Pushing A Wheelbarrow Full Of Rocks Up A Mountain Challenge

A while back I moved to Costa Rica and I didn't take any of my weight lifting equipment with me because of how expensive it would be to travel with them and once I got there I started looking for ways to get a good workout without barbells and dumbbells.

Costa Rica has lots of mountains and one day I decided to try putting some rocks in a wheelbarrow and push it up some steep mountain hills. My legs were burning like crazy and what I noticed was that almost every single car that drove by me when I was doing this exercise would stop and look at me in disbelief and ask me how and why I was pushing a wheelbarrow full of heavy rocks up the mountain. (Sometimes people would get out and try it themselves and nobody was able to even make it move forward an inch up the hills.) I also had developed a reputation in the town I was staying in for buying lots and lots of fruits and vegetables at the markets, so I realized that it was a unique opportunity to show people that you can be strong as a vegan and one day I decided to put 100 kilos of rocks (220 pound) in a wheelbarrow and try to push it all the way up a big mountain in one day and record it for YouTube.

I hope you enjoy watching this. I did this challenge to celebrate my 5th year of being vegan.

Wow, that is insane!!! This is for real right, no hoax? Sorry, had to ask.

I worked construction growing up, so i know pushing a heavy wheelbarrow is tough both physically and cardiovascular wise. I can't imagine pushing it up a mountain like that.

How long did you go before sitting it down the first time?

What did you eat during the 24 hrs period?

 

A while back I moved to Costa Rica and I didn't take any of my weight lifting equipment with me because of how expensive it would be to travel with them and once I got there I started looking for ways to get a good workout without barbells and dumbbells.

 

Costa Rica has lots of mountains and one day I decided to try putting some rocks in a wheelbarrow and push it up some steep mountain hills. My legs were burning like crazy and what I noticed was that almost every single car that drove by me when I was doing this exercise would stop and look at me in disbelief and ask me how and why I was pushing a wheelbarrow full of heavy rocks up the mountain. (Sometimes people would get out and try it themselves and nobody was able to even make it move forward an inch up the hills.) I also had developed a reputation in the town I was staying in for buying lots and lots of fruits and vegetables at the markets, so I realized that it was a unique opportunity to show people that you can be strong as a vegan and one day I decided to put 100 kilos of rocks (220 pound) in a wheelbarrow and try to push it all the way up a big mountain in one day and record it for YouTube.

 

I hope you enjoy watching this. I did this challenge to celebrate my 5th year of being vegan.

OMG are you wearing like crocs while doing that??

Kora - Yes, I wore crocks doing this. What can I say, they are comfortable But in all seriousness, I thought that if I wore shoes and socks my feet would get sweaty, slippery, and sore. I wore full body clothing to avoid sunburn (It was VERY hot and my pale skin would have been toast after an hour of two of direct sunlight.) and because I was walking around in sweaty clothes all day I had rashes all over my body by the time I got to the top of the mountain. (The rashes alone would have made most people quit I imagine.)

The PhytoAthlete - Yes, this is real. I stopped at the top of every single hill to rest and re-hydrate myself. Every hill was brutal! My legs were burning like crazy and my throat would get super dry due to heavy breathing and just being in that hot environment.

I ate dried fruit because I felt that I would need lots of dense calories that where quick and easy to eat that day. I also ate 3 jars of olives because a friend of mine who does a lot of outdoor running warned me that I could be in a lot of trouble if I spent all day sweating and exhausting myself and didn't take in any salt, and olives have salt added to them. Oh yeah, I also ate 4 avocados because I just got a feeling that more fat be beneficial... Not sure why I thought that, but I know that I enjoyed eating them that day. I'm not sure how much water I drank, but I imagine that it was 3 - 4 gallons. I basically "grazed" all day rather than sitting down long enough to eat a big meal which probably would have made me feel full and tired.

Kora - Yes, I wore crocks doing this. What can I say, they are comfortable But in all seriousness, I thought that if I wore shoes and socks my feet would get sweaty, slippery, and sore. I wore full body clothing to avoid sunburn (It was VERY hot and my pale skin would have been toast after an hour of two of direct sunlight.) and because I was walking around in sweaty clothes all day I had rashes all over my body by the time I got to the top of the mountain. (The rashes alone would have made most people quit I imagine.)

 

 

I would have chosen clothing differently. Out of experience in hiking & running deserts, and being blond and blued eyes I tend to burn really fast to. I would have chosen a studded trail running shoe. I also would have worn clothing that block UV rays, wicked moisture and helped to keep the body cooler and help prevent rashes. I'm guessing though that Costa Rica that kind of clothing would be hard or maybe impossible for you to get. I haven't spent much time there.

(I know leave it to girl to pick apart your clothing choices. LOL)

How hot is there? Any hallucinations? And how did you manage hydration?

Well all I can say is that is pretty damn incredible!

Kora - After a while I started to see (and even hear) things that weren't there. I saw a lady in a red shirt standing by the side of the road and waving at me and then realized that it was just a patch of red flowers blowing in the wind. I saw a plane that was flying extremely low to the ground and sounding like it was about to crash (I even ducked) and then I realized that it was just a bird flying by. It was as if my mind was wanting to make patterns out of everything around me and I guess I was kind of dreaming when I was still awake.

When it got completely dark I kept hearing the sounds of motorcycles driving up the mountain and getting closer to me, and a few times I looked behind me and even saw the background lighting up as if headlights were approaching. It was kind of scary and I jumped and hid in some bushes several times that night. My fears really played a number on me that night.

The PhytoAthlete - Thank you

Kora - After a while I started to see (and even hear) things that weren't there. I saw a lady in a red shirt standing by the side of the road and waving at me and then realized that it was just a patch of red flowers blowing in the wind. I saw a plane that was flying extremely low to the ground and sounding like it was about to crash (I even ducked) and then I realized that it was just a bird flying by. It was as if my mind was wanting to make patterns out of everything around me and I guess I was kind of dreaming when I was still awake.

 

When it got completely dark I kept hearing the sounds of motorcycles driving up the mountain and getting closer to me, and a few times I looked behind me and even saw the background lighting up as if headlights were approaching. It was kind of scary and I jumped and hid in some bushes several times that night. My fears really played a number on me that night.

 

The PhytoAthlete - Thank you

Hallucinations are pretty common in endurance type events. It's a combination of sleep deprivation, exhaustion and sometimes dehydration plays a roll. I always find them interesting. Usually like you said it's the mind looking for patterns and sounds it recognizes from a state of exhaustion. Sometime people are actually aware that what they are seeing is a hallucination and other times yeah it's like dreaming while your awake.

I once saw Pinhead from the movie Hellraiser! LOL, He was in my motel room closet. It was after a 130 mile run through a desert and I was severely dehydrated and exhausted.