On and off screen adventurer and survival expert, Bear Grylls is no strange to mud, sweat and tears (also the name of one of his many books). He’s a former SAS serviceman and survival instructor who’s built an amazing career out of showing people exactly what it takes to survive in the wilderness. He’s trekked through jungles, navigated the relentless Sahara desert and survived some of the most brutal environments on the planet. All of this requires a lot of physical and mental strength and looking after his body is something he’s had to do in order to take on these challenges.

We sat down with Bear to talk about his recent partnership is with Be Military Fit (BMF), what keeping fit means to him, his go-to fuel for sustaining energy and how he switches off.

You recently teamed up with BMF, what is it about their style of training that you connect with?
I first trained BMF many years ago and have always loved their ethos and fitness community. It was also their focus on outdoor fitness which I loved, and this has always been a big part of my own training routine. I love to train outdoors, it’s a chance to disconnect with the world and breath some non-gym fresh air! There is something very empowering about training outdoors. What I’m especially excited about now is how broad our membership base is, with workouts designed for people of all ages and abilities.

How is BMF different from other types of workouts available and how can it benefit our physical and mental health?
All BMF workouts are with a fun, motivating instructor and that means you always have a trusted guide with you every step of the way. That’s so important for results. Our instructors are always a very empowering part of the experience. Training outside requires determination and a little grit, but our members often talk about how motivating the BMF community always is. Physical fitness is so important for mental health and when you add the community, the outdoors and the friendships built at BMF it is no surprise we are growing so fast.

How does mental motivation kick in during survival challenges?
Mental strength accompanied by physical strength is a winning combo that everyone can develop – but it develops best through struggle. Storms always make us stronger. Often literally! Life has shown me that so many times though that training outdoors for an hour a day empowers us through the whole day in a way that an indoor gym never can.

What are your go-to hearty meals to fuel your body?
I have a few up my sleeve (and to be found in my book ‘Fuel for Life’), I love to cook at home and really enjoy the challenge of making healthy food taste amazing. Main ingredients are always mega healthy whole foods and good fats, plenty of avocados, nuts, fresh veggies and fish.

What types of workouts do you complete during your day-to-day life?
I work hard to stay as fit as I can, and I consider it a key part of my job. I train using short, highly effective workouts, that I can fit around my schedule and family time. I co-own Be Military Fit, Europe’s largest outdoor fitness provider, that has over 600 classes delivered every week across 140 venues. We currently train hundreds of ex-serving members of the Armed Forces to become instructors, and we are so proud to offer free classes to Veterans. BMF is proving such a powerful way to help veterans and regular people achieve their fitness goals in a positive community atmosphere. It’s amazing seeing it grow so fast.

How has good health and fitness helped you during survival challenges?
For me, it’s about being well prepared, and physical training is always a significant part of that.  I love to train with Be Military Fit as being outside and training in a community gives me the best in functional fitness, speed, endurance, flexibility. Good healthy nutrition is also important, I try and avoid dairy, refined wheat and sugar; and then the final component is practising your skills and keeping a positive survivor mindset. That means developing and using a never Give Up attitude in all I do. It’s a mantra now for me.

How do you destress?
It’s not all mud and action 24/7, I love nothing more than a long bath with a huge mug of tea!

Discover more at Bemilitaryfit.com