Chilean Miners' Subterranean Workout

Next time you need some motivation to get up on that treadmill or to complete the last reps in your free-weight routine, consider Edison Pena. While Pena was trapped for 69 days in the collapsed Chilean mine, he ran in the network of tunnels by the light of a head lamp. Every day, he traced about a three-mile circuit, sometimes twice, in the knee-high boots he'd managed to cut down to his ankles. "When I ran in the darkness," said Pena (34 years old, 5' 5", 145 lbs) at a news conference before completing the New York City Marathon on November 7th, "I was running for life."

Just do it, indeed. Edison Pena, the 12th miner to emerge on October 13th

Meanwhile, Jean Christophe Romagnoli, a doctor specializing in sports medicine, taught all 33 trapped miners a regimen of exercise to help them maintain fitness and prepare them for rescue. The workout included simple cardio, leg-strengthening exercises, and movements aimed at improving blood flow.

Romagnoli started the men on cardio training--walking or jogging in the tunnels for about half an hour at a pace of two to three miles per hour. He had them sing while they worked out. Not to boost morale, but rather to ensure that their heartbeats remained in a safe range of 120 to 140 beats per minute. "Your physiology does not permit you to sing and jog while exceeding 140 beats per minute," Romagnoli told The Wall Street Journal. He also had the men do leg exercises, including a variety of squats (in part so they'd have strength for any climbing that might be required in the rescue), and resistance training with elastic bands.