Fitness Preparations

Our fitness preparation primarily comprised of 30-45 minutes running on the treadmill 3-4 days a week, for around 3 months. The goal was to strengthen the leg muscles and build stamina/endurance. Towards the end of the training schedule I focused more on walking on a steep incline on the treadmill to place emphasis on the walking muscles which are different from the running ones.

We also did a couple of practice hikes around Bangalore - we climbed the steps from Sultanpet to the top of Nandi Hills with Nitin. We also did a wonderful night-time climb of Savandurga (highly recommended weekend outing from Bangalore) with Suresh, Sharath and their 7-year old daughter Kavya. During a work visit to the Yahoo! HQ in Sunnyvale, California, I did part of the PG&E trail in Rancho San Antonio, it was a good trek and helped me break in my hiking boots which I had purchased the previous week.

I think regular running/walking coupled with a few long practice hikes with a backpack are sufficient preparation though some websites recommend a harder regimen - http://www.mtsobek.com/features/Climb_Kilimanjaro/summit.htm.