Personal Experience Helps Fit For Trips Train You for Adventure

Many of the adventures undertaken by Fit For Trips founder Marcus Shapiro — especially hardcore biking trips around the U.S. — required serious training. He also has a significant amount of experience hiking, backpacking and snow skiing.

These journeys have heavily influenced the customized programs that he creates for clients trying to get into the best shape possible for upcoming adventure trips.

It’s important to note that Shapiro’s degree in athletic training initially provided him with the knowledge to understand the physiological demands of many different sports: football, soccer, baseball, etc. As a result, he found it very easy to make the jump from crafting training plans for traditional sports to crafting training plans for outdoor activities.

Shapiro’s education and scientific knowledge would not be enough on their own to craft competent training plans. The critical synergy was going out and experiencing the rigor of trails, whether hiking, biking or skiing. Having actually felt the challenges of ascending, descending, jumping, bounding, balancing, scrambling, etc. elucidates everything garnered in the classroom, books, and all the continuing education he still pursues.

His all-time favorite cycling trip involved flying his bike into Kalispell, Montana; assembling the bike at the airport; and undertaking a week-long ride through several places including Glacier National Park, Whitefish and Polebridge. He wore backpacks and bike panniers throughout.

Much of Shapiro’s backpacking experience has been in Georgia’s Cohutta Wilderness, where he has lived since 1993. He’s also a veteran of exotic trips featuring culture and wildlife including French Polynesia, Costa Rica, the Galapagos Islands, and African safaris, to name a few.