Category Archives: Preparing for your Trip

Training with Apps

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Using Smart Phones to Get Fit, Stay Focused and Keep Motivated…

Training for your Inspired Adventure can be made easier using smart phone technology to track your progress. It also helps to stay motivated, focused and enables you to share your fitness achievements with friends. Most mobile apps include share functions that will broadcast your achievements and your progress as you train. While your friends and family probably aren’t interested in hearing about every single workout and every bead of sweat you generate, sharing some of your training milestones with them is a great way to keep them abreast of where you are at with your training… and fundraising!

Making your training ‘social’ shows your commitment to the challenge you have undertaken and proves that it is no easy feat to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro, trek through the jungles of Borneo or cycle across Southeast Asia. Your friends and family will be able to read your updates while they are enjoying a lazy Sunday breakfast (or recovering from a big night out) and they will be able to appreciate the effort you are going to for your Inspired Adventure. They will be impressed that you have completed a 25km training hike in the rain while they are only just sitting down to eat breakfast!

ROAD TESTING TRAINING APPS…

Here some great apps that we have come across to boost your fitness and add some fun to your training plan:

Nike+ (free)

The Nike+ app allows you to add friends and strangers which is great for a little healthy competition. Using GPS technology, Nike+ tallies your total KMs from the moment you start using it. The app uses gamification strategies to keep you motivated. It tracks your fastest kilometre, 5kms, 10kms and other achievements, unlock badges and prizes as you hit these milestones. Imagine what it feels like after months of training to see the total amount of kilometres you’ve run; it will probably be in triple figures!

We know this app well as Rachael, one of our Fundraising Coordinators, is currently training for a half marathon (with the hope of running the London Marathon for Inspired Adventures or one of our charity partners in the future). Rachael regularly uses Nike+ to track her runs. She says that just knowing that other people can view her running log really motivates her to whack on her joggers and just get out the door. Her runs are no longer personal… they are social and her friends and family are with her every step of the way.

Map My Run ($2.99)

This app has a separate computer log-in which allows you to create running goals, running routes and store further information. Using GPS technology it will alert you to every 1.6km you have run or walked, and the pace per KM.

ZombieRun ($4.49)

For a bit of fun, how about pretending that you are running from a Zombie apocalypse? You will hear commands through the headphones that inform you how close the zombies are – maybe running for your life might make you go a little faster?

Runkeeper (free)

Runkeeper is also based on GPS and will track a number of different physical activities including running, walking, cycling and it allows you to input your training manually if you do a session at the gym. It will even coach you through your headphones while you are training and inform you how far you have gone and at what pace. At the end of your activity, Runkeeper breaks down your session by kilometre and averages out your pace. It even generates a map with flags at each kilometre marker. You can connect with friends and share you progress with anyone who is interested (and even with those who aren’t!).

My Fitness Pal (Free)

This is a great app for both fitness and nutrition tracking. Preparing for an adventure can mean changing your diet to match your training needs. This is a good app to monitor calories, protein, carbs and fat intake. If weight loss / lifestyle change is one of your goals for your Inspired Adventure, definitely check this out!

Note for all GPS apps: Be mindful if you are trekking or trail running where there is limited reception, it will be hard to monitor your workout with GPS.

Do you need something to train for? Head to the Inspired Adventures calendar and find an adventure.  

Read more tips to Prepare for your Charity Challenge or visit our Inspired Adventures Calendar and find an Inspired Adventure perfect for you.

 

New Destinations in 2013

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2013 is set to be an exciting year. Not only is it bumper-packed with our favourite adventures like trekking the Great Wall of China, climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling Southeast Asia, but now we have 3 more destinations to adventure to.

Bravely exploring new corners of the globe, Inspired Adventures will take some incredibly inspiring people to Bhutan, Brazil and Sri Lanka. They will undertake these adventures knowing that they are tackling issues ranging from mental health to deforestation, poverty and education. We are happy to be working closely with some truly amazing charities to bring you these exciting new destinations.

In an effort to improve mental health services in rural and metropolitan communities throughout Australia, the Black Dog Institute will take you on a journey to the heart of Bhutan on either foot or by motorbike. The Black Dog Institute is dedicated to improving the lives of people affected by mood disorders through high quality, targeted research and national education programs. Their Ride to Happiness 2013 will travel with the Dragon Riders Motorcycle Club through the magnificent provinces of Bhutan to increase awareness of mental illnesses. Alternatively, you can opt to take in the remote beauty of the Himalayas as you trek through yak-grazing pastures and alpine forests before joining up with the motorcyclists and joining them on a 2-day charity ride to deliver supplies to villages further afield.

