{"id":627265,"date":"2026-10-11T11:04:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T11:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/627265\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T11:04:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T11:04:13","slug":"outer-space-the-battlefield-prison-staying-fit-in-the-worlds-most-extreme-environments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/627265\/","title":{"rendered":"Outer space, the battlefield, prison: staying fit in the world’s most extreme environments"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all have our excuses for not doing the exercise that we want to, or think we should, be doing for our health and wellbeing.<\/p>\n

Time \u2013 or lack of it \u2013 is the major gripe for many of us, in fast-paced lives that demand so much of us.<\/p>\n

But having the space to work out, the desired equipment or the friends to work out with can be just as challenging.<\/p>\n

Not having a spacious, well-equipped gym or a cutting-edge road bike can be just as big a barrier to getting out there and doing what’s actually important: getting the blood pumping around your body.<\/p>\n

Perhaps, then, we can take inspiration from this trio of individuals who, in very different but equally challenging environments, have done just that.<\/p>\n

The astronaut
\n\"\"Wheelock (centre) shortly before lift-off in 2010. Getty Images<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a fact that American Douglas Wheelock has twice been one of the most isolated cyclists on our planet. Well, we say on our planet, but the trim 59-year-old resident of Ohio is an astronaut who first went on a 15-day space mission in 2007.<\/p>\n

Three years later, he spent six months on the International Space Station. \u201cDown on Earth, I cycle a fair bit and run or walk with my dog,\u201d Wheelock tells us. \u201cUp in space, well, it\u2019s a similar story.\u201d Without the dog, of course.<\/p>\n

Wheelock and his contemporaries exercise between two and two-and-a-half hours daily. That\u2019s about half the 30-hour weekly effort of the pros, although the goal is more important than wearing a form-fitting yellow jersey in Paris.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a fact that micro-gravity \u2013 gravity is found everywhere in space, just in differing amounts \u2013 can lead to muscle atrophy,\u201d says Wheelock.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour body\u2019s such an efficient machine that it doesn\u2019t take long to think, \u2018Hang on, I\u2019m not using these large quadricep muscles, let\u2019s take energy from there and redirect it\u2019.<\/p>\n

“Without exercise, bone density also drops, especially in the hips, pelvis and thigh bone regions. Even training this much still results in a 3-4% drop.\u201d<\/p>\n

That micro-gravity also leads to prickly feet \u2013 floating leaves nerve endings in the soles redundant, so that when you push against a weight it\u2019s as if your feet are on fire and feels like \u201cants crawling over your skin\u201d.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, anecdotal and scientific feedback from previous missions has resulted in a three-pronged exercise attack on the International Space Station.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a treadmill where you\u2019re strapped in with a harness that pulls you down,\u201d says Wheelock. This is what enabled Tim Peake to run his 2016 marathon in space, in a brisk 3hr 35mins.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also have a weight-lifting device that simulates gravity using compressed air. Then there\u2019s CEVIS \u2013 Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation System \u2013 essentially a bicycle mounted to the wall, so you\u2019re sitting on it with your back facing the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mind, body and soul
\n\"\"Illustration: Peter Greenwood<\/p>\n

Gravity affects the vestibular system that controls balance, Wheelock continues. This is a sensory system that provides our brain with information about motion, head position and spatial orientation.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s why astronauts shouldn\u2019t run or cycle outdoors for up to 45 days after returning to Earth.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour eyes take over in space while your vestibular system lies dormant. This is fine on an indoor bike but dangerous outside,” Wheelock says.<\/p>\n

“Think of your outdoor cycling and all the subtle signals you pick up, from the camber of a road to poor bits of tarmac. These are detected by the vestibular system. <\/p>\n

“That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important you wait until it\u2019s awakened before undertaking activities like cycling and driving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wheelock has experienced a life few individuals have. He understands solitude and isolation, and signs off by stressing to Earth-bound cyclists that it\u2019s not all about training the body.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole-person concept \u2013 mind, body and soul \u2013 is so important. If one part is in an unhealthy state, the others will suffer as well. Keep busy physically and follow solid, challenging routines.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur normal human instinct is to stay in our pyjamas and watch the news for 15 hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe let fear take control then spiral down into this abyss. Take control of your fear and turn off that TV. Make your bed, put some clothes on, read, speak to loved ones and exercise. It\u2019s important for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The soldier
\n\"\"Illustration: Peter Greenwood Illustration: Peter Greenwood<\/p>\n

The internet is ablaze with training advice extracted from the elites and delivered to recreational riders. We\u2019re talking about concepts such as fasted rides.<\/p>\n

We suck it all in, hoping for a leg up to stand on the shoulders of giants. Sadly, this reductionist approach fails to account for recovery and life stresses that, for cyclists such as Neil Buckley, are far more debilitating than the training itself.<\/p>\n

You see, while pro riders slip into compression socks after a five-hour ride in the mountains, Buckley \u2013 more precisely, Colour Sergeant Buckley \u2013 would slip into heavy military attire in the world\u2019s most dangerous battlefields.<\/p>\n

A soldier for over 20 years, he toured Afghanistan and Iraq twice. \u201cAfghanistan was particularly unpleasant, although I took pride in doing my job at the very pointy end. Sadly, 12 people from my battalion came back in coffins. I guess it\u2019s a fact of life with the job I do,\u201d he reflects.<\/p>\n

