Let's Get Physical
Training for an Antarctic Expedition
Not too long ago, I saw the Season 1 episode of Glee where Sue Sylvester covers the Olivia Newton John classic, “Physical,” and it’s playing in my head as I write.
If you'd like some mood music, you can watch a clip here from the Daily Beast:
So I have never really been the work-out type, but, a few months ago, I began a fitness regimen to get prepared for my Antarctic expedition.
This includes:
Bootcamp workouts 3x/week;
Personal Training 1-2x/week;
Running 2x/week;
Walking 6 miles wearing 15 pounds of ankle and wrist weights 2-3x/week;
Swimming and Fluid running 2x/week;
Yoga, Aerial Yoga, or Dance 2x/week.
In addition, I tried to add some “fun fitness” whenever possible. For example, I played Archery Tag with a big group of people this summer. (For those who haven’t tried it, 16 of us basically ran around a field with bows and foam-tipped arrows, trying to shoot each other!) Between the hot weather, foggy masks, and dodging of flying arrows from all directions, I worked up quite a sweat... all while having a blast!
A victorious team of archers, fresh from battle!
More recently, while in San Diego for the WAIS Divide conference, I tried surfing with Rachel (one of our team’s lead researchers), Ellyn (her student), and my cousin Abhishek (not pictured here).
Enjoying a shadow selfie with Rachel and Ellyn after an afternoon of surfing in La Jolla.
My version of “surfing” was really more like falling in the ocean with a surfboard in my general vicinity, but it was fun anyway. Rachel insists that we probably offset the sea level rise caused by global warming because we swallowed so much ocean water that day!
I will admit, though, I am very new to all of this. When I was young and growing up in small-town Illinois, I was always picked last for sports teams. In hindsight, it probably had more to do with my skin color than my athletic ability. Still, I formed early impressions of myself as being uncoordinated and bad at sports, which are hard to shake, even as an adult. As a result, I did not join many sports teams growing up, and never went to the gym!
So all of this preparation has been brand new and a bit awkward. It is a great opportunity for growth and personal transformation, which is ultimately what the PolarTREC experience is about. So I’ve managed to stick with it, and expect to do so until I hit the ice!
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