"The best exercise for Kilimanjaro is to do lots of walking.

During work days, try to walk as much as you can ... take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk instead of driving or catching a taxi. Try to get at least an hour of walking into every day. In addition to this, try to get some morning and evening sessions of aerobic activity in, such as cycling, running or spinning. An hour of any of these activities three or four times a week will be a great help. You may want to do some muscle-building weights work in the gym, but this is probably only appropriate for people used to this type of activity and is not a necessity for this trek.

Weekends and days off you should try to head for the hills. Try to walk for 6 to 8 hours, perhaps on consecutive days. Even try camping out on the nights in between, but be careful not to put yourself off the whole idea. Increase the pace, especially on uphill sections to increase your aerobic capacity. Use the boots that you will bring with you to Kilimanjaro so that they are well worn in.

Some guidebooks say that you should be able to run for half an hour without being out of breath. Don't be disheartened by this kind of talk ... many of us are not cut out for running and this is not an achievable goal. Remember that Kilimanjaro is a walk, not a run, but one which requires a higher than usual aerobic capacity due to the extreme altitude. Just get as fit as you reasonably can in the timescale available ... make it a priority and make the effort."