.

2) Strength Training 2x per week

Try to do the following two sessions per week for this phase of training. Any weight = whatever you can manage for the whole set/rep session. This could be as low as one 45 lb bar, or level 3 on a selectorized machine or tower. You want a good solid burn, but recoverable.

Deadlift: 4 x 25 any weight
Squat: 4 x 25 any weight
Bench Press: 4 x 25 any weight
Lat Pulldown: 4 x 25 any weight
Hanging Leg Lift or Knee Raise: 6 x 15
Roman Chair Ab Curl: 4 x 25
Back Hyper Extensions: 4 x 25 – if too easy hold a plate

Set of 25 Hanging Knee Raises

httpv://youtu.be/f7QPEx6D5xc

3) Leg Speed 2x per week

Do “Mountain Climbers” shooting for fast feet. You can do this either before or after your “running” sessions. If done on strength sessions, do first. If you’re using this as a hiking workout then you can skip the Mountain Climbers unless you’re already in excellent general condition.

Anyone wanting to participate in Elbrus Race 2013 and not knowing where to start, here’s a great set of goals to get you through the first one third of your available training time. Go for it. Be the best you can.