Here Be Monsters: Body Building in London

In training for Adventurethon 2013, I decided I needed some help. Some advice. Some (dare I say it) training.

You see, no matter what I do to train for my Enduro Adventurethon (14km of open sea kayaking, 21km of mountain biking and 12km of off-road running) I will be totally and utterly unprepared for it, for three key reasons:

1. I don’t believe in being prepared anyway.
2. I own neither a kayak nor a mountain bike with which to train.
3. I arrive in Australia, after a 30 hour journey, less than 48 hours before everything kicks off!

Whatever I do, it is going to hurt. A lot. I therefore feel the best thing to do is accept it will be agonising and dedicate some time to learning to push myself through this inevitable pain. If I can get stronger and more powerful in the process – all the better!

Now, whatever you have read online about training and whatever little pamphlets have fallen out of Men’s Health recently, there is only one real way to get bigger and stronger. There is certainly only one way to increase your sheer grit and determination. You find what you think are your limits…and you shatter them.

How do you go about pushing yourself harder than ever before? Simple. You seek out the biggest, strongest and meanest sonovabitch you know…and try to match his workout, set for set.

That’s why I went hunting for monsters. Specifically, Robster…Le Monster.

Ed vs. Robster Le Monster

What’s the first thing that pops to mind when you think “triathlon”? How about when you think “Adventurethon”? How about when you think about the individual sports of kayaking, mountain biking and off-road running?

It’s probably brute strength, right?

Right. That’s why, in preparation for my forthcoming Adventurethon and journey across the world…I have challenged renowned body-builder and phenomenon of strength Robster Le Monster to put me through my paces in one of his horrific workout sessions.

The way I see it, if I can hang with Le Monster, I can do just about anything…including Adventurethon 2013.

Now, I may not look like much, especially compared to Le Monster and his usual opponents in the Monster vs… series. However, I’m pretty sure my combination of simpleton willpower, flawless beard and far, far longer hair will help me prevail over my admitted much larger, much stronger and much more experienced opponent.

That’s how weight lifting works…right? Guys?