Step inside my exclusive expedition training with legendary Performance Coach, Mike McCastle, and learn how to unveil your own inner warrior.

I am a warrior.
I cultivate this feeling.
I nourish it, day after day.
I refuse to let my mind override my body.
I refuse to let my pains stop me.
I practice the #NOEXCUSE attitude and I feel #UNSTOPPABLE.

I have always trained alone for my expeditions: Mont-Blanc, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Denali, Aconcagua, etc.
And it worked. Kind of. I made it — but was never the fastest or it always seemed that I needed to exert more effort than “the others”.
I always blamed my pains (I was born with juvenile rheumatism) for my slow pace. However, slow or not, I would make it to the top, crawling if necessary. That’s because my brain is my biggest muscle.

When I set my sights on Antarctica, to climb its highest peak and then ski to the South Pole, I decided I needed help. So, I signed up for an online program offered by Scott Johnston.
I quickly found out that this program was nothing really new. I could not understand the hype of it as week after week I was doing pretty much the same thing — weightlifting and running — just heavier and longer.

So I did train, I made it to the top of Vinson and to the South Pole. But, I was not satisfied with my level of fitness, especially because my next project (July 2022) is INSANE.

At the time, I had been connecting a little with Mike McCastle, a true legend, a beast, a warrior to the x power. He trains the likes of Colin O’Brady and other impressive individuals.

When he offered to train me for my next project, I felt beyond flattered and I knew that with Mike at my back there was only way: success!

What Mike does not do:

• Coach you like a kid: “come on, you gotta do this”. Rather, he assumes you want it so he won’t bug you to train when he posts your weekly plan. I am supposed to want it BADLY, VERY BADLY. So he is definitely not your gym babysitter.
• Coach everyone the same way.

What Mike does:

• Coaches you like he means it. My success is his success.
• Designs super precise and efficient training plans adapted to each individual’s needs. For example, he does not coach me like he coaches my friend, Nelly Attar, who is climbing K2 in June.
• Creates exercises you have never seen before so that you are never bored and give it your all.
• Efficiently creates new pathways and new habits that will override fear and stress when climbing.
• Does not care if you grunt, cry and scream, as long as you do it (and gosh did I cry!). Click here for footage…as you can see, I am not exaggerating!
• Adapts the plan…if a weight is too heavy or an exercise is too hard, he won’t say “let’s do something else”. Nope. He might adapt the weight and maybe (but not really) the exercise so that you show your mind who is the boss.
• Tests you…for instance: he would tell me, “we’ll do 4 circuits” of something that’s so hard, that after the second one I was projecting myself to the end of the 4th…and then ask me “do you have it in you to do another one?”. I screamed “YES” though I was crying and in pain (my bones and muscles). I must admit that the first time he tested me, I failed: he gave me the choice between 2×20 or 1×30 of the Hollow Rock exercise and I lacked self confidence and chose the “easy” way out by choosing 2×20.

• Unveils even more of your inner warrior. I thought I was a warrior? I was a mini Padawan…he removed layers of self-protection and made me realize how damn strong I am and how much stronger I can become.
• He reverses trends and self-limiting thoughts: I had never been able to do ONE push-up in my entire life because of the quasi-constant pain in my wrists. Somehow, he figured out a way to not only make me do my first push-up ever, but to do about 15 of those over the course of the weekend. I had never EVER been able to do a pull-up even with all the techniques out there (reverse pull-ups, small increments, assisted, etc.). He found a way after a 2-day gruesome training camp, to make me do a 60% pull-up. Not yet a 100% one but hey, what a success! And now I know what to do to reach the 100% pull-up!
• He disturbs you while training: light in your face, annoying sounds, etc., to force your focus back onto what you are doing.
• He tortures you, but for your own good: long plank with your hands in ice, invisible chair with your feet in ice, a weight on your lap while doing a figure 8 (I will humbly admit that not all of my figure 8’s were an 8, some were more like an old pretzel :).
• He uses state-of-the-art props like an altitude simulating mask (putting me at 11% oxygen i.e. 17000 ft) to make the exercise even more efficient.
• And…he is super nurturing. He does not just stop at the plan, but also enquires about how you feel every day, how you slept, etc.

Follow me on Instagram @valerieorsoni as I am regularly posting what we do together, and follow Mike @mikemccastle to check out his training style for yourself!

When I first set my eyes on my next project, I knew it was going to be hard — and it will be. I had my moments of doubt, but now? I feel on top of the world, the moon, and the mountains…..I feel damn strong.

Thank you, Mike, for believing in me and good luck for your own next insane project, part of your Twelve Labors Project!

If you are planning a mountaineering or expedition project and want to be fully prepared — and I mean really prepared as in “have 120% success rate probability” — then you can reach out to Mike via his IG account. I cannot guarantee that he can accept all of you because his time is limited, but gosh, if you get his coaching experience, you will unveil a new YOU.

People ask me about the cost of this training. It really varies, but an expedition such as Everest, K2, Antarctica, Denali, the 7 Summits, etc., already has quite a high price tag, and to that we add insurance as well. So why not get a “success insurance” with the right coaching that will improve your chances for success to 99.99% and prevent a massive waste of $$$ and time?

PS. I know, I know, I am a coach and a few of you have asked me, why on earth do I need a coach? Well, I am an expert at helping women become their own daily life warrior and reach their goals, but I am no expert at larger-than-life projects like the ones I’m taking on, and Mike happens to be THE ONE I want to work with for that.

FORZAAAA!

Valerie Orsoni
Your LeBootCamp Healthy Living & Weight Loss Coach