Talking To The Trainer
In the months leading up to this epic journey down the American Cordillera, Mark worked to ensure that mentally and physically he would be able to cope with the intense demands of expedition cycling and extreme mountain climbing.
After completing the round the world record cycle Mark needed to get his body back into balance after the particular rigours of cycling almost every single day around the world. Craig Ali is the personal trainer who worked with Mark to help him prepare for all the adventures to come. We caught up with the Craig to find out about Mark's recovery from the world cycle and the tough training regime developed for cycling the Americas.
Upon meeting Mark, Craig could see his drive and ambition, and knew whatever he set out to do Mark had the motivation to achieve it. This mental strength was key to Mark's success in achieving the world record and would play an important part in his next trip. Craig says about Mark,
"We quickly realised that sometimes you can't help that it's going to be really challenging mentally. We are very lucky that Mark has a crazy gene inside of him, which makes him keep on going."
Furthermore, Mark's perspective and his willingness to try new things were the most encouraging aspects Craig found in his training, saying,
"...he doesn't believe he knows it all, he is open to learning, he's open to different ideas and always open to developing as an athlete."
They had to ensure that Mark could physically cope with the huge task in front of him. The record breaking round-the-world cycle proved his fitness for endurance cycling, but climbing Mount McKinley and Aconcagua would be a completely new challenge. This would require strength and fitness in different muscle groups as well as different skills. However, Craig feels that though challenging, climbing may have some benefits;
"....it might be good in the long run, the fact he is not in a predominately fixed position on the bike, as if he was in just one fixed position he would be creating damage to all the same muscles, something like climbing is using a lot of different muscles and will help him create that balance a little bit more."
Regaining Mark's posture and flexibility after the world cycle was an important aspect of their training. Craig explained that the body isn't designed to be hunched over on bike for months on end, so it was important that Mark recovered from this before setting out on a new challenge.
Mark must ensure that his muscles recover from the constant battering and knocks on the road. In addition to finding 6000 calories every day, his routine includes a programme of simple daily exercises developed by Craig to help maintain his physical health throughout his mammoth journey.
We will catch up with Craig later in the year as the miles start to add up, and find out how the pair are managing the physical demands on Mark's body.
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