by Clance Laylor

Recently, Laylor Performance Systems had the honor to take part in the training of 6 amazing women who were preparing to climb Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. ëWow!í That was my reaction when I heard of this incredible feat. What were these ladies thinking?! After consulting them, I had found out. They were professionals from all walks of life. They were also mothers, wives and daughters, who were at a point in their life where they wanted to do one thing for themselves and no-one else. Their whole lives have been spent on others, this time they were going to achieve something just for them.

I am not sure they understood the type of training we had in mind for them but, let me tell you, whatever we threw at them they took head on. We pushed them to their potential and you can only imagine some of the words that came out of their mouths during our sessions! Lets just say for that that hour, their trainer was not exactly their favorite person.

We worked from the inside out and addressed basic nutrition and supplementation needed for their climb. We gave all the women Betaine UltraForte among other digestive support to increase stomach acid so they could absorb nutrients better. This provided extra insurance against parasites that they were exposed to on the climb. Taking into account the conditions of ëKilií, and the limited time we had to get these ladies ready, we broke their needs down into 3 basic components: Improved nutrition, Improved strength and Improved energy systems (more specifically lactate capacity with aerobic support.) Improving nutrition would help these ladies to lose as much body fat as possible while gaining lean muscle. Having too much extra fat is just an extra load on your joints. And having too much extra fat while climbing that enormous mountain would lead to fatigue.

For the first phase of training, we addressed each individualís weak, tight muscles, with specific exercises to increase their strength. The second phase of training focused on the ladies gaining more. The third phase of training aimed to increase strength whilst being careful not to maintain any muscle gained in training. After the third phase, we repeated the cycles-however, starting at a higher level, and thus building on previous work to achieve more and more results. Finally, weadded energy systems; and slowly increased the intensity and volume to peak just before their climb.

During this training process, each woman achieved results that they thought werenít possible. One woman in the group ripped 19? chin-ups! Another woman leg pressed more weight than she ever had before. These women dragged sleds, lifted sand bags, pulled and pushed in ways they didnít even know they could. Andrea Kraus, one woman who achieved the incredible the feat of conquering this enormous mountain, praised the training she received from Laylor Performance Centre. She states, “Training at Laylor Performance Centre is one of my passions. Call me crazy but I look forward to my 1 on 1 session, pumping iron, to exhaustion. The results make it all worthwhile. When I began planning my trip to ëKilií, the trainers redirected my workouts towards leg strength. Many of my fellow climbers were also at Laylor and the camaraderie and intensity enhanced my workouts. And of course, we all summitted the highest peak in Africa!”

In August 2008, all the ladies successfully completed the climb. We at Laylor Performance Systems would like to congratulate all of these wonderful and inspirational ladies, and proud to have been a part of their physical conditioning and helping them realize their Goal.