Bhutan is tucked away between China and India on the eastern side of the Himalayas. This small country with a literacy rate of only 47%, prizes gross national happiness (GNH) over gross national product (GNP). It is a country steeped in Buddhist traditions where cigarettes are illegal and chilli is not just a seasoning, but the entire meal! As a land of contradictions, Bhutan represents the ancient traditions of Buddhism in both community and infrastructure, while rapidly adopting modern technologies and attitudes. It is a must-see destination for anyone wishing to experience it before it is inevitably transformed by ever-encroaching globalisation.

A little over 15,000km away, the Amazon awaits. Inspired Adventures have teamed up with Greenpeace to take you on a trek through the greatest remaining tropical rainforest in the world on the Amazon Jungle Challenge 2013. With a target of zero deforestation by 2020, Greenpeace aims to combat the destruction caused by deforestation and protect the worlds tropical rainforests and wildlife.

The Amazon represents over seven million square kilometres of rainforest, intersecting nine South American countries. Forgetting all your preconceived expectations, the Amazon is an intense natural environment that inspires isolation. Canoeing down the many rivers that lead into the Amazon basin, you are immersed in this amazing, all-encompassing natural wonder. With the opportunity to awake to the harrowing cry of the howler monkey, visiting the Amazon is an eye-opening and overall humbling experience that will leave you with memories that will last a lifetime.

From the depths of the Amazon to the open plains of Sri Lanka, Inspired Adventures discovers this amazing country hiding in plain sight. Known as “the pearl of the Indian Ocean”, Sri Lanka certainly delivers on all fronts. With endless beaches, an abundance of elephants and eight World Heritage sites, it offers a fresh perspective for travellers grown weary of India and Southeast Asia. With impossibly virescent tea plantations and rolling hills, Sri Lanka beckons to trekkers, hikers and riders. Better still, you get to experience it all by bicycle!

Inspired Adventures and ChildFund Australia will cycle against poverty through this amazing country to improve the lives of those living in poverty and inspire an optimistic future.

2013: to Sri Lanka, the Tigers Nest, the Amazon and beyond!  

We can’t wait for the exciting new challenges that Bhutan, Brazil and Sri Lanka will present and we’re confident of the life-changing experiences to be had by our adventurers who take on these challenges to raise funds for the Black Dog Institute, Greenpeace and ChildFund Australia. More challenges and destinations are just around the corner so stay tuned as we expand our wings and fly further afield to raise even more money for charity.

For further information on our new destinations, please visit www.inspiredadventures.com.au or visit the Inspired Adventures Calendar and find a Charity Challenge perfect for you or call 1300 905 188.

New Destinations in 2013 compiled by Freye Planke for Inspired Adventures eNews.

 

Preparing for your adventure: How to Pack (part 1)

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Inspired Adventures’ new video series – Preparing for your Adventure

Let’s face it – packing for your adventure is arguably one of the most important steps in a successful adventure. You may disagree as you’ve spent months fundraising for your charity of choice; you’ve sweated it out on a treadmill or spin bike at the gym; you’ve pounded the pavement and racked up kilometre upon kilometre while your friends and family were still enjoying their sleep; or you’ve spent hours in the saddle pedalling into headwinds and getting experience cycling in all sorts of weather. Phew… what a journey so far! Packing your bag certainly sounds easy after all that hard work, right?

Right indeed. Packing is the easy part but it is also the most important part. If you read your Packing List and pack correctly, the chances of completing your adventure in comfort while covering all the distance, increases substantially. To be more specific, if you decide that you want to substitute a heavy-duty rain jacket for a down jacket on a Mt Kilimanjaro adventure, you are not going to reach the summit. Harsh as that may sound, It is as simple as that. You will need that down jacket when the temperature drops to -15°.

We understand that reading a packing list on an A4 piece of paper is two-dimensional and not that much fun. That’s why we are in the process of making a series of fun videos to compliment the information you receive in your Registration Packs.

Here is our first video on the bits and bobs you should pack for nearly any Inspired Adventure.

Why you need to read your Packing List?

We invest a lot of time on making sure everything that you need is on the list. We have climbed Mt Kilimanjaro, trekked to Everest Base Camp, and hiked along the Inca Trail. We have stumbled and sweated our way through the Kokoda Track and through other jungles in Borneo and Sumatra. We have cycled Vietnam from north to south and south to north. We have also cycled in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. We have run marathons and we also know the steps of the Great Wall of China inside out.

Our packing insights come from experience on all of these trips and we have been through nearly every sort of weather situation possible. The lists are compiled specifically for your adventure and we don’t throw items into the ‘Essential’ part just for fun. They are listed because you will need them. In compiling our lists, we also consult closely with our local travel partners to make sure we haven’t missed anything. In summary, we know what you need to pack for a successful adventure and we don’t want your packing to stop you from reaching your goal. You have worked so hard to get to this point so why shortchange yourself on clothing and gear? See you on the flip-side of Kilimanjaro!

Stay tuned for Part 2 – Clothing.

Read more tips to Prepare for your Charity Challenge  or visit our Calendar and find an Inspired Adventure perfect for you.