Rebel Monk Fitness

23/09/2024

Representing 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 at the last minute in the with - I had a lot of fun taking part in a race I hadn’t done any preparing for but 13 loops and 54 miles in the bag doesn’t feel to shabby.
This counts as an international cap right?

18/03/2024

This weekend I had the absolute pleasure of coaching at the in Leeds.

The club took 13 kickboxers to compete against over 300 fighters from ~18 universities. Three of our female fighters made the finals 💪, with two of them walking away with gold 🥇

It was a privilege to be invited to support the club through the late stages of their preparations and to the event itself, and all the fighters turned up and performed well. A big congratulations to them all, but especially to those who made it to the finals (although I did end up with a Britney Spears walkout song stuck in my head again!). Keep up the good work next year 💪

Leeds is always a great event for university kickboxing, so hopefully CUKBS will parachute me in to help out in the future 🪂

Well done to everyone involved in the event 🎉, hopefully see y’all again soon.

26/11/2023

August 2022: Running around lovely footpaths in Cambridge following

November 2023: Running around Hanoi, trying not to get hit by traffic and wondering why gave Hanoians a different sun?

23/01/2023

Spent some time out in Thailand training Muay Thai, picking up some new coaching ideas and watching a few fights.

29/12/2022

Well, it is that time of year. People are making resolutions, thinking about losing weight, getting fit or starting a new hobby. But you can spend so much time planning for a perfect start to the year that you forget to get started.

If you are looking to get fitter and healthier in the new year, don’t try to build your perfect plan at the expense of getting started. Doing some exercises is better than doing none. But if you are looking for a personal trainer online, or just want some advice on getting started then please do drop me a message :)

Here’s to a happier, healthier new year 🍻🎉

15/10/2022

When he's not writing research papers or kicking people in the head, the multi-talented Julius playing at the Portland with

Great music and great people - I must admit it's always fun supporting my clients when they are doing cool things outside the gym too. I now have an excuse to grab a beer and watch too 😁.

09/10/2022

Rebel Monk Fitness - advisor to movie stars... well to the fabulous who was filming the today.

I spent a bit of time on set as an extra, trying to keep a very serious face while completing complex tasks such as angry mumbling in the background. I have always been an angry mumbler, so it didn't require acting.

The Harvey Greenfield Is Running Late play was fantastic, so I can't wait to see the finished movie. Keep an eye out for it.

28/08/2022

UTMB Part 3 - The Highs

The most memorable part of the UTMB was the crowds. There was a proper party going on.

Early on I darted to the other side of the road to grab a drink from the man handing out free beer. The guy cheering everyone on while holding a sign saying "Camonix hates UTMB" made me laugh. I felt every single person lining the streets wanted us to succeed. I definitely got a little caught up in high-fiving people lining the streets. The experience of that support made the whole trip worthwhile.

Climbing up a mountain in the dark, with stars overhead is always immense. Even moreso with a snake of head torches strung across the path.

The other high came after I crashed. For most of the race people had been pushing forwards in silence. At the back of the field with the walking wounded, I got to meet other runners, including bumping into the wonderful , who is a far better runner than me, and coincidentally friends with some ultrarunning friends I made in Cambridge earlier in the summer. A little band of us slogged it up to the next checkpoint, 800m of ascent that we knew we'd only have to walk straight back down of we weren't quick enough... and none of us were going to be quick enough. We were all fu**ed, but we weren't going to let that stop us. We got to the next checkpoint, dawdled for a few minutes, then saw that the next "flat bit" started with a good chunk of uphill and hot sun.

At my current pace making it through the next 2 checkpoints was impossible. My legs hadn't improved on the uphill, even if I was now relatively human and conscious again. I think of we had an extra 30 minutes of leeway on the cut off, a few of us would have gone for it. As it was, logic took over and one by one we gracefully withdrew and started the walk of shame down to town.

(Last bit of text in comments)

28/08/2022

UTMB Part 2 - The Lows

It would have been nice to have crossed the finish line in the picture, but alas, it was not to be.

The first 30km went well, but somewhere on the climb after of Les Contamines Montjoie I started getting cramp in my left hamstring. I couldn't fix it, but it would twinge away for the next 50km. That meant I simply moved the stress in other muscles. On my way up to Col de la Seigne I was alternating cramp in my right shin and left foot, with my quads locking up for good measure. I kept moving and was still on pace all the way until the checkpoint before Courmayeur. Then the wheels fell off.

It took me 80 minutes to make it 4.5km downhill. Even with the sun shining down on me I started shivering, alternating between too hot and too cold. 1km before Courmayeur I had to stop and lie down. Everything went fuzzy. I tried to stretch but only managed to give myself more cramp. I tried getting the dirt out of my shoe but only managed in having one shoe off and not being able to put it back on without cramping up. Then I found I couldn't stand up.

When I did make it to Courmayeur, I almost passed out in the toilet cubicle, then once I was sat in a corner of the sports hall, I just phased in and out of existence for a while. After an hour I hobbled over to a table and failed to deal with anything. My muscles were now seized up. I tried piecing myself together, but was incapable of doing simple things like changing my shirt or socks. I often tell those that have crewed me in the past, they make the difference. Alone and unable to function, I felt the consequences of not having someone to hand me food or water.

I went to see the medics who checked my blood pressure, oxygen saturation, blood sugar levels and temperature. After almost 2 hours of attempted recuperation, I was almost back to normal - other than the now locked up legs. They advised me to have another 10 minute nap, and after that it was up to me whether I wanted to continue.

I wasn't really in any fit state to, but I did. And that lead to one of the highlights of my race.

28/08/2022

UTMB Part 1 - Summary

UTMB is the first race with a set finish line that I have DNFd. And you know what? I'm okay with that.

It was inevitable that at some point there would be a race where enough went wrong that I wouldn't be able to work through it.

The race plan had been to aim for sub-36 hours. It may not have been the sensible approach, but I didn't want a hollow victory where I coasted along. I wanted to test my limits, and sometimes tests don't work out.

After the wheels fell off at Courmayeur. Finishing in under 36 hours was off the table, but I decided go again and treat the second half as an entirely new race; just to see if I could make it around ahead of the cut off times. That would have made for an epic comeback.

Unfortunately, my legs didn't move quickly enough. I think if there had been an extra 30-60 minutes available, I'd have managed to keep going, but I was just too slow getting up the hill to Refuge Bertone to make it further.

I know plenty of people just take for granted that I finish these things, but this time I simply didn't manage to work through my issues quickly enough to beat the cut off times. I gave it a good go, and am hatching plans for an even crazier adventure.

25/08/2022

In just under 24 hours I will be running one of the most prestigious ultramarathons in the world (apparently). I'll spend my time slowly making my way around the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, hours behind some of the best runners in the world.My bib number is 1724, which goes to show how far back in the pack I'll be.

This has been a race I've had my eyes on for years. I'm really looking forward to it. I've had a few muscle issues in my back since the Race to the Stones 100k in July, so hoping that doesn't derail my race. As much as I want to do well, I'm also going to be trying my best to enjoy this one.

If you fancy a bit of dot watching, or even to tune into some genuinely good live coverage of an ultramarathon, you can follow me via the following links:

https://live.utmb.world/utmb/runners/1724

https://utmb.livetrail.run/coureur.php?rech=1724

I think the first link, live.utmb.world, is the one to follow if you also want to watch coverage of the race as it unfolds.

I probably won't be posting updates myself this time because Three mobile have implemented a Brexit fee and I haven't got around to switching providers yet 😅

Anyway, I should probably get myself ready...

23/08/2022

Sad news about a runner here in the Alps. They fell a few miles from where I have been camping the last few days. It's the 2nd death on the UTMB trails in two years is heartbreaking. And a tragic reminder for me to stay focused this weekend. No matter how prepared you are, accidents happen. My thoughts go out to all those still running the PTL at the moment, and the runner's family.

PTL :

At 01:30am CET on Tuesday 23rd August, the UTMB Mont-Blanc Race Committee was informed that a PTL runner had a serious accident.

The rescue helicopter team responded to the scene, following which they confirmed the death of the runner.

Official statement: https://utmbmontblanc.com/en/mag/283