Product Description

Mike Stroud, polar explorer, practising hospital physician and recently adviser to the Ministry of Defence on survival, sets out in this fascinating book the genetics, diet and exercise that enable humans to perform at their peak. Based soundly in medical science, Dr Stroud analyses individual feats of survival and athletic prowess that illustrate the way the body functions at its best. He dissects his own challenging experiences of crossing Antarctica with Ranulph Fiennes, running marathons in the Sahara and participating in gruelling cross-country endurance races in the United States and gives some tips on how to stay fit for life for those of us who find walking the dog and endurance challenge - First published to great acclaim in 1998, this fully updated edition now includes a chapter on the Global 7 Marathons in 7 Days with Sir Ranulph Fiennes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4770 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07-29
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Mike Stroud, it would seem to most, is a very remarkable man. A qualified doctor, his fascination and involvement in the study of human performance and endurance fitness have obsessed him rather more than the average fitness fanatic. From crossing Antarctica unaided with Sir Ranulph Fiennes, to participating in countless marathons and triathlons traversing deserts and glaciers, Stroud has become his own human guinea pig, testing the limits of human strength and survival in some of the most extreme and inhospitable environments of our planet.

Yet far from simply the journal of one man's extraordinary fitness, Stroud sets out in Survival of the Fittest to tell us that we are all capable of the physical achievements usually left to realm of world class athletes. We are all able to attain such performance levels, Stroud assures us, because we are evolutionary designed to do just this.

At the heart of the book, Stroud claims that human beings have not altered genetically in the last 10,000 years, so physiologically we are identical to our ancestors. The problem is that we now have a markedly different lifestyle to the hunter-gathering times of our Cro-Magnon forefathers-–a lifestyle that simply does not match our evolutionary heritage. This, Stroud believes, is the reason why we are seeing an emergence of modern diseases such as heart disease, obesity and cancer.

Illustrating each chapter with adrenline-inducing accounts of his own expeditions and Adventures--falling through Antarctica ice into minus 40 degree water is just one that springs to mind--Stroud examines the physiological capacities of our bodies to perform and adapt to extreme situations, all the time reminding us that these capabilities are a fundamental part of our evolutionary inheritance.

This is a captivating book, not only a serious comment on the dangers of our modern "civilised" lifestyle, but also a source of remarkable facts on our human design, sure to liven up conversations and office chit-chat (this book certainly gets you talking). Although unlikely to spur you on to organise the next Polar expedition, it will give you the confidence--and quite possibly the inspiration--to become more active and to take up the challenges our genes intend us to do. --Abi Frisby

About the author…
Mike Stroud qualified as a doctor in 1979. He was the doctor on the "In the Footsteps of Scott" expedition in 1985-6, and in 1992 he teamed up with Sir Ranulph Fiennes to cross Antarctica on foot, breaking two world records for the longest unsupported walk in history. His book, Shadows on the Wasteland, is the account of that expedition. In 1993 he was awarded the OBE for Outstanding Achievements and Charity. Mike Stroud continues to practice medicine and to study metabolism and nutrition.

Review
'Illuminating - Mike Stroud, an Arctic explorer, medic and marathon-runner, explains how modern life-styles and diet have made us prone to a new array of diseases unknown until the industrial revolution. Demonstrating why it is essential for us to exercise, he also provides useful guidelines for changing our culturally moulded bad habits", Mail on Sunday .'The ultimate sporting diet documented in mouth-watering detail', The Times

Synopsis
Mike Stroud, polar explorer, practising hospital physician and recently adviser to the Ministry of Defence on survival, sets out in this fascinating book the genetics, diet and exercise that enable humans to perform at their peak. Based soundly in medical science, Dr Stroud analyses individual feats of survival and athletic prowess that illustrate the way the body functions at its best. He dissects his own challenging experiences of crossing Antarctica with Ranulph Fiennes, running marathons in the Sahara and participating in gruelling cross-country endurance races in the United States and gives some tips on how to stay fit for life for those of us who find walking the dog and endurance challenge - First published to great acclaim in 1998, this fully updated edition now includes a chapter on the Global 7 Marathons in 7 Days with Sir Ranulph Fiennes.

Customer Reviews

Juat amazing
Just read the updated version of this book. I loved the original book. This includes a section on how Dr Mike Stroud and Sir Ranulph Fiennes (listed by the Guniess Book of Records as the greatest living explorer)complete seven marathons in seven days on seven continents. This was several months after Sir Ralph had heart surgery.

These two were also the first two men to walk to both poles unaided. Mike Stroud is a highly acclaimed nutritionist and works with the UK's Famous (or infamous ???) SAS. Together with Helen Klein they also completed the ECO challeng when Helen was 72. A year later Mike had trained his 70 year old Dad who was healthy though only through hill walking to do the ECO challenge also. Its a book about the extremes the human body can be pushed to but at times humourous and highly motivating. An excellent read for anyone even remotely interested in fitness and health.

Informing and reassuring
I read this book whilst training for an endurance event and found the tales of personal involvement in endurance events, backed up by the explaination of what is happeing to you whilst taking part in these types of events helpful and reassuring. The best bit was knowing, from reading this book, that three hours into an event and running up a mountain the other reason why you are breathing like a steam train is because your body has just started using fat as a source of energy and not just past it! A very informative, useful and well written book.

I feel young after reading this!
What appears on first glance to be a technical medical/physiologically-orientated book is actually a riveting collection of adventure experiences. The chapters on physiology/evolution which alternate with chapters on adventures are also highly interesting and accessible. If you think that age or lack of present fitness are a barrier to physical achievement then prepare to have preconceptions blown away! Some useful opinions & insight expressed which are of practical use to current/aspiring endurance athletes. Highly recommended read. I have re-read it several times now and have been inspired to push my boundaries further!