Challenging New Years
Without a doubt, all of us have read at least one blog or article or watched one program about setting New Years Goals. I am not about to weigh in on the advice from the various pundits. But I will tell you what I have done and am in the process of doing. I gained weight during the holidays, I always do. I eat more (and not “good for you” more) and I train less; not an unexpected result. I feel sluggish after the holidays as a result of #1. I start back into the training at an easy pace. I pick a date to get back to a healthy diet, and usually I allow myself to keep cheating until January 1st (let’s be serious, with treats everywhere at home and at work it is hard to resist). I read a lot of workouts and climbing technique articles over the break...
Outside Training
The best way to train for climbing is to climb: a common comment in the climbing world. Pick up any book by any of the world’s great climbers on training from Mark Twight to Will Gadd and you will find some form of that comment. So with that in mind, I went climbing. After a long week on the road for work (Saskatoon, Regina, Saskatoon, Lethbridge, Calgary), I picked up my climbing partner late Friday night at the Calgary airport and the next morning at 4:45 am we headed out of Calgary up the ice fields highway to find some ice. For Jeff and I, who are both Saskatoon climbers (is that an oxymoron?), this would be our first time on ice this season and we were not interested in hitting anything epic. (We also felt that this being the first ice climb of the...
Mixing things up
Like many people I travel for work, and last week landed me in Lethbridge for a couple of days. Trevor Stuart is an old friend that I did a couple of trekking peaks with, including Kilimanjaro. I noticed from his Facebook posts that he is training hard for another adventure, so I sent him a message to see if I could join in a training session with him while on the road. Training on the road is hard, so to help me stay dedicated I try to partner up. Sometimes if it is only me I will let things slide. But if you commit to train with a partner, you do not want to let the partner down so you always show up. When I do this I ask to work in on their routine, I am the guest and I am just happy I have someone to help motivate me. Trevor is training hard: at six in...
Workout #1
I remember now. I remember the pain of training hard, except this time I am two years older and I have cranked the speed and incline level. In 2010, I was the expedition leader on a private trip to Mount McKinley in Alaska. We had a strong team and tapped the top. I trained hard for that mountain with similar goals as I have for Everest. The training was a less intense version of this sample workout below. Everest is higher, and I am older, so I must try harder. Or at least that is what I tell myself. The mountain doesn’t care if I have not trained hard enough, it is not going to get easier. So here goes: Warm up on a vibration trainer, then move to a treadmill. Min. 1 – Speed 3.5 –Incline 3.0 – WALKING Min. 2 – Speed 3.6 –Incline 3.5-...
3 Goals
My experience at high altitude has taught me that in order to be successful, I need to focus on being healthy and taking care of my body while up there. It may seem obvious to do this, but my hardest climbs have been when I did not pay attention to my body properly. This is harder than you may think, as a long expedition grinds you down and you lose focus and discipline. To give myself the best chance at staying healthy, I am focusing my training and diet for three results: Increase Endurance Increase my V02 max or maximal oxygen uptake (this is the body’s ability to transport and use oxygen when exercising, an important thing when you’re in thin air) Put on muscle so my body has fuel to cannibalize at altitude You may be thinking, “Huh? Put on muscle to...
Intro to Training
Steve Whittington, Flaman’s VP of Marketing and an avid mountain climber, will face one of his biggest challenges in March when he attempts to climb Mount Everest. Part of that challenge lies in the vigourous training he will under go in the next few months to prepare. Steve will be sharing his training journey with us in a series of blog posts; all the ups and downs, struggles and successes. We hope this inspires you to climb your own “mountain” – whether it’s a tough physical task like Steve’s, or simply losing those last 5 pounds in your weight loss goal. In less than a month I will be 39. I started climbing later in life, at 29, and it seems as I get older I keep climbing harder lines and bigger mountains. I will admit,...