Chester, UK is home for Buckley \u2013 cycling country, as he calls it, with Chris Boardman and former Team Sky rider Steve Cummings nearby.<\/p>\n

His palmares is impressive, especially over his preferred discipline of time trials. He won the Army 25-mile TT Championships in 2013 and has lifetime 10-mile and 25-mile PBs of 20.40mins and 55.38mins.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s nothing compared to [army officer] Ryan Perry. He\u2019s raced the Tour de Yorkshire and twice finished on the podium at the National Time-Trial Championships,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

What makes the likes of Buckley and Perry\u2019s achievements the more remarkable are the cycling restrictions that come with life on tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only time I\u2019ve ridden outdoors on tour was in the Falklands,\u201d he says, \u201cbut even that was limited due to the gravelly roads and the extreme weather.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pushing it<\/p>\n

Buckley briefly used a broken spin bike in Afghanistan but the bulk of his training boiled down to an oft-used army mantra: adapt, improvise and overcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was in Sangin [Afghanistan], we used these huge steel tow-pins that are used to drag armoured vehicles around as a frame to do squats and functional skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cTRX straps [invented by a US Navy Seal] are also vital. You can do punchy all-over workouts with those. And running\u2019s key, too. You can really push it over 40 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

These short, high-intensity efforts are the norm and why Buckley tends to focus on \u2013 and excel at \u2013 10- and 25-mile time trials in the UK.<\/p>\n

At home, he\u2019s not monastic about his diet. Food on tour is good \u2013 until it comes to ration packs. \u201cWe had a huge exercise in Oman where you were self-sufficient for 30 days, so you lived on these 4,000 calories-a-day ration packs,” he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoil-in-the-bag meals dominate. You\u2019re given three main meals and snacks including tuna bean salad and hotpot. They\u2019re passable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thankfully, like his training, Buckley\u2019s tastebuds have adapted, improvised and overcome.<\/p>\n

The prisoner
\n\"\"Illustration: Peter Greenwood Illustration: Peter Greenwood<\/p>\n

For many, sport is a religion. That\u2019s why many prisoners seek redemption through sport and exercise.<\/p>\n

Take Charles Bronson, described as the most violent prisoner in Britain after repeatedly taking guards hostage at high-security hospitals Rampton, Broadmoor and Ashworth. He wasn\u2019t evil, he said, \u201cbut sometimes I lost all my senses and became nasty\u201d.<\/p>\n

Other times, he\u2019d channel this anger through exercise. Bronson became a fitness fanatic, even writing a book about his experiences: Solitary Fitness.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a backstory that chimes with John McAvoy. McAvoy was born in 1983 and grew up surrounded by organised crime in south London.<\/p>\n

His uncle, Mickey, was part of the infamous Brink\u2019s-Mat gang behind one of the biggest gold bullion robberies in British history.<\/p>\n

Soon after turning 18, McAvoy received a five-year sentence for possession of a gun. He was released after two, only to be sentenced to life soon after for armed robbery and sent to the maximum-security Belmarsh prison.<\/p>\n

Fellow inmates included Abu Hamza and the London 21\/7 suicide bombers. He was released in 2012.<\/p>\n

Choosing a new path
\n\"\"McAvoy’s physical gifts were discovered in the confines of a prison cell <\/p>\n

Now McAvoy is an Ironman athlete and sponsored by Nike. \u201cExercise got me through,\u201d he says. \u201cI was locked up for 22 to 23 hours a day. Before, I\u2019d been taking drugs, was three stone overweight and drinking. But in that cell, I decided to try and better myself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t control the environment but I could control me. So I started training. All I had in my cell was a bunkbed, chair and cardboard table, so I had to be flexible. I started doing press-ups, burpees and step-ups. <\/p>\n

“At the beginning, I did 10 of each. The next day it was 20. I kept building it up until I reached 1,000 of each. I\u2019d wake in the morning, do my cell circuit and then I\u2019d read books from the prison library.\u201d<\/p>\n

McAvoy\u2019s flexibility stretched to pushing his prison chair to the end of his cell next to two tiny vents so he\u2019d feel the breeze on his face as he exercised. He also felt the breeze generated from the prison gym\u2019s sole indoor rower.<\/p>\n

The 16 months prior to his release saw McAvoy venture on what he called his \u201crecord-hunting mission\u201d, setting numerous British and world indoor rowing records, many of which stand today.<\/p>\n

His penchant for pain directed him to Ironman and the challenge of swimming 3.8km, cycling 180km and running a marathon. <\/p>\n

He peaked with an impressive time of 9hrs, 10mins and 17secs in 2016 at Ironman Frankfurt, putting in a 4.54.42 bike leg where he averaged just under 23mph.<\/p>\n

Today, he raises money for a host of charities and lectures youngsters in deprived areas on using sport to keep on the right path.<\/p>\n

More than most, McAvoy is adept at doing long stints indoors on the turbo trainer. \u201cI can train for five or six hours at a time,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve got friends who\u2019ve competed at the Olympics and they can\u2019t comprehend how I can sit on an exercise bike for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We all have our excuses for not doing the exercise that we want to, or think we should,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":627266,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[111,139,69,147],"class_list":["post-627265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=627265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627265\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/627266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=627265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=627265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=627265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}