Unlimited Potential, Up to 8000m

Following up with my previous post, and to please all those who asked me specific details about my training plan, today I’m sharing the training schedule I built with the help of my friend Ismael Blanco six weeks back. Ismael is a certified Master Trainer on Functional Training, and he holds many years of experience working as personal trainer in Dubai and Spain.

The plan is divided in stages of 5 weeks with the last one being a regenerative week. Total length is 14 weeks starting from Dec 30^th. Today I’m in the final section of the first stage, in what we called regenerative week, with active recovery and some laziness and chocolate whims 😛

This table contains the schedule for this first stage. I’ll share more info on the schedule for the upcoming weeks as I finalize details on the second stage and get ready to kick it off this Sunday Feb 3rd

These are very simple and effective rules I strictly followed during the last five weeks.

Morning:

Squeezed lemon + Protein + Fruit + Oats + Laban

During the day:

Pasta/rice/potatoes + Meat/fish + Vegs + Fruit (4-5 fresh/dried) + Healthy fats (nuts/olives/avocado/olive oil) + yogurt/cheese/eggs

Before Training:

Fuel (Gu Gel) + Prehydrate

During Training:

Refuel (Gu Roctane Gel & Brew) + Rehydrate (Gu Roctane Gel & Gu Electrolyte Brew)

After training:

Rehydrate (Gu Electrolyte Brew& Gu Recovery Brew)

Stretch

Carbohidrate + Aminoacids + Protein (Gu Recovery Brew + dinner + glutamine)

Good Sleep (8+h)

You are what you eat!

As for the diet, I have decided to stick to the classic food pyramid that we used to study in the old school days, and I have printed it out and taped it in my fridge

Eat a little of everything

Breakfast should provide at least 20-25% of the day’s energy intake, lunch 35-40%, dinner 25-30% and the snacks about 10 to 15%.

Eat foods from the 7 groups every day :

• Meat and poultry, fish products, eggs
• Fruits and vegetables
• Bread, cereals, potatoes and dried vegetables
• Milk and dairy products
• Additional fatty substances
• Sweet foods
• Drinks

Cereal products, potatoes and dried vegetables should be taken as main source of carbohydrates, and make up more than half of the daily energy intake.

Eat at least 4 or 5 fruits and vegetables per day to benefit from their nutritional qualities: vitamins A, B group and C, potassium, water and fiber content

Every day include at least two foods from the “meat, fish, eggs” group in your menu for the protein and iron content.

A simple way to organize my dinner, which becomes a very important meal since I have it at night right after training and stretching, is to prepare the menu always incorporating the following products

• Dairy / eggs
• Fish / legume
• Olive oil / olives
• Fruit (fresh / dried)

I try to avoid meat at night, and I have fish only I haven’t during the day. Legumes are high GI foods, those that release glucose more slowly and steadily and thus more efficient for energy recovery after exercise, and they are among the best protein sources in the plant kingdom.

This is a short list with foods I normally include in my diet:
Pasta, Iranian rice, baked/boiled potatoes, chicken/lamb/veal/fish skewers, mixed salads with olive oil, beans salad, red lentils stews, garden peas, edamane, chickpeas, hummus, tomato salad with fresh mozzarela, smoked/cured ham, turkey, cured cheese, organic eggs, smoked salmon, sardines in olive oil, smoked herring, smoked oysters, mussels, avocado, olives, pickles, laban/yogurt, rye/fitness bread, oat cookies and crackers, oat bran, flaxseed, fresh/dried fruit, dates, raisings, squeezed lemon with warm water, soya milk with dates juice, tomato juice, soda water, red wine, beer

Protein

Increasing protein consumption to gain muscular mass must in any case last a maximum of 6 months and must not exceed 3 g of protein/kg/day to avoid liver and kidney problems. This is something very important to consider when incorporating dietary supplements in the diet such us whey protein. Some studies have suggested that whey protein may possess anti-inflammatory or anti-cancer properties, and that’s why I prefer its consumption vs soy protein. Soy protein contains phytoestrogens, which bind to estrogen receptors in the body, I don’s see myself tomorrow having a nice pair of boobies

Key points for a good recovery

Glucose and high GI carbohydrates (those that quickly raise blood sugar levels) , combined with proteins if possible, to resynthesize muscle and liver glycogen reserves.

