Well a little after three weeks since I climbed Mt Kinabalu I have recovered fully and I’m back into my regular exercise regime. It was by far the hardest physical challenge I have put mybody through and as tough as it was, the achievement of getting to the top was well worth the 8km of pain. I still managed to feel proud of my efforts even though it was raining, freezing, cloudy and there was no spectacular sunrise anywhere in sight.

We set out at about 10am at an altitude of 1,866 meters and after the first kilometre I had serious doubts about my ability to get to the top. There was one stretch of stairs (see below) in particular which I found challenging. I’m not sure if the sight ahead of me scared the breath out of me or if it was the pace we were climbing at but when we reached the top of these stairs I was beginning to doubt whether the amount of preparation I had done would be enough. 

(more…)

My challenge is to climb Mt Kinabalu in Malaysia and make it to the top to see the sunrise. I’ve put my gym membership on hold and I’m putting Pilates to the test to see if it can prepare me for the challenge. So I’ve enlisted the help of Kim who has put together a Pilates program designed for hiking and mountain climbing.

We always say that Pilates can be applied to any sport and activity so I’m putting this into practice. I’ve got a lot on the line if I’m not strong enough then at worst I won’t make it to the top or maybe I’ll injure myself and at best I’ll struggle to walk the next day (I’m guessing this will be the case anyway).

At 4095 m above sea level it is the 20th tallest mountain in the world. As far as mountains go it’s suppose to be quite an easy climb but I’m still convinced it will be tough even though we begin at 1866m.

For those of you who have had Kim as an instructor you’ll know that she is tough and accurate so I brace myself for a challenging session. This is the first time I have done a private session with an instructor so I’m looking forward to some one-on-one attention.

Bridging - we start the session by doing some bridging to warm up my spine.

(more…)