Raw Training – The New Programme

Sunday, 18 May 2008 - Photo: Mark, North Pole, 2004

Over the weekend I received my training programme for the next seven months and I love it. It is hard; but as soon as it hit my email I couldn’t wait to start.

To explain why, I’d have to bring you back 22 years to my 10th birthday party, when a gaggle of children and I watched Rocky IV in the cinema. I haven’t seen the film since, but this training programme brought back great memories of Rocky’s story.

The story contrasts the raw training regime of Rocky Balboa with the scientific approach of his opponent Ivan Drago from The Soviet Union. Whilst Drago is attached to electrodes and monitored by computers during training, Rocky uses whatever he can get his hands on to train hard. He climbs ropes, does chin ups from the rafters in an old barn, runs through deep snow, chops wood and pulls stone filled sledges up mountains. No prizes for guessing who wins!

When I could see and I was rowing competitively, I was tested in sports science labs. My test results were translated into training programmes, often controlled by strict heart rate targets. Similarly, many of the training programmes that I have attempted to follow since losing my sight are based on either controlled heart rates or progressive speed targets.

But, I cannot read a heart rate monitor and I cannot find one that speaks to me. I cannot read the electronic feedback on gym equipment and therefore I have no idea if I’m making progress. As a result, I have struggled to benefit from a conventional training programme and I don’t find them particularly motivating.

Regardless, the race to the South Pole will be as much about toughening my head as my body. Yesterday, I experienced that mix of physical and mental challenge as I did my first ‘pulling session’. No heart rate monitors, just maximum effort.

I joined my training partner Simon O’Donnell (who has also designed my training programme) at 2pm in his rugby club. The sun was beating down and we prepared for the session with a 10 minute warm-up run. After the warm-up, the harnesses and two large punch bags came out, along with two really heavy dumbbells.

The idea was to do a circuit: first, pulling the punch bag for a minute at maximum speed; then, carrying the dumbbells with straight arms as far as possible in 30 seconds; followed by a run around the perimeter of two rugby pitches.

Simon linked me up to my punch bag and he got hooked up to his. We were side by side and in the first one I pushed on as hard as I could. It sounds short in time, but my legs were screaming with pain and we had only started the session – facing into a world of pain! We completed the first circuit with the 30 second dumbbell carry and the perimeter run, by which time I was feeling brutal. We had six more to do.

As we finished the last run I retched three times… (I always think if you get to the retching stage then it is well worth being fully sick). Now, I am dreading the next ‘pulling session’ but also, strangely, I’m excited to see how I am progressing.

So, I’m not saying that there is any Rocky style wood chopping in my training schedule… yet! But, there is sledge pulling, there are chin ups (at the moment being done on a bar across the open hatch of the attic in my house), there are endurance sessions building up to 10 hours with a pack on and I will be training in the snow next week in Norway.

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