Proteins to ensure repair of muscular micro-lesions arising during exercise.

Electrolytes to compensate for losses through perspiration and to avoid cramps.

Vitamins to restore losses caused through exercise.

Before the most intensive training sessions

Diet must be rich in medium GI carbohydrates. Eat as loads of pasta and rice, combined with food from the other groups of food (Meat/fish + Vegs + Fruit (4-5 fresh/dried) + Healthy fats (nuts/olives/avocado/olive oil) + yogurt/cheese/eggs).

The last meal 2 hours before training must be low in lipids and dietary fiber, to facilitate the digestion and prevent gastric annoyances from appearing during the training session, and rich in carbohydrates with medium to high GI foods.

Intake while waiting (2 h to 30 min before the event) consists of drinking water every 30 minutes, maybe accompanied by biscuits, cereal bars, a yogurt and/or a very ripe fruit.

30 to 15 minutes before the start of the training session, I have 250ml of Gu Electrolyte Brew and one Gu Energy Gel.

During the most intensive training sessions

For the last few weeks I’ve incorporated the amazing set of Gu Performance products as an supplement before, during and after the training. During the 3h endurance training I have 700ml Roctane Ultra Endurance brew (Lemon Lime) plus one Roctane Ultra Endurance Energy Gel (Blueberry Pomegranate) in the middle of the session. 700ml is not enough for 3h of extremely intensive training, sweating like hell in the staircase, so I have an additional 500ml bottle with one Electrolyte Brew Tablet (Lemon Lime) to drink in between sets during the 1min rest time, and on my back back home I have some extra. Right after I get home and finish my shower, I have 500ml GU Recovery Brew (Strawberry Watermelon) while I’m doing 1h stretching and foam roller session. All flavors I tested so far are delicious, with the exception of the Electrolyte Brew Tablet that I put in a North Face bottle, which tastes like plastic, but its fine in aluminum bottles, not my favorite though. Orange is simply delicious and my friends love it when we go hiking. The Blueberry Pomegranate Roctane Gel is kind of weird, but not bad at all, while the other flavors are all very natural. First time I had a Peanut Butter Gu Enery Gel 15 minutes before training, I thought the taste is so good that I wanted to have few more. I love having a big range of flavors since otherwise I´d get tired of using these supplements during my Everest expedition.

All these products really work well for me, and what it’s super important up there, they taste good and do not upset my stomach. Energy gels and other supplements have to be tasty and caloric, but we have to be cautious with certain aliments that require big amounts of water to be digested, or those responsible to food allergies and gastric disorders. When the effects of high altitude are kicking, one of the last things you want to do is eating. Here is when the natural taste and high caloric intake of products like Gu Roctane become so useful. I perfectly remember when I was doing a speed winter climb of Mt Damavand in Iran, and I jumped out from my house in Dubai, very close to the beach, to the summit of that gigantic volcano ((5610m) in 32h. The lack of sleep and moving so fast to that altitude, completely shut down our digestive system. I had Isostar gels and dried strawberries and we did our way down safely because of that delicious frosty fruit. The extremely sweet taste of the gel did NOT help fighting the lack of appetite
Gu Pure Performance Energy products are distributed in UAE by Sport In Life, distributors of Polar Heart Rate Monitors, 2XU Performance Gear, Zefal, Nathan Sports, and Aqualyte. They have a nice online shop SportSouq.ae and Facebook page to keep us updated with events and their passion for sport. Today I’m very happy to say I’m proudly sponsored by Sport in Life, and we are working together to find the best combination of performance products that help me achieving my training goals and reaching the summit of Mt Everest.

“ I’m climbing Mt Everest (8848m) from Tibet Side for Cancer Research UK because defeating cancer is yet a higher mountain to climb “