12 Week Training Programme for the COINS 3 Peaks Challenge

When training for a long distance walking event such as the COINS 3 Peaks Challenge, it is important to acclimatise your body to physical activity during the first couple of weeks before starting to increase the volume and intensity.  The idea behind this 12 week training programme is to help you get prepared for the COINS 3 Peaks Challenge and get the most out of this team building event.  The best way to start training for a walking challenge is to begin to incorporate physical activity into your daily routine.  For example:

• Get off the tube or bus one stop early and walk the rest of the way
• Walk to work
• Use the stairs instead of lifts
• At lunch time, walk to the shops rather than the staff canteen
• Walk your dog (or a neighbour's!) that little bit further

Week 1
At this stage, assuming that you are doing little or no regular exercise, you should aim to complete three endurance sessions this week, comprising of either:
• 20 minutes running
• 30 minutes swimming
• 40 minutes walking
• 60 minutes biking
The intensity level you should be aiming for will leave you able to talk, but not hold a conversation.

Week 2
Now that you are getting used to exercising, you should start to incorporate some strength training as well. Keep the three endurance sessions the same, but now incorporate two 30 minute strength sessions. Ensure that you have at least a day of rest between the strength sessions, as you may feel stiff afterwards, although warming up and down (including stretching) will have minimised any muscle soreness.

Week 3
This is a good time to start to introduce some skills work, if you haven't done so already. Think about getting out this weekend, either for a good walk or a bike ride. Not only will this reap benefits during the walking event itself but it will also keep you interested and motivated. So as well as the three endurance sessions during the week, add either a two hour walk, bike ride or an hour swimming during the weekend.

Week 4
You are now a third of the way through the training programme for the COINS 3 Peaks Challenge and you should notice a huge improvement in your cardiovascular endurance. You should be finding it much easier to complete the endurance sessions, so now it's time to up the intensity.  Training for hill walking involves getting your body used to short bursts of high intensity exercise and if you can’t do this outside then the gym is fine.  Setting the walking machine to a hill setting, using the step machine or rowing will all help to increase your level of training for a long distance walking event such as the COINS 3 Peaks Challenge.

Weeks 5 – 10
After four weeks of training for a hill walking challenge, you should be looking to increase the number of endurance sessions to four or five per week and also increase the duration of at least one of them. The strength sessions over the last few weeks will be paying dividends and you should be feeling much fitter and stronger.  During this time, it’s really important to get to know your team mates.  Try to get away for the weekend.  This will help improve your fitness as well as helping you to learn how to operate as a team in conditions similar to the walking event itself.  Remember that the COINS 3 Peaks Challenge is a 24 hour walking event which means it would be a good idea to incorporate some night hiking into your training at this stage.

Week 11
By this stage of your training programme for long distance walking, you should be completing three decent endurance sessions and a couple of strength sessions during the week, as well as a long session at the weekend.

Week 12
This is the tapering down stage that will prepare you for the COINS 3 Peaks Challenge itself. You should train on Monday and Tuesday only; these sessions should be at your usual intensity but for only half your usual duration. Rest and quality sleep is vital this week, as is your nutrition! From Wednesday onwards, you should still keep active walking or even going for a steady run; remember your body must still be ready for activity and Saturday shouldn’t come as a complete shock.

Congratulations, you should now be able to fully enjoy the event and we hope you have found this long distance walking advice helpful and informative.