Creative ideas for training in London
Got a trip booked, want to get fit, or just looking for something to do at the weekend? We know that living in a city can make you feel quite isolated from opportunities to train for mountain adventures but we have put together some ideas that you can add to your training plan if you are in London or other urban areas.
London is famous for many things, but unfortunately mountains and hills do not make the list. However, the infrastructure and public transport around the city give a cushion so you can head out and push yourself a little more than you would in places like rural Scotland. If the weather turns, jump on the underground; if you start to feel a sugar low, pop into a store en route; and if you really hit the wall, book an Uber and you'll be back home in no time. Where else in the country do you have all these options? Being so flexible can be used to your advantage for sure. To be transparent, I’m no Londoner and have only lived in London for a year between 2018-2019. However, during this period I trained for The Everest Marathon, Kilimanjaro, Alpine 4000m peaks and running the UK 3 peaks exclusively in London. You can keep it traditional and walk the canals, do laps of Hyde Park or even summit Primrose Hill as Simon Pegg does whilst training for The London Marathon in 'Run Fat Boy, Run'. Additionally, I want to share some more abstract ideas for London which will open your mind to how you can replicate trekking without leaving the city.
Bridges
London is notoriously flat but challenge yourself to see how much ascent you can gain by crossing the Thames as many times as possible in your run or walk.
Start at a point to the West (Westminster, for example) then head East but everytime you pass a bridge cross over onto the other side of the river and then continue. If you repeat this journey again, start on the opposite side of the river and you'll only be retracing your steps over the bridges, the rest will be entirely new. Remember to add an extra bridge each time you go out and maybe even finish through the Greenwich Tunnel (using the stairs, not lift of course) and a quick ascent of Greenwich Park to the Observatory.
The amount of ascent that these routes could include is hard to estimate because each route is hugely varied but challenge yourself to as many staircases as possible along the way. It is also important to remember that it is not just the elevation but distances which will help your training. Westminster to Greenwich, via the most direct route is 21km, so it's easy to see how you can rack up the distance.
2. Stairs, stairs and more stairs
If the weather doesn't play ball and the thought of these walks isn't enticing enough to drag you off the couch, you can always make the most of London's abundance of staircases and large indoors spaces. You can choose a location with many multi-storey buildings nearby and go on a mission to ascend as many staircases as possible. This could be organised, for example, my personal favourite is to head to Oxford Street and cover the full length on both sides of the road but at every shop you must climb to the top and back down before moving on. I can’t even have a guess at how many metres of ascent the full route would be so if you do ever attempt this please let us know what your stats are, we'd be really interested to know!
I wouldn't expect a full traverse of Oxford Street for your first time but when you reach your limit remember which shop you made it to and come back the next time and tick off a couple more. I have even considered that in shops with escalators you could climb up the down lifts but maybe this wouldn’t be too welcomed. The scope of this doesn't stop at Oxford Street, pacing around all the free entry museums (Natural History, Transport, Science), galleries (Tate Modern, etc.) or even hotels and skyscrapers if you can get access, are also good options.
3. Paced walks, how far can you get?
Often in the mountains you push yourself physically, rarely reaching your limit, keeping enough in the tank to get down and be ready if something doesn't quite go to plan! If you over-exert or push it too far in the mountains, the stakes are high and a helicopter might end up being the only option. Fortunately, in London there is a whole network of trains, tubes, buses and Ubers so it is possible to just keep going and going.
What we suggest is to just step out of your door and go for a walk, no specific plan or route and just follow your nose. Keep walking, exploring and detouring to anything which interests you. To keep an element of training and prevent just wandering around, try to maintain a specific pace, something between 4 and 6 kph is probably reasonable. Just keep going until you cannot maintain the pace anymore, stop your watch and jump on the nearest tube home. This sort of training should be really fun and you might end up in areas of London you have never ventured. With this you will begin to link the dots across specific areas of London you know well and maybe even uncover some hidden gems too!
Final Tips
As always, to make your training beneficial keep it consistent and progress from session to session. Fortunately, all of these itineraries are very measurable (especially if you use a watch or smart phone) so be sure to add on an extra bridge, tube stop or building to each hike. You could also progress your training by increasing your walking pace or carrying a heavier pack each time. Remember that this can also be a great way to wear in your new walking boots but be careful not to wear them out!
Let us know how you get on via email, we would love to hear from you!