2/11/2011

So I started the Mount Everest step up challenge yesterday doing 200 step ups.  Reason for that is because I have an adventure race coming up next week so I don't want to kill myself.  We used to do these all the time with packs on because we (eric, jp, fabio and myself) read an article saying that doing step ups was one of the best thing you could do to prepare for hikes and climbing.  I have come to conclusion that is a right assumption. 
No lets just take a look at how much stepping up I am going to have to do to reach the summit of Mount Everest.  Everest is 29,029ft.  The required height of the box is 24inch or 2ft.  Thats 14,515 steps.  That's alot of steps.  It's funny when you start doing things like this because you realize just how gargantiun it is when you start but when you are thinking up these challenges you don't realize it at all.  It's like when we rowed a marathon on a C2 rower.  That took us 4 hours and that was 42,195 meters.  I couldn't sit down for a day or two after that. 
I haven't gotten close to base camp, that's 17,388ft or 8694 step ups. WOW.  THis is going to be one of the biggest challenges we have done, but it will get done.  My plan is to 200 steps 3 days a week until after next week.  After that I am going to gradually increase to 250 then to 300 then to 350 everytime I do step up and so on.  One day a weekend I will shoot for 1,000 step ups, starting at 500 and working my way up to 1,000.
Now people would be like all you are doing is stepping up and down on a box.  Well yes that is true however, if you do 1,000 step ups, if you do it right that is 500 single leg squats on each side.  That is alot of single leg squats and trust me when I say that by the time you get half way through, you will feel every single bit of how much you weight and the 20lbs you have strapped to you back.  Lets think of it another way.  I will use myself as the example.  I weight 185lbs.  Now add 20lb pack that is a total of 205lbs.  Now multiply 205 x 500 = 102,500lbs moved with 1 leg over the course of the 1,000 step ups.  So, between both legs you would move a total of 205,000lbs that's 102.5 tons of weight moved.  WOW
Well I will keep everyone up to date with the progress of myself and my buddies who are taking part in this challenge, it's going to be an on going thing for around probably 4-6 months.