Before you climb a mountain, begin a training program. Training programs condition your body to handle the strenuous conditions involved with climbing a mountain. Design a workout routine and start training several months before your climb. Although working the legs is important for climbing, upper body exercises need to be incorporated into your routine, too.

Mountain Climbers

The mountain climber exercise is an obvious choice for climbers looking to get in shape for a climb. Mountain climbers not only focus on the legs, but the entire body as well. Muscles used during the exercise include the abdominals, glutes, deltoids, hamstrings, quads and abductors. To begin, arrange your body with your feet behind you and your hands on the floor in front of you. Bring your right foot forward and position it under your chest. Bend your hips, knees and thighs toward your chest. Your left foot is straight with the toes to the ground and heel up. Jump to switch leg positions and bring your left foot under your chest and the right foot behind you. Continue to alternate legs.

Stair Climbing

Stair climbing exercises prepare your legs for your mountain climbing expedition. A few months before your climb, use a stair climber at least twice a week. A month before your climb, increase your stair climbing workouts to three times weekly. Each session should last 45 minutes and use the interval training program on the cardio machine. Interval training cycles between lower and higher resistance during your stair climbing session.

Leg Presses

Build strength in your legs for climbing by using resistance exercise machines that focus on the muscles in the lower body. Leg press machines involve choosing a level of resistance and pushing against the resistance using the muscles in your legs. For each strength-training exercise done for mountain climbing preparation, aim for three sets of 15 reps.

Aerobic Exercises

Aerobic exercises that focus on the muscles in the legs should be part of your mountain climbing training regimen. Aerobic exercise improves the endurance you’ll need when tackling difficult and lengthy climbs. Spend a minimum of three days per week performing aerobic exercises that work the legs. Include runs, hikes, step aerobics and cycling. Spend 40 minutes working out for each session. Add a backpack that weighs 20 lbs. during your hikes, jogs and runs to prepare for mountain climbing.