The following is taken from a journal our Wild Coach Gareth Roriston was keeping in the bush as he shadowed, then filled in, as Warden for the Galana Wildlife Conservancy which boarders Tsavo East National Park in Kenya. The idea is to inspire you… so you know that, wherever you are, and whatever equipment you have, you can still design a creative wild workout!
Who’s up for a combo?
“….Evans is keen to learn some wrestling techniques, so after I return to camp from a night in the treehouse followed by a dawn game census, I offer to teach him some basics. He learns to arm drag, go behind, body lock and lift.
I then persuade him to join me in a combo. I feel like I need to train as I’ve felt lethargic for the past two days and am visibly bloated after days of eating posho (maize meal), rice and pasta which are by evolution alien to the human digestive tract and by habit particularly alien to me. They have caused my belly to swell. The combo involves 5 round sprint efforts of:
- Lift and throw with Bundu-bag over 5 barrel hurdles in turn followed by two footed jump over, after each throw (the “Bundu-Bag” is a Gareth original design – watch this space!)
- Throw the bag as far as possible backward overhead
- Fast run around inside perimeter of camp boma (enclosure)
- Bulgarian swings with bag: 3 per side
- 10 weighted jumping press ups, alternating hands up and down
Once each round is completed the partner is tagged and we can rest.
Little Evans can’t actually lift the Bundu-bag above his head so compensates by throwing it to the side like a rugby pass and performing halos with a suitable rock rather than the Bundu-bag.
It’s good for morale for these guys who are stuck in the bundu (wild largely uninhabited region) to do something new and it’s a shame Kahindi is at the gate this morning as he is easily the most enthusiastic when it comes to both work and play which do not appear to have a demarcation in his mind.
After we have finished Julius is keen to prove his athleticism by hurdling the barrels in the traditional manner (not two footed). He repeats the feat a few times stating that he is fit for an Mzee (an old person) and he can beat anyone his own age. I get him to video me performing the bag throw and hop portion of the combo for the sake of posterity. I’m knackered after the combo and stumble on the first jump…”
