1. Home
2. Blog
3. Training for the Three Peaks Challenge

The Three Peaks Challenge is arguably the most iconic walking challenge in the UK and requires excellent fitness. While most people can complete it with some training and preparation, it is by no means easy. A considerable number of people fail to scale all Three Peaks simply because they underestimate how difficult it is. So we wanted to create a quick guide to training for the National Three Peaks Challenge.

If you are entirely new to the Three Peaks Challenge, you may want to check out our Ultimate Guide to UK Mountain Challenges or our Three Peaks Challenge event page. It traditionally involves scaling Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) in a day.

While many people still opt for the single day challenge, a growing number are going with our preferred option, tackling one peak every day over three days. We think there are several reasons why doing a peak a day is the better option. You can read about them in our 6 Reasons to Choose a Local Three Peaks Challenge article.

Understand where you are currently at

When you begin preparing for the Three Peaks Challenge, perform an accurate and honest appraisal of your current fitness levels. After all, this will determine how much work you need to put in and how much of your current exercise regime you need to change.

For instance, if you are an irregular hill walker who only gets out once a month and doesn’t participate in any other aerobic endurance sports and activities, you will probably have to implement a more thorough and structured training plan than those who are out in the mountains every weekend.

The easiest way of accurately evaluating your current fitness is getting out into hilly terrain for a long walk lasting at least three or four hours. How do you feel immediately afterwards and the next day? If it was easy, you know you have a good base fitness that will put you in good stead for the challenge. That doesn’t mean you can sit back and take it easy, though. If it was tough and you came out of it feeling tired and sore, you know you need to start building fitness immediately.

Start small, achievable and early

However fit you are, you should start your training small and build over time. Go too hard, too soon, and you are more likely to injure yourself. Jumping in at the deep end is also difficult mentally. When things are too challenging, you are more likely to give up or miss training sessions. Start with achievable training goals, get used to the endorphin hit that comes after completing a session and build up the difficulty and intensity week after week.

We recommend giving yourself at least eight weeks to prepare for the challenge. Those who need to build more fitness because they are starting from a lower baseline, should aim to train for around three to four months.

The best training is specific

While you could train for the Three Peaks Challenge exclusively in the gym, that’s not the ideal preparation process. Generally, training is more effective when it is specific. Cycling makes you a better cyclist, running makes you a better runner etc. It may seem like common sense but it is amazing how often people forget this basic rule.

With the Three Peaks, training specificity means getting out and walking for long periods in terrain similar to that you will encounter during the challenge. This means hill walking should form the core of your training regime and you should aim to lace up your walking boots at least once or twice a week.

Cardiovascular exercises

Cardiovascular fitness determines how effectively your body delivers oxygen to working muscles and is key to maintaining low-intensity activity over long stretches. To develop your cardiovascular system, you want to focus on aerobic exercises that you can sustain for an extended period. This could include:

• • Running
• • Cycling
• • Swimming
• • Rowing
• • High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

Resistance exercises

Resistance exercises or weight training are all about developing muscle strength. They will help you when it comes to tackling the inclines you encounter on the Three Peaks Challenge. As your legs will be doing the vast majority of the work, you want to focus on exercises like:

• • Squats
• • Lunges
• • Deadlifts
• • Stairmaster
• • Step-ups

That said, you should also factor in some core and arm work to balance things out and help minimise the likelihood of injury. Generally, you focus more on resistance work during the early stage of your training and transition to more cardiovascular and outdoor hill walking as the event approaches.

Progressive overload

Progressive overload is a fancy way of saying that your workouts need to get harder throughout your training programme. You can do this in one of three ways:

• • Intensity – how hard you work (eg. increasing the pace of your walk)
• • Volume – how much you work (eg. increasing the length of your walk)
• • Frequency – how often you work (eg. increasing how many times you walk a week)

When you train, you force your body to adapt to the strain you are placing on it. Once it adapts, you need to increase the intensity, volume or frequency to see further improvements. If you don’t increase one of these three variables, you will plateau and maintain rather than improve your fitness. Gradually increase one or more of these variables each week for best results.

Rest, recovery and nutrition

Rest, recovery and nutrition are just as important as completing your training exercises. They help you prepare mentally and physically for your next round of training and enable you to get the most from your training. With this in mind, remember these three pointers:

1. Your body needs rest to build muscle and fitness. Make sure you include regular rest days in your plan and listen to your body to establish whether you need more. If you miss or do not complete several sessions in a row, there is a good chance you need a rest. It’s better to take one or two rest days and come back refreshed than put in sub-par or half-hearted performances over multiple sessions.
2. Your body needs a healthy diet to perform at its best. You have to fuel the machine with plenty of good stuff if you are to have the energy to complete your training. It’s also important not to leave nutrition to the last minute. Instead, test out the food you intend to consume during the challenge while training. You need to make sure you are happy with what you are eating long before the challenge itself. It’s surprising how many people decide to fuel their challenge with gels, bars and other energy-rich products they’ve never tried, only to find out that it really upsets their stomach or doesn’t provide the necessary energy.
3. Don’t train right up until the event date. Give yourself at least three or four days, maybe even a week, of rest or very light exercise before the challenge. Your fitness won’t drop during this period, but the rest will ensure you come into the event feeling fresh.

Three Peaks with RAW Adventures

As mentioned in the introduction, the RAW team thinks a three-day challenge is the more enjoyable and sustainable Three Peaks option. And we do organise three-day Three Peaks Challenges. However, we also understand that many people want to take on all three summits in 24 hours.

Our Three Peaks Challenge event enables you to do just that and is designed to give you the best chance of success and the most enjoyable experience possible. If you have any questions about our 24-hour Three Peaks Challenge, our Three-Day Three Peaks Challenge or any of our other walking challenges, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the RAW team.