Fitness & Training Advice For Your Ecuador Trip
By Anne Irwin Tillinghast, MA, CSCS, ACSM-HFI, ACE PT & GFI
410-516-4413
anneit@jhu.edu
It’s important to start being consistently active now, and steadily increase your frequency, intensity, and
duration of your activity over the coming months. The following ideas are guidelines, and if you need
more specific advice please get in touch with Anne at the contact info listed above.
CARDIO
Doing cardio makes your heart and lungs more efficient, and creates endurance for long activities.
Now: aim to do cardio 3-5x a week for 20-30 minutes each time.
 You can add 10% more time each week and eventually add days
 You should be able to talk to someone during your cardio, but if you get a little winded for short
intervals that’s okay (and probably helpful).
 Modalities: walking on an incline (treadmill), running, biking/spinning, stair climbing, ellipticaling, step aerobics, jumping rope
 Once every week or two do a lower intensity, progressively longer cardio workout. Experiment
with what food you can tolerate during these sessions.
Goal: to be able to do 50-60 minutes of cardio 4-5x a week by the time of your trip. Work up to 90-120
minutes of a lower intensity session once a week.
STRENGTH
Do a full body circuit of exercises (upper body, core, and lower body) 2-3x a week
Muscle groups and potential exercises:
 Upper back (back extensions, supermans)
 Glutes (squats, leg presses, step-ups)
 Quads (squats, leg extension machine)
 Hamstrings (squats, leg curl machine)
 Hip ab/adductors (inner/outer thigh machine, lunges)
 Calves (heel raises, jumps)
 Stirrup muscles (repeated foot circles, theraband: toes wing out, toes wing in)
Do 15-20 reps of each. Rest 30-60 seconds in between each.
FLEXIBILITY
Stretch at the end of your workout to feel good. Loosen up any tight spots. Don’t over emphasize
flexibility at the expense of quality cardio, strength, and skill-specific workouts.
SKILL SPECIFIC
Do things that mimic your climb up the peaks to prepare specific muscle groups from repetitive fatigue
later.
 Carry a light backpack in some of your workouts, and/or a heavier backpack extra times
throughout the day
 Stairclimbing (StepMill or real staircases) and walking briskly on a (steep) incline should be most
helpful
 Start with small amounts of alternating French-technique (example: 60 seconds each side, then
normal straight forward for 2 minutes, repeat). Work up to a full cardio workout of Frenchtechnique every week.
 Kick soccer balls straight forward and hard against a wall repeatedly while staying on the balls of
your feet (mimics toe point stepping). Be sure to switch legs, and do these a few times a week.
 Bounce a medicine ball repeatedly (mimics planting ice ax) a few times a week.
INJURY PREVENTION
 Start where you are and go from there!
 Be sure to warm-up and cool-down 5 minutes each
 Avoid doing the exact same workout every single day, as it puts you at risk for overuse injuries
 Avoid overemphasizing certain muscle groups over their counterparts, or else you’ll be
unbalanced
 Avoid anti-inflammatories for muscle soreness the next day or two after a workout
 Ice any aches and pains you have for 15-20 minutes at a time
 Listen to your body
 If you get injured or are concerned about an injury, call Union Memorial’s FREE Sports Injury
Hotline 1-888-44-SPORT (M-F 9a-6p)
Good luck and happy travels!