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Lately I’ve been feeling like the summer is getting away from me way too quickly!  I haven’t done nearly as many things as I hoped to.  Last month I had ants in my pants about getting to do more things.  So we made plans for hiking a 14er and signing up for indoor rock climbing. Read about my 14er experience here!

Rock climbing is something I’ve been interested in for a while.  I first looked in to it this winter when I was stuck inside and going crazy.  Since I live in the climbing capital of the world, there were LOTS of options.  I started on Groupon and asked around for advice on where to go.  I very quickly found Earth Treks.

Earth Treks is one of the larger climbing gyms near Denver.  It’s located in Golden, CO.  Although I wish it was closer, it is easy to get to.  A friend of a friend recommended this place as well as a staff member at our local outdoor store: REI. They also have a introduction package that I thought was worth the deal.

For $79 you get a BOGO offer for two introductory classes and a 15 day open pass.   I definitely needed the introduction class and the hubby needed a refresher.  So we signed up for this past Saturday and went.

 

When I try new things now, I get less and less nervous.  I find that I’m so fit now that it’s hard to surprise myself with what I could do.  I wasn’t nervous about my abilities to rock climb but I was nervous about the height.  While I don’t have a natural fear of heights, I do have a fear of falling.  I hate that suspended feeling.  You know when you’re in an elevator and there’s that second of suspension before you get to your floor? That makes my stomach flip every single time. So I wasn’t sure how my brain would react to the heights of climbing and how it might effect me physically.

The staff at Earth Treks was great!  We went for our introduction class this past Saturday.  They taught us all the basics of climbing: knots, harness, safety, belay and a little bit of movement.  On my first climb, I made it to the top with ease.  The course we chose was fairly easy for our first time.  I couldn’t believe how easy it was to pull myself to the top.  I found myself thinking, “What’s the big deal?”. Just wait…..

I didn’t have any fears of falling while climbing.  Maybe it was because my hubby was my anchor (belay is the proper term) and I knew he’d never let anything happen. Even when I turned to look at the top of the wall or glanced down to find the next foothold, I