Training

If you want to pull a 180 kg sled through the snow in -30C for 14 hours a day, every day for 11 weeks, you need to be pretty well prepared. John will use an average of 8,000 calories a day, and up to 12,000 a day in the early stages, much the same as running 4 marathons.

Being able to sustain such energy expenditure requires significant training. John needs to be as efficient as possible, powerful, with great endurance and a cast iron mental attitude. In order to get him to this position John is working with a team of three experts:

Dr Andy Middlebrooke (www.exercisescienceconsulting.co.uk), is a consultant physiologist to UK Athletics and lectures at Exeter University. He has worked with Olympic Gold Medallists and world record holders. Andy is responsible for planning and monitoring John’s physical training program.

Tim Edbrooke (www.timedbrookephysiotherapy.co.uk), elite sports physiotherapist. Tim is fundamental in minimising the training time lost by John through injury.

Dr Tim Rees (www.people.ex.ac.uk/tjrees0/), Senior Lecturer in Sports Psychology at Exeter University. Helping John develop techniques to attain and maintain a strong mental discipline, which will be as important as his physical strength.

More than six months before the expedition John concentrates on developing his general aerobic and resistance training conditioning. He then moves onto further improving his aerobic capacity and absolute strength. With 15 weeks to go the emphasis is on power development and, for the final 8 weeks the training becomes near full-time as John maximises his endurance economy and strength.

Crucially the training program has been developed from past polar experience to ensure that John obtains the maximum benefit in the range of exercise intensity that he will be undergoing the most. Given the vital importance of keeping the sled weight to a minimum, enhancing the efficiency of John’s body is crucial.

Developments in the training program will be covered from time to time in the diary