Only 4 months to go before they step onto the ice cap of Antarctica, T&T are in vigorous training at the Chelsea Piers Sport Center in New York. The center is one of the largest in US with loads of facilities built on piers that branch out onto the Hudson river. Itīs the perfect place to train for a Polar expedition, in spite of streets steaming at 90F just outside the office of ExplorersWeb.  

The Sports Center holds a sand pit for beach volleyball, indoor running tracks, horse stables, year round ice skating rinks, Marina, and of course, tons of weight stations and other gear. 

"We train with a PT three days a week, 1,5 hours each session. On top of that we do longer sessions once weekly and Hatha Yoga for posture and flexibility. The training is focused on endurance and heavy weights. 

We start a session typically with 50-100 push ups, then pull ups and stepping up a stair master. We most often do all exercises carrying heavy backpacks and weight bars. In addition to the stair master we do the ski track, the rowing machine, and other machines for variation. 

Last, we pull tires around the sand pit. That is tough, for there is no friction as you would have on ice and the tires will also accumulate sand. We usually do twenty laps with full gear on. Our PT is a former US Army guy and the sessions are truly in that spirit. 

There is also a large indoor swimming pool, and a whirlpool over viewing the Statue of Liberty and a sundeck. We cool down with a lunch of sushi, orange juice and other good-for-you stuff. We eat healthy, quite large meals. We try to take some time to relax on the sundeck on top of the Hudson river after the workout. 

The work involved in building a company like Explorers Web, researching technology, organizing adventure news and associates and taking care of our own expedition preparations is so stressful, 
that a military discipline is essential to maintain our levels of energy, strength and mental sharpness."        

(HT-The Poles.com)