FORCE OF NATURE

THE SAS SOLDIER TURNED TV SURVIVALIST HAS MADE OUTDOOR ADVENTURE HIS BUSINESS. BUT WHAT LESSONS DO HIS METHODS HOLD IN OUR INCREASINGLY URBANISED AND ONLINE WORLD?

MEN’S HEALTH: When you’re not speaking to MH, what does your routine look like on a typical Tuesday morning?

BEAR GRYLLS: I wake up and take the dogs for a walk, barefoot if I can. I even try to take my shirt off. I’ll say my prayers and say thank you for all the things I’m grateful for, and sorry for the less-than-good stuff I’ve done. I’m not out for long, just 20 minutes or so. Then I come home and train. I’ve got some weights and a rig, so I’ll do a half-hour workout, every other day. I also try to get cold. If I’m near a river and it’s winter, I’ll get in. Otherwise, I’ve got a chest freezer that I’ve lined with silicon and rigged up a circuit breaker, so it turns off when it gets to 2o°C. I’m only in there for three minutes.

If I’ve got a busy day ahead of me, I can get this done in 45 minutes. When I’ve got less going on, I take my time. Even when I’m filming, I’ll just go to bed early and then make sure I get up an hour before I’m due anywhere. I’ll follow one of the workouts on our Be Military Fit app (bemilitaryfit.com). I also try to do a 14-hour fast as often as I can, as I find that helps with everything from my energy levels to how well I sleep at night.

MH: What’s the enduring appeal of the outdoors?

BG: It’s because nature is in all of us. We need it and yearn for it. It’s why when you’re on the coast, you stand at the shoreline, shut your eyes, listen to the waves and soak it in. It’s instinctive.

MH: But isn’t it harder to access in today’s indoors-focused world?