Energy levels fluctuate when working out which need to be compensated by refuelling. Therefore, I planned meal times around exercising, which was the most effective for me. In the morning, I skipped breakfast (even though some say it’s the most important meal of the day), and instead had it at 3:30pm as a snack. This was two slices of toasted brown bread and two scrambled eggs. I didn’t mind the little bit of carbohydrates and some good fat because I knew it will be easily burned. After work, I was ready for training. Unbelievably, a sugar top-up (with the KitKat) was all I needed before heading to the gym around 6:30pm. Post-gym meal was grilled chicken with plenty of salad, or alternatively 100 grams of cauliflower rice with some curry. Low carbs diet it is. That closed the night, but if I was still peckish, a fruit such as plum or nectarine always sufficed. A green tea before bed worked its magic over night. Additionally, whenever peckish anytime of the day, I picked up fruit instead of an unhealthy chocolate bar—a habit of the past.

I scheduled training 5-6 days a week in order to obtain the desired level of fitness and hit particular weight goals. Making a weight is important as this will help especially when taking part in high altitude mountaineering. WHY? Ok let’s break it down. Bigger muscles require higher levels of oxygen to function. Mountains with high altitudes have less oxygen in the air, reducing the higher you get. For example, Mount Elbrus is 5,642 metres high and the oxygen content at 5,500 metres is said to be 50{a73fb613b078a2ede63c92d1cd9165a9dd9752b97ca8d1984b381938094424a8} less than what we breathe at sea level. A lack of oxygen and bulky muscles that need more oxygen poses some problems. Equipped with this knowledge, I knew weight loss was necessary to reduce muscle and be more mobile. However, the task isn’t as easy as it sounds. On the mountain, with the possibility of walking from 6 hours to 12 hours per day, I needed strength, stamina and endurance just as much as I needed the weight loss.
My training consisted of outdoor running two to three times a week; each run was 5-7km and lasted 25-35 minutes. The running was topped off with extra cardio by cross-training, possibly for another 30 to 40 minutes. The days I didn’t run outside, it was cross-training for one hour and possibly topped off with a 3km run on treadmill; for me this was interval training with high speed. I ran in increments of one minute at 23kph and stopped for up to 30 seconds.
Tip for all: Buy some a heart rate monitor to analyse exercise. A Fitbit Charge 3 and Jabra Elite Sport are excellent. Keeping the heart rate at peak level will not only get you fitter but will help breathing techniques. This will be practice for when you’re on a mountain and you’re feeling out of breath due to the lower oxygen content. Heart rate monitors will track and display each exercise so you will know if you’re at the peak heart rate. I have never been to a high altitude mountain or knew how it would affect me, however given the knowledge I had of what could happen this seemed the right way to go about it.
Lastly, I did strength training which was a mix of light weights and higher reps, as well as some heavy sets. I worked on all the muscles throughout the body if I could fit it in because my body was getting leaner and losing bulk with the running. So I topped it up by doing weights to gain more strength without adding mass. It is important to work out upper body, as well as lower. Although with the running and dieting, I noticed that stomach fat reduced but I wasn’t happy with the rate so I upped the game by speeding up the process. This was done through lots of sit-ups, flat and declined, and various leg raises. While planks are boring, they are very beneficial. To begin with, I disliked them because it was hard, and although they’re easy now, I get bored doing them.
Currently, through all this exercise and having returned from Russia, I am running more frequently in greater distances because I love running, and preparing for expeditions in the coming months. Runs have been increased from 5k to 10k and even 12k.
It is important to note that the right balance of nutrition and exercise will vary individually. Remember this worked for me but might not be the case for you. Add and subtract things until you find your balance. Keep a balanced diet with the right amount of exercise. Eating healthy meals will reflect in your training. Always remember you are what you eat!

1k – 3:17
3k – 11:50
5k – 20:02
10k – 43:26
15k – 1:07:28
20k – 1:31:51

Half Marathon – 1:36:45
Marathon – 3:37:47

1 Mi – 5:52
10 Mi – 1:12:44
Always striving to better myself although timing isn’t important it’s an indication of improvment. That should be enough motivation to keep going.
These times are from several different runs.