Leadership at high altitude requires even more from the leader than in ”normal” case. As a guide or expedition leader you must be a step before. The most important quality will be to know and understand yourself (and that doesn’t matter if your a leader or a participant). You must challenge your self with your shortcomings and fears.

Leadership means knowing yourself in details..

In the mountains you will be exposed to different type of fears. So you need to be prepared. A skilled leader has a trained body and mind for unexpected situations.

So how can you prepare for that? Well, you need to improve your mental strength. And how can that be done?

The body is important to train, bur if you don’t train your mental strength you got stacked.

1. Be positive, really really positive..Focus on positive things, and your positive characterises.

2. Focus only on what you can control. The remedy is to be in the moment, and let the nature take its course. focus on your approach and attitude…

3.  Keep your emotional level steady. The key is to distance yourself from the game just enough so that you’re not swept away with the emotional tides. Visualize remaining calm and composed in even the biggest situations. Act like you’ve been in those situations a hundred times, and eventually you’ll feel like it too.

4. Enjoy the big moments. When you having a good time enjoy it. When you have a training session that feels good enjoy it and bring the feeling with you.

5. A prepared mind is a more confident mind. Self-confidence is your ability to influence the world around you. 

6. Forget about how you might look. Don’t bather about what other think about you. do it your way…

7. Have a short memory. Do not dwell things, get it over and move on. this you really need to train…

8.  Don’t expect perfect circumstances. What you have is what you have. Mental toughness is really just about approaching the game from the right perspective. The next time you step out onto the field, ignore the score, focus being in the moment and tell that little, criticizing and excuse-seeking voice in your head to shut the hell up. You’ll be glad you did.

And the training and challenge this week? Well 10 workouts 610 minutes, Friday was as usual a tough day. 30 minutes, pull-ups, push-ups, bear walks forwards and backwards. Anthony, the challenge is on, the rowing machine will be my challenge for this week. I know the target…

This week challenge rowing-Machine..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSzrJz7ZQ0U

See ya soon..

 

 

A real hard week of training. 11 workouts within 6 days. 670 minutes it was. The Evolve is really tough. Friday it was a competition rowing, punting and cycling. Ugh…And now over to this week challenge:

A combined training, a so called jungle-track. Hill running, strength and elasticity training. Burpees, Pull-ups, high jumps etc.

Running..yes…climbing…yes!!

Technique and strength combined…

And now a bit of humility. One of the most important character a mountaineerer must have, will be humility. You must understand yourself, and others. You must be able to admit your shortcoming. And what skills you need to keep developing. This together with moving limitations in your mind. And as well beware of your partners shortcoming as well, and provide them with your knowledge and friendship to develop them.

Humility one very important characteristic for a real mountaineerer.

The top of Matterhorn, it is a quite small area…

Enjoy this film and think about Guillaume Dargauds quote:

The difference between climbers and normal workers is that climbers are glad of the Mondays, so they can rest.

See ya soon, and on Wednesday there will be something about mountaineering and leadership..

 

This will be all about training today. For becoming a good mountaineerer good physics is a subject. The training can be divided into three main areas. Endurance, strength and technique and also mental-training. If you going to a special mountain or area, you need to adept your training for special area. But for being fit for every adventure I will help you out with a suggestion.

First of all you must start at your own level. You must build up your body. That is best performed by endurance to begin with. Running is a conceptual base. At least three times a week is a must.

You can do hill training, cross-county training. Long running with back packing. track-running etc. Let the season help you with variation. Skiing, skating, rowing, swimming. Just  build up with longer workouts etc.

The strength and technique is very important. Here you build up your body to be able to carry your back pack. To reach the summit you aiming for…Work with the big muscles group. Legs, biceps, triceps etc. Low weight in the beginning and increase. Bench-press, deadlift, chins, kettlebell exercises, dips. This will be my suggestion to do at least twice a week.

The mental-training can be guided meditation, or target mobilisation and mind focusing.

And now we come to the essence, the absolute best is the combination of the three areas. The endurance can provide you the mental training. Move your comfort zone, keep on longer. Or train in stupid times such as night or very early morning time. This will help you to move your limitations. Train with a partner and challenge him or she with new ways of training. This will help you as well.

In the gym the combination will be to use the facilities in the gym.

Using the row-machine as well as the stair-master will help you to combine the strength and endurance at the gym. Another suggestion from my side will be to always use a backpack when training.

Get used by always got your friend Mr backpack near yourself..

This will strengthen you more, and your bode will get used of carrying it. The most important thing is to always challenge yourself with new ways of training. Your body has a very good habit of adept to the training you do, so you must trick with it:-). Hope I have encourage you to develop your training. I’ve been having muscle soreness in  three weeks (sv. träningsvärk) regards to the Evolve training set up. So that was good for me:-)

Something worth training for:

See ya soon..

 

The evolve training continues, and this week it has been eight workouts within six days. All together 560 minutes. The tough training have some impact at the moment of how hard the challenges will be..

This week it has been kettle-bell and lots of barbells exercises.

Good strength training for upcoming winter season..

But this week challenge was:

This week the challenge was combined training. 7×1,1km with 5 minutes strength at the outdoor gym. Real good, and felt tired, tired afterwards…

At the moment I will test the Patagonia mixed guide hoody. A jacket with softshell and Gore-Tex..

A jacket with a interesting mixed solution, I will come back with review result..

And this weeks training music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkG6Da3-AU8

Train for the winter challenges, see ya soon..

Prepair and do the workout for the winter season, train insane…

 

 

 

A real tough week with 10 workouts and 624 minutes. This week challenge has given me a new perspective of my training and my approach to it. It is real good to think in new ways. So I will continue with the Evolve.

Evolve, when you ready to challenge your self..

Number three: Evolve…

Now I am planning for this week challenge, and I have some interesting thing in my mind..

Expeditions for the environment or for the own promotion. Today we can see more and more expedition etc. that is motivate for the environment. But I must challenge the thinking, flying to sensitive areas for that reason make me think that it is not for the environment, there are other drivers in that.

Expedition for the right reason?…

The Swedish outdoor magazine have decide to move the whole editorial staff from Åre to Stockholm. I wonder how that will affect the content. The night train has been stopped and now this….

Black diamond has done a inspirational film from Sylarna in Sweden. Enjoy it here

Peak Performance Black Light series has the new fall collection in stores.

Peak Performance Black Light jacket….

And at last a nice photograph from Kebnekaise..

A nice view from the path up to Kebnekaise South peak. (photo by Fredrik Neregård)

See ya soon and keep up for the new challenge…