Categories
Machu Picchu Charity Trek #PrepForPeru

Machu Picchu – The Preparation Begins

If you know me already, you’ll know that I love a challenge. In fact, I’d go as far as saying I need challenge in my life. I think we all do. A life without challenge lacks meaning. I feel at my best in terms of energy, motivation, mood and mental health when I’m on a mission, whether that be in my own fitness journey, with my business or a particular life goal.

In December 2020 I created the mission of a fitness photoshoot of which required over four months of preparation. See the results of this below!

As this goal was coming ever closer to a close, I knew I needed to set the next one. I had previously taken part in some fundraising for mental health and it absolutely inspired me to do more. Previous fundraising included a 19km run from Preston to Blackburn with Puregym and an online weight loss seminar with some of my colleagues. I knew I needed to take it to the next level but I’m not quite sure how I got to what I’m going to do if I’m totally honest, but I arrived on a website that hosts crazy adventures and charity challenges just like the one I am embarking on.

In April 2022 I will be heading to South America and more specifically Peru. I will be hiking for seven days to one of the seven wonders of the world, Machu Picchu. This includes hiking up to altitudes as high as 4200m where there is half as much oxygen as there is at sea level.

I’m doing this to raise as much money as possible for mental health and specifically Mental Health Foundation. At the time of writing this I have raised £1429 and I am very grateful for all of the sponsors so far. I have hosted a few events including some charity classes in order to further bolster the fundraising. I will continue to run fundraising events including another seminar, this time on mental health which is likely to be in January 2022.

Of course with a challenge like this, there is a requirement to make sure your body is ready for it. I can’t really train at the altitudes I’ll be hiking at and so I’ll be asking my coach Nathan Jefferies to create a conditioning plan for me to ensure I am the fittest I’ve ever been. If anyone knows me they’ll know I’m not really much of an advocate of cardio unless I have to do it and in this case, I have to do it.

I’m going to share my journey with you along the way via this blog and I’ll be using the hashtag #PrepForPeru

I began this weekend with a walk up Pendle Hill with my dog Nala but I’ll be upping my game by tackling on the big boys (and girls for those who get offended) in the Lake District as the months go on, including Helvellyn as I’m still yet to take on Striding Edge.

The walk up Pendle was a fairly leisurely one although I did have in mind that I wanted to reach the summit in a reasonable time and managed to do so in around 45 minutes. I stopped on the way down to refuel as you can see in the above photo before it began to rain so I made my way back to the car.

The hard work starts now and I’m pumped for it, I told you at the beginning of this blog post that I’m at my best when I’m on a mission and I’ve absolutely got that right now. I actually do believe that a lot of people could improve their mental health by making sure they have a meaningful mission to go after.

If you’d like to sponsor me for this event, which I must remind you is a fantastic cause – for mental health, you can do so via the link below.

Follow me on social media @thedotheworkcoach