UKH

hello,
this summer I climbed two 7000 metre peaks one after the other, which I found pretty tiring... when I came back home I spent about a week without being able to sleep or eat properly because of the exhaustion, and then I got a big cold. I didn't do any exercise for three weeks and then started training again. I felt unreasonably tired and after a week I got ill again. So it seems pretty obvious to me that I am not recovered yet from the trip.

has anyone had this experience before? what did you do to solve it? do you have any recovery tips?


thank you

In reply to mateocaramessaddler:

Did you catch some bug while you were out there?

In reply to Red Rover:

a month recovery after a truly big effort with lots of training leading up to it maybe isn't enough. i'd probably say stay out of the mountains and the climbing gym for 2 months. that's a pretty standard period that athletes talk about, 2 months off a year.
but be warned! its much better to bite the bullet and take time off now than to get by, not fully recovering and not fully training for months and months.

In reply to mateocaramessaddler:

Giardia? Can make you feel weak forever even if you did not have massive problems when initially infected. Probably there are several thousand other reasons, get yourself checked out!

CB

I have had giardia three times in my life and it's definitely not that. I also don't think it's a bug because I feel fine when I'm not training, I just have a cold, no other symptoms.

I did put in loads of training before I went (20-25 hours a week), and the effort of the climbing itself did seem pretty big for me. But I had no idea that it could take this long to recover...
Do you think I should stop excercise all together or do a little, just no big efforts?

Cheers for the help

In reply to
Have a look at Steve House's book "Training for the New Alpinism". Fantastic read on preparing for all types of arduous mountaineering, and a lot of information on when to rest and for how long. If I remember correctly, he gives personal examples of the consequences of beginning to train too soon after big trips - very similar to your own.

In reply to mateocaramessaddler:

It took me three months to recover after Cho Oyu. I had to build my weight and fitness up again with a gradual exercise regime. I did very little for about a month on my return.

In reply to mateocaramessaddler:

for those at the very top of their sport, racing distances running, there is rough guide of 1 days rest/ or very easy day for each mile raced. So a marathon runner who put in just 2hrs of max effort, will take it steady for potentially a month. Easy for them, might be different to us. But, multiple days on a big hill is arguably much more punishing that one race.

The point being, your body will have been hammered during training, travel and whilst on the mountain. Just take it easy, eat well, sleep well, stay off the pop and away from crowded places full of germ carriers, with short walks and easy cragging for your sanity. Your cold is probably just a sign/symptom of a batter immune system.

When I've come back from high places I initially thought I'd enjoy some kind of hay day with all those extra cells carrying oxygen around my body and would be positively racing round the UK hills etc.. instead I just felt normal or if anything tired like yourself.

In reply to tomytwotoes:

After a fun packed trip to Alaska two years ago i felt very much like you described coupled with a massive loss of physic. Conversely my mate was having the form of his life. What that means u dont know but i got over it after a month

In reply to tomytwotoes: totaly agree with summo,your immune system and body have been hammered,i would rest another month,no training you should feel a lot stronger by then.I think steve house mention someone of peak condition is also more prone to stuff like colds.

In reply to tomytwotoes:

How old are you?

It took me many months to fully recover from an 8 week expedition to the Himalyas where I not only got very tired but also debilitated by dysentery which continued for another 6 weeks after our return to the uk. I lost 1 1/2 stone in weight.

I was only 45 at the time

In reply to Trangia:

I am 33 years old, and the strangest thing of all is that the little weight I lost i regained very fast, within a week or two I was back to normal. Less muscle mass, but not skinny.
Thank you for all the help