One of my passions is keeping fit and I also believe in the importance of setting myself challenges outside the working environment. Doing mountaineering, ice climbing, snowboarding and yacht racing allows me to put a perspective on life and to see interesting parts of the world.
Why a personal trainer?
Having a personal trainer has given my weekly exercise more structure. But more than that — it’s completely changed my fitness. Although I had been a regular gym user for most of my adult life, it became clear to me that I needed to be more than “gym fit” if I wanted to climb mountains under extreme conditions and at high altitude.
My journey to the top of the Matterhorn begins . . .
I started using Thabian in March 2008, with my sights set on climbing the 14,692ft Matterhorn just a few months later. Thabian introduced me to such concepts as nutrition, core strength, cardio–vascular exercise and interval training. He also identified the specific exercises I needed to do for climbing and tailored my training to this type of extreme sport.
On my first attempt to climb the Matterhorn in July 2008, bad weather prevented me from reaching the summit. I missed it by a mere 150 meters, but I successfully reached the summit of the nearby Breithorn.
Pushing me harder pays off
On my return from the Matterhorn, Thabian worked hard to build up both my physical and cardio vascular strength. My reps in the gym had gone from 12 to 15 and we had now introduced power sets with little rest between exercising. I was truly being pushed.
In January 2009 I completed two ice–climbing challenges that required strength and stamina — Bielsa and Cirque De Gavanie on the border of France and Spain. My training with Thabian was paying off — I felt strong and quick, and my confidence was growing. I really felt that all my hard work with Thabian was paying off.
Targeted training helps me realise my Matterhorn dream
In March 2009 I successfully reached the summit of Mount Lenana, Point John and Mount Kenya in Africa. While there I felt fit, and where I was losing my breath on the Matterhorn almost a year ago, here I was finding things easier going.
Thabian’s sessions were paying off — my exercise routine, cardio vascular work and the upper body exercises that Thabian had specifically put together for me were helping me climb these inspiring peaks.
Thanks to all my hard training with Thabian, my fitness had become excellent. In July 2009, I finally realised my dream of climbing the Matterhorn.
I can honestly say that working with Thabian has changed my experience of climbing.
