You don't need to be an athlete to reach the summit — but a bit of honest preparation turns a brutal slog into a trek you'll actually enjoy. Here's how to get your body (and your head) ready, from the people who watch trekkers do this every week.
We'll be straight with you: the trekkers who struggle on Rinjani are almost never the ones who "aren't fit enough" in some absolute sense. They're the ones who didn't prepare their legs for hours of uphill and downhill, or who set off on Day 1 too fast. The mountain doesn't ask for gym-perfect fitness — it asks for endurance in your legs and patience in your pacing. Both can be trained in a few weeks.
Before you train, it helps to know what you're training for. Three things test people most:
Notice that none of these need speed or strength records — they need endurance, leg conditioning and downhill resilience. That's exactly what we'll build.
You don't need a gym membership or a coach. The single best training for hiking is hiking — and where that's not possible, stairs and hills. Aim for three or four sessions a week and build gradually.
| Weeks | Focus | A typical week |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Build a base | 2–3 cardio sessions (brisk walk, jog, cycle, swim) of 30–45 min, plus one longer weekend walk of 1–2 hours. |
| 3–4 | Add hills & load | Keep cardio; add stair or hill repeats once a week; weekend hike of 2–3 hours carrying a 4–6 kg daypack. |
| 5–6 | Go longer | Weekend hike of 3–5 hours on hilly ground with your pack; add simple leg strength (squats, lunges, step-ups, calf raises) twice a week. |
| 7–8 | Peak & taper | One big back-to-back weekend (a long hike two days running) to mimic the trek; then ease off in the final few days before you fly. |
If you only do a few strength moves, make them these — they map directly onto the trail:
Bodyweight is plenty. Two short sessions a week alongside your walking will do more than any amount of isolated gym work.
The most common avoidable misery on any trek is blisters from new footwear. Wear your hiking boots on every training walk so they're moulded to your feet before you arrive. If you're renting boots from us, wear thick hiking socks you've tested, and tell us your size ahead of time. Our full kit list is in the Rinjani packing guide.
Rinjani is as much a head game as a leg game — especially at 2 AM on the scree when the summit still looks impossibly far. The trekkers who make it aren't the strongest; they're the ones who keep taking one more small step. Go in expecting it to be hard, break the climb into tiny chunks, and lean on your guide's pace. That mindset gets more people to the top than any training plan.
All that preparation is best protected by starting slowly. Most people who burn out did too much, too fast on Day 1. Walk at a pace you could hold a conversation at, drink steadily, eat little and often, and let your guide read the mountain. Fitness gets you to the trailhead ready; smart pacing gets you to the summit.
Curious how hard it really is, step by step? Read how difficult the Rinjani trek is, or start planning with the complete Rinjani trekking guide.