Fitness and Training

March 13, 2000 Byron and his physical trainer Les Gramantik demonstrate what it takes to get to the top.

Training cycle
Byron works out six days a week, following a fitness routine that has been designed for him by his trainer, Les Gramantik.

Les is the Director for Athletics, National Sport Council, Calgary; Head Coach of Athletics at the University of Calgary; and head Coach of the Canadian Track and Field Team.

Les says the Everest 2000 training protocol was developed based on a review of Byron's past training regime as well as an analysis of the physical needs for the climb.

"Overall, Byron has superior physical capacities and a superb work ethic; consequently, it was my role to create a program with adequate rest and recovery to prevent over-training as well as to provide new challenges to keep the program fresh and interesting." -Les Gramatic, personal trainer

Les regularly revises Byron's training program to make sure that he is building a core of strength, flexibility and endurance.

The program is organized around 3-week training cycles, demonstrating the load-recovery principal. In each cycle two of the weeks are hard (load) and one is easy (recovery).

The hard training weeks consist of six training days, Monday to Saturday, with Sunday off for recovery. Since January, Les has scheduled Friday as an additional day off on the easy weeks. Byron usually takes Sunday as a "climb day" on those weeks.

The work volume is the main driving force of the program, meaning that during the easy week, Byron reduces the volume (amount) of work, rather than the intensity of the exercises. The weekly program alternates between development of aerobic capacity and strength training.

For aerobic work, Byron uses a stationary bike, treadmill, step-master and occasionally goes for a run.

Weight training

As he prepared for Everest 2000, the biggest change in Byron's training protocol came from the introduction of a more complex weight lifting routine. This program incorporates some of the basic strength exercises such as leg press and bench press but it also includes exercises that are applied to strengthen body posture and other specific climbing needs.

Most of these are carried out with free weights to improve the neuro-muscular coordination of the body. To compliment the overall program, Les has developed a series of abdomen and back strengthening programs together with specific stretching drills. These are executed by the body alone or with the assistance of medicine ball.

1. Cardio
   Six days a week- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
   • Running, stationary bike, stepper
   • Up to 2 1/2 hours a day
   • High heart rate 155 bpm to 175 bpm

2. Weight Training
   Three days a week Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
   • 1 hour 20 minutes

3. Abdominal & Back series
   Five days a week Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday
   • Abdominal complex
   • Back complex
   • 30 minutes a day

4. Connective Tissue Series
   Five days a week