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Dear <<First Name>>,
Thank you for reading Dr. Jon's April Adventure Newsletter, written and sent from Nepal and the Khumbu Valley!
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Be A No-Limit Person
How do you become a no-limit person?
Dr. Wayne Dyer was a motivational speaker, author, and entrepreneur who passed away a couple of years ago. What I am going to share with you this month was inspired by Dr. Dyer's energy and zest for life.
Many people have deep rooted in their minds the assumption that:
Life is difficult.
I am stressed out or maybe even depressed.
I'm not getting what I want.
I'm not living the life I am supposed to lead.
Do you ever find yourself struggling and falling in the wrong direction on this? I think to a certain degree we can all be guilty of it. Reach out to friends and family closest to you and don't be afraid to open up to trusted love ones who will encourage you to face and fight back all of your seemingly always reachable limits.
Are you waiting to accomplish something but keep putting limits on yourself? It's a tough thing to diagnose when you look in the mirror.
I have found that I don't really do that well with people that don't have the right mindset for overcoming the dark side of any sort of limits. While I can be sympathetic of the dark cycles we can all put ourselves into, we also can choose rise above them and come out stronger with a little resilience.
My turn into becoming a limitless person is and has been an ongoing habit and choice for the past 15-20 years. Becoming limitless doesn't just happen when you go to bed one night and you wake up the next day a new person. It takes a long journey of mindful growth experiences.
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A true Limitless life is being willing to push past what is considered comfortable. Only in times of a growth mindset and a desire to face fears is when the true limitless magic begins.
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I just jumped on a plane to Nepal, and if I didn't believe in myself, my group of Everest Base Camp trekkers, or my Everest climber, then none of us would have a reason to be here in Nepal. I already know that the mindset of the people I am embarking on this journey with is strong. There are truly no limits! But you have to believe that from the get-go and eliminate all self-doubt.
How about you, how do you plan to be a no-limit person? Don't wait any longer, give it your best and start working on a challenging task today. You will feel much better when you do! Do you have a story of a time you crushed your own perceived limits? Please share!
Please follow my adventure into the Khumbu, Sagarmatha National Park, and up on Sagarmatha (Everest) on my blog. It is going to be a limitless adventure and I invite you to tag along for inspiration.
See you on the summit!
Dr. Jon
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Spring in Nepal above 16,000’ while on the Everest Basecamp Trek certainly feels like there are no limits- when you don’t put limits on yourself you can benefit from a life that is literally above the clouds.
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Everest Fundraiser / Raffle
Support Sherpas, Porters, and Teahouse Owners in Need:
As I embark on guiding my 5th annual Everest Base Camp Trek the first couple weeks of April and then returning to Base Camp to guide a client to the summit of Mt. Everest in late-April into May, I am thinking about all the small, poor communities we'll trek through on our way. As a way to give back to those communities who lost most to all of their usual income in 2020 due to the pandemic, I have launched a new fundraising and raffle campaign.
To read more about this fundraiser and to donate, please go to my Charity GoFundMe page.
I am really grateful for any amount you can give, and for every $50 you donate, you earn 1 raffle ticket for a chance to win amazing prizes such as a free trip guided by me to Everest Base Camp in 2022, sponsor gear, REI gift cards, and more!
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We get to mingle with so many families and children on our treks off the beaten path while in Nepal on the way to Everest Basecamp. Every dollar we raise in this new fundraiser we make sure gets donated directly to these amazing places through our giving initiatives and our newly created study abroad course. Thanks for your support!
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Training Corner: Overload
Last month, we talked about the concept of Specificity: focusing training on the specific muscles, movement patterns, gear, nutrition, and conditions you'll be using and experiencing during your goal adventure. For mountain climbers, the principle can be summed up with one phrase:
Train for mountains with....mountains
A great example of specificity is, in the weeks leading up to our departure for Nepal, I set up a ladder and ropes course for myself and a client to practice on near my house. On Everest, there are several large crevasses we'll need to cross by ladder and in our crampons. To make sure we are prepared for the technique, the instability of the ladders, and how our crampons and boots will perform on these ladders, we simulated the situation at home. See the picture below.
This month, we'll discuss a second key training principle: Overload.
Overload means training at an intensity, duration, or frequency that your body is not accustomed to. This principle can apply to training for many different sports and in the weight room. It's a staple of endurance training programs and why an an athlete training for a marathon can go from a long run of 6 miles early in a training program to 20 miles a few months later.
Without an overload stimulus, it will be difficult to see improvement in athletic performance. Going back to the marathoner example, if all you do is a 6 mile long run each week, you will get really good at running 6 miles but will not be prepared for 26 miles.
Placing greater demands on the exercising musculature leads the body to overcompensate and adapt to the new training stress in many systems including neural, cardiovascular, muskoskeletal, endocrine, and respiratory.
Overload can lead to a short-term decrement in performance, but when an overload workout is followed by a brief recovery period of days or a week, will lead to supercompensation and improvement in performance. However, you have to be careful with this and allow adequate recovery or you will increase your risk of overtraining, a topic for another column.
How can you apply this concept to your training? There are multiple ways:
- Increase the number of workout sessions per week (ex: hiking 3 days per week instead of your normal 2 days)
- Increase the duration of a workout (ex: doing a long run of 8 miles instead of your previous long of 6 miles)
- Increase the number of sets or repetitions (ex: doing 3 sets of 10 reps of bench press and back squat instead of the normal 2 sets of 10 repetitions)
- Increase the load (ex: doing a weighted backpack climb with 30lbs in your backpack instead of the usual 25lbs.)
- Decrease the rest period between work sets (ex: reducing the rest interval in your normal 4 x 800m track workout from 3:00 to 2:00).
The key with all these examples is to put more training stress on your body than it is used to, being careful not to overdo it by increasing the stress by too large of an increment, leading to elevated overtraining injury risk. Remember, not every workout should be an overload. Returning to the ladder example above, some workouts are meant to improve technique and skill, and you do not want to apply overload consistently to these workouts since form and technique tend to break down when you are fatigued.
Interested in learning more on how to train for big adventures? Contact us and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.
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More specific training: practicing crossing ladders in crampons while in Colorado before leaving for Nepal and Mt. Everest. With only a few days left before departing for Nepal, the time for overload training is over. The hay is in the barn; time to fine tune some specific skills and we are ready!
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Upcoming Schedule
5th Overall Everest Base Camp Trek
By the time you are reading this, I will be on the trail guiding my amazing group of trekkers up to Everest Base Camp. Check out my blog updates and IG posts for pictures and stories of our progress up the trail. On this trek, we do not climb Mt. Everest; we hike 4-6 hours a day from village to village at a slow pace so we can all acclimatize to the higher elevations properly and take in the unique beauty and culture of this special place.
If you are interested in joining us in the spring of 2022, contact me at dr.jonked@gmail.com and my business partner Aaron Jenniges at JennigesAaronJ@gmail.com and one of us will get back to you promptly with more information.
Everest Summit Climb
At the conclusion of the Everest Base Camp Trek in late April, I will be returning to the south side (Nepal) of Mt. Everest for my 5th expedition. I'm really excited to guide a client 1-on-1 again this year.
Summer Adventures
My summer calendar is starting to fill in for some fun adventures in CO, CA, and WA. If you are interested in climbing a Colorado 14er or a CA / WA volcano, or joining a fun group for a backpacking adventure such as Rainier's Wonderland Trail, let me or Aaron Jenniges know.
Keynote Speaking
Once I return from Everest in late May, I'll be available again to deliver my inspiring keynote address to your organization. Lately I've been speaking about Weathering Storms and Staying Prepared, sharing strategies and motivational stories about how the proper mindset can help you through adversity, manage risk, and confidently lead others through crises. Please contact Aaron Jenniges (JennigesAaronJ@gmail.com) and Jennifer Mitchell (croj.mitchell@gmail.com) for more information on my keynotes and to inquire about availability.
With spring and then summer coming up, I can always pair a keynote event with a morning after follow-up hike or other mini-adventure.
Adventure Training & Consulting
Even though I'll be gone in April and May, we have decent connectivity in Nepal so I'm still available to help you with your adventure goals. You can read more about how I can help you through services such as phone adventure consultation, monthly training plans, or 1-day mountain training sessions.
Contact me at dr.jonked@gmail.com and my business partner Aaron Jenniges at JennigesAaronJ@gmail.com and one of us will get back to you promptly.
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Ready for Everest 2021 with a familiar crew..... see you on the summit!
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