How to Train for a Multi-Day Trek: A 12-Week Strength Plan
To train for a multi-day trek, you need three things built in parallel over about 12 weeks: leg strength for the descents, a back and trunk that tolerate carrying a pack for six or seven hours, and the endurance to walk day after day rather than once. In practice that means two strength sessions a week focused on single-leg work, step-ups and carries, one long walk at the weekend with a pack that gets steadily heavier, and one or two easier cardio sessions. Most people train the uphill and forget the downhill. The descents are what leave knees and quads wrecked on day three.
What a trek actually asks of your body
A long day in the hills is not a hard workout. It is a moderate workout that refuses to end, repeated the next morning on tired legs. Breaking that down tells you what to train:
- Climbing is thousands of step-ups with a load on your back. It taxes the quads, glutes and lungs.
- Descending is the quads working while lengthening to brake each step. That kind of work causes far more soreness than climbing, and it is the main reason people hobble on day two.
- Carrying a day pack or a full pack demands a trunk and upper back that can hold position for hours without the lower back taking over.
- Uneven ground asks your ankles and hips to stabilise every step, especially on scree, roots and wet rock.
- Back-to-back days mean recovery capacity matters as much as peak fitness.
A gym can build most of this efficiently. What it cannot replicate is time on your feet with a pack, which is why the weekend walk is not optional.
The 12-week structure
The plan assumes you can already walk for two to three hours comfortably and train three to four times a week. If you are starting from less, add four weeks of base walking first.
| Weeks | Focus | Weekend walk |
|---|---|---|
| 1-4: Foundation | Learn the movements, build tolerance, moderate loads, 3 sets of 10-12 | 2-3 hours, light day pack, include some hills |
| 5-8: Build | Heavier strength work, 3-4 sets of 6-8; add slow lowering on step-downs | 3-5 hours, pack loaded towards trek weight |
| 9-11: Specific | Hold strength, add longer carries and step-up circuits with the pack | One back-to-back weekend: two long days in a row, full trek pack |
| 12: Taper | Halve the volume, keep a little intensity, sleep well | One easy 2-hour walk to check boots and kit |
Increase the pack weight gradually. Jumping straight to a full pack on week two is how people discover new aches in their hips and shoulders.
The strength sessions
Two sessions a week, 50 to 60 minutes each. Rest 90 seconds to two minutes between sets of the main lifts.
Session A: legs and descents
- Goblet squat or back squat - 3-4 sets. General leg strength and a deep, controlled knee bend.
- Step-up to a knee-height box - 3 sets each leg. The most trek-specific exercise there is. Drive through the whole foot.
- Slow step-down from a lower box - 3 sets of 8 each leg, taking three seconds to lower the heel to the floor. This is your descent training.
- Romanian deadlift - 3 sets. Hamstrings and glutes for climbing and for the hip hinge you use every time you pick up your pack.
- Standing calf raise, slow, full range - 3 sets of 12-15.
Session B: back, trunk and carrying
- Bulgarian split squat - 3 sets each leg. Single-leg strength and hip stability.
- Seated cable row or lat pulldown - 3 sets. An upper back that keeps the pack from pulling you forward.
- Farmer’s carry - 4 walks of 30-40 metres, heavy. Grip, trunk and posture under load.
- Suitcase carry - 3 walks each side. The uneven load mimics a shifting pack.
- Pallof press or side plank - 3 sets. Trunk stiffness against rotation.
For technique, our posts on the step-up and the Bulgarian split squat go into the details.
Cardio: build the engine without burning out
Most trekking is done at a steady, conversational pace. That is exactly what zone 2 cardio trains. One or two sessions of 30 to 60 minutes a week is plenty alongside the strength work and the long walk: brisk incline walking on a treadmill, cycling, or simply a fast walk up Highgate West Hill and through Hampstead Heath.
Once a week in the build phase you can add a short interval session, for example eight rounds of 30 seconds hard and 90 seconds easy on an air bike. This raises your ceiling so steady climbing feels easier. It is the least important of the four elements; drop it first if you are tired.
London is flat in the ways that matter, but not entirely. Swain’s Lane, Highgate Hill and the climb up to Kenwood are all usable for hill repeats with a pack. A few repeats there are more specific than an extra gym session.
A sample week (weeks 5-8)
- Monday: Strength A
- Tuesday: 40 minutes zone 2
- Wednesday: Rest or easy walk
- Thursday: Strength B
- Friday: Rest, or 20 minutes of intervals
- Saturday: Long walk with pack, 3-5 hours
- Sunday: Rest or a gentle hour on foot
If you only have time for three things, keep the two strength sessions and the long walk.
Common mistakes
- Training only the uphill. Stairmasters and incline treadmills are useful, but none of it prepares you for braking downhill. Do the slow step-downs and walk real descents.
- New boots on the trip. Wear them on every long walk from week four. Blisters end more treks than weak legs do.
- Never training with the actual pack. Weight sits differently in your own pack, and straps that feel fine for an hour can rub after five.
- Peaking too late. The hardest training belongs in weeks 9-11. Arriving tired from a big final week is a common way to start badly.
- Assuming fitness protects you at altitude. It does not. Being fit makes the walking easier, but altitude sickness can affect anyone, however fit. Ascend gradually and read the NHS guidance on altitude sickness if your route goes high.
Is this something to do with a coach?
You can follow this plan alone. A coach earns their keep in two places: getting technique right on step-downs and split squats so knees are loaded well, and adjusting the plan week by week when work, travel or a sore Achilles gets in the way. That is what we do with clients in our private basement training studio, which has the rack, dumbbells, cable station and air bike the plan calls for. Read more about 1-1 personal training in Highgate, or see the rest of The Highgate House.
Check with your GP first if you have a heart or lung condition, are pregnant, have a knee, hip or back injury, or are returning to exercise after a long break. If your trek goes to high altitude, a pre-trip appointment is sensible regardless.
Questions we get asked
Can I train for a trek in less than 12 weeks?
Yes, if you already train regularly. Eight weeks is workable for someone with a good base: shorten the foundation phase and keep the back-to-back weekend. If you are starting from very little, 12 to 16 weeks is more realistic.
How heavy should my training pack be?
Build up to the weight you will actually carry. For a supported trek where porters take your main bag, that may be a day pack of 5-8 kg. If you carry everything yourself, train with that full load by weeks 9-11.
Should I keep training during the trek?
No. The trek is the training. Gentle mobility in the evening, plenty of food and sleep are all you need.
What if my knees hurt on descents?
Slow step-downs and split squats usually help, as do walking poles and shorter steps on the way down. Pain that persists or gets worse deserves a proper assessment from your GP or a physiotherapist.
Book with The Highgate House
Ready to start training properly? Email us at [email protected] with the service and the day that suits you, and we will come back to you with times.
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