When looking at training the Ice team, all 7 components of fitness (flexibility,
endurance, skill, stamina, strength, speed and power) need to be addressed – not
paying sufficient attention to even one of these components could lead to areas
of weakness, imbalance and leave the team prone to injury.
Physical Fitness Training gallery, photos of team and expedition.
Where possible the specific techniques/exercises need to mimic movements and tasks
carried out on the ice. This not only ensures that the muscles and joints get used
to the range of movement but it also aids mental preparation. Functional exercises
will naturally start to develop coping mechanisms to overcome the tedious nature
of the expedition.
Polar-specific exercises such as towing and hauling tyres over uneven ground, coupled
with more conventional endurance training methods should ensure the team are in
optimum mental and physical condition for departure in early February.
individual portofolio picture for account holder
|
Jon Stratford, a former Physical Training Instructor at the Royal Marines Commando
Training Centre, Lympstone, is working as the personal trainer to Pen, Ann and Martin.
With experience of Arctic Warfare training, Jon understands the conditions that
the team will encounter, and personalises their regimes accordingly with specific-to-task
exercises. The tough yet progressive nature of these sessions aims to incrementally
develop the stamina and power required for a physical undertaking of this magnitude.
Optimal performance requires a balance between cardiovascular endurance to drag
sledges for over 100 days and core strength to haul the same sledges over jagged
pressure ridges and broken terrain.
|
Complimenting his individually-tailored daily training programmes, Jon also monitors
the team members’ progress during a variety of two-hour physical work-outs on a
weekly basis. To minimise the potential for muscular injury, he stresses the necessity
of a good warm-up and cool-down, as well as advocating the importance of timely
calorie intake after training to replace expended energy, aid recovery and promote
continued physiological development.
As Martin lives and works in London away from the rest of the Devon-based team,
he cannot always attend Jon’s sessions. Therefore to provide the continuity and
motivation that a personal trainer affords, Martin also uses the services of Dr
Jenny Hewitt, who specialises in exercise physiology.
Physiological Assessments
Changes in the team’s fitness are monitored through a series of physiological assessments
conducted by Dr Daryl Wilkerson of the School of Sport & Health Sciences at the
University of Exeter.
Under controlled laboratory conditions, a series of tests are conducted to measure
a range of physical attributes, including lactate threshold and VO2 max.
So far, the team have each undergone an initial assessment. They will also be re-tested
to check for progress in Dec 08 and just prior to departure in Feb 09.
Likewise, the physiological impact of the expedition will be determined with a further
laboratory visit immediately upon their return to the UK, with a later follow-up
session to determine the body’s ability to recover from such a prolonged period
of physical activity in such an extreme environment.
|
|
|
|
Thursday, 09th April 2009
|
|
Spring in our step
Posted by
Pen Hadow
It’s hard to believe I’m feeling so much better because temperatures here have risen to -24 degrees C! By any standard that’s not exactly warm, but it feels like a new world compared to the -40!...more
|
Tuesday, 24th March 2009
|
|
No Go
Posted by
Ian Wesley
Up at the crack of an Arctic dawn today. Today is the day that I'm going to see the ice team – or so I thought....more
|
Monday, 16th March 2009
|
|
Utterly bombproof
Posted by
Pen Hadow
I once described Martin during a press conference as “utterly bombproof in a polar environment”, a remark that I stand by to this day. Not only does he capture the very essence of the moment in his images, be it action, emotion or event, he does so in the most inhospitable of conditions. Where others fade and head to warmer climates, Martin comes to the fore, delivering awe-inspiring images despite the bitter cold and cutting winds....more
|
Saturday, 14th March 2009
|
|
Fractures
Posted by
Simon Harris-Ward
At around 2200 local time, as Pen, Ann and Martin lay in their tent, they felt the ice vibrating dramatically underneath them and heard the all too familiar screeching sound of grating ice floes......more
|
Tuesday, 03rd March 2009
|