Training & Nutrition for the Mountains

Denali is a tough mountain - with extreme cold, little logistical support, technical challenges and objective hazards. Having good mountain experience (e.g. avalanche awareness, crevasse rescue and cramponing skills) combined with mental strength and robust physical condition are key to succeeding on the climb.

Unfortunately I live in London and not in the Alps so getting in quality mountain training days before a major expedition isn’t easy (although I did manage a bit of Winter Training in France / Scotland – see previous blogs). However there are lots of city-based exercises to do to strengthen up back, leg and core muscles in preparation for a long ascent. I’m not naturally the strongest person so I’m aware I need to work hard on this to keep up with the rest of the team. You know what they say: fail to prepare, prepare to fail!

My training programme since the start of the year has fallen into four main categories, mixing up both endurance and strength workouts:

1. Aerobic training: in the lead up to the marathon I was running three short distances (3 miles / 30mins) during the week with a longer training session at the weekend (8-18 miles). This has now reduced to a combination of bike rides and runs at least five times a week, each lasting a minimum of an hour. Most have just been on the road to/from work or along the Thames path but I love getting in a muddy trail run now and again! To be honest its still a slog to get out of bed and motivate myself onto the bike or for a morning run, but once I get going I find its the best way to clear my head, enjoy the fresh air, and blow off any stresses from the previous day.

2. Strength and conditioning: I’ve been training in the gym 3 days a week with Fitness First, doing 1x core session a week with floor exercises (e.g. walkouts, planks, side planks, bicycle kicks, heel touches) and 2x strength sessions lasting an hour - these are typically a combination of the following focusing on my leg and back muscles. Until this year I'd never done free weights sessions so it was a bit intimidating at first, but with some hands-on coaching from my trainers I feel much more confident and the hard work is really showing results.

Bulgarian split squats

Swiss ball hamstring curl with single leg raise

Single leg hip thrusts

Romanian deadlifts

Box jumps

Back squat with 40kg

Pull ups (assisted)

Negative push ups

TRX roll outs

Pallof presses

3. Hill workouts: Every weekend I aim to do 1-2 days hill walking, starting with 10kg and building up to 25kg in my backpack for 4-6 hours. There are some beautiful country walks just a short train ride away from London - I've found some great routes from the Saturday Walkers Club. A couple of the team have also been pulling tyres in practice for pulling the sleds but a heavy backpack and leg work as per above should also suffice.

4. Climbing: I love climbing and it’s a good all-round strength and cardio workout, so still aim for 1 indoor climbing session a week for around 2 hours at the Westway or Vauxwall.

Nutrition is also vital to progress whilst training – you are what you eat after all! I’m not a nutritionist so please don’t quote me on the below, but I have taken advice from a couple of professional nutritionists as well as realising that listening to my body and understanding what it needs (rather than wants in the short term!) is also key.

I focus on taking in complex carbohydrates such as oats and sweet potatoes. Having these for breakfast and lunch and then training late afternoon / evening provides time for the carbs to get digested and get to work, ensuring blood sugar levels are up and muscle glycogen levels are full prior to training.

I also aim for a good protein intake for ongoing muscle growth and repair such as eggs, chicken, and fish. Unfortunately I have a dairy intolerance so have to substitute milk for rice milk or coconut milk!

Shake it up! My morning staple is my shake. If I don’t have it I now feel so sluggish and tired. I try and mix up ingredients on a day-to-day basis to make it more interesting but generally include a combination of raspberries, blueberries, satsumas, bananas, spinach, coconut water, pomegranate, and mango. I add BioCare Body Balance powder in my shakes which provides metabolic support and aids recovery with chromium and whey protein. I also have a whey protein shake post any workout to kickstart muscle / tissue recovery.

A typical daily meal plan is as follows:

• Breakfast – quinoa / rolled oat porridge with blueberries and rice milk, fruit & veg shake with protein powder. Scrambled or poached egg on rye toast with spinach, mushrooms and avocado at weekends

• Lunch – salmon / tuna / chicken with quinoa / sweet potatoes/ brown rice and veg (usually leftovers from the night before although Vital and Leon also do great healthy alternatives!)

• Post workout – protein shake with banana

• Snacks – avocado, cashew nuts, pistachio nuts

• Dinner – beef casserole / lamb tagine, or salmon/ grilled chicken with quinoa / sweet potatoes / brown rice and lots of green veg (spinach / broccoli / green beans/spiralized courgette)

Of course I have “cheat days” too where I have a curry out for dinner with friends or a take-away Dominos pizza on the sofa, but these are moderated and feel like a treat rather than the norm. It’s also about having a healthy lifestyle and getting into the mindset of eating to fuel that rather than succumbing to cravings – which create highs and lows.

My body has been changing already since the start of the year - I’ve lost fat around my middle, my legs are thicker and my back muscles are bigger. I know this because a lot of my skirts and tops don’t fit anymore! My Mum even said I was starting to look like Kim Kardashian the other day (which I’m taking as a good thing as means my glutes are increasing!). More importantly however is how I feel on the inside: energised, focused, stronger. Yes some days I just want to stay in bed in the morning, or hit the pub rather than the gym, but I know the pain and dedication will be worth it and I can’t wait to see continued improvements over the course of the year. At the end of the day my body is my tool to perform - to get up the mountain and across the ocean - so I need to focus on it and treat it well to make sure I’m in the best condition possible to achieve my goals.

With special thanks to:

• Andy Bruce Coaching

• Andreas Strahle at Fitness First Cardinal Place

• Steve House & Scott Johnston, Training for the New Alpinism