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PHYSICALLY TWEAKED by Cat Smiley, ISSA
Pushing the last mile on the treadmill, you look around at the view. To your right there’s an overweight woman stretching in an unflattering position with alarming cleavage bursting out of her halter top. To your left there’s your former boss dripping sweat all over the cardio machines.
You reach for Outside magazine for distraction and realize your days are sheltered in more ways than one. Sheltered under an infinite roof, sheltered from the mood swings of Mother Nature.
Most people in society slip into this pattern. They leave home, jump in the car and drive to work. If exercise is in the cards, its usually “same time, same place,” before retiring to the couch for television until bedtime.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe there is anything wrong with continuity and the pattern of corporate lifestyles. Unless climbing the corporate ladder means giving up your childish giggle when you get splashed by the tide, or forgetting what windburn feels like. It’s easy to get kidnapped by life’s rat race, but it’s also easy to break free.
The fitness movement began so we would be strong enough to maximize our working day, walking to the next village, chopping firewood, and scrubbing our children’s clothes. Before cars were common, society boasted better mental and physical health. Now we fight fat with a few gym workouts per week and a low-carb diet.
Nobody cares more about what you look like than you do. In the outdoor jungle gym, runners don’t frown on walkers and skinny bikers all look the same when they’re splattered with mud. Outdoor exercisers can wear the same scruffy T-shirt over and over, spit when they feel like it and take a break without excusing themselves.
There’s an old saying, “a ship in the harbour is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.” It’s the same with us. Working out at your local gym serves its purpose, but like being in the safe harbour, it just doesn’t compare to feeling the wind in your hair as you run through the forest, or to coming home muddy from mountain biking, even if it’s just once a week.
The challenging part can be mustering up your friends to get enthused on outdoor adventure, so joining a sports club or organized day trip from your local gym can be well worth it. Exercising with fellow enthusiasts can be a fun way to discover new trails and find extra motivation, especially when they are able to help fix the chain on your mountain bike, miles away from anywhere.
Personally, some weekends the world looks better from the comfort of my pajamas and a giant sized latte. Other days, I awake to the patter of the rain and am excited to get out there on a refreshing run, embracing the opportunities of an open trail. If you’re new to outdoor exercising, you’ll probably find even the winter can’t dampen your motivation. Regardless of the season, be prepared for stormy weather and sudden temperature changes especially in the mountains. Carry a daypack with jacket, mittens, hat and an extra set of dry clothing when venturing onto the trails.
Beyond jogging in the park, find natural challenges to your physical limits for full body conditioning. For example, a fallen log can provide great lateral strength from hopping explosively side to side, alternating grounded feet. Sink deeply into a squat position to enhance lower-body benefits. Combine that with sets of step-ups onto a tree stump or a boulder, adding a vertical hop once on top.
Pushups off the same boulder will work your upper body, then find a safe area to work on power and speed by sprint training. I keep weights in my car for lunges and lower body resistance work in the parking lot of the trailhead, after my run. Then once home, work your core and upper-body.
On Monday morning in step class when some perky aerobics instructor bellows for you to “Reach for the stars” you’ll think about your recent weekend camping trip with your mountain bike.
Cat Smiley is a journalist, pro skier and personal trainer.
Her Smiley Fitness Co. runs boot camps, fitness vacations and personal
training in Whistler.
Check out Whistler fitness vacations www.smileyfitness.com
1-604-902-0698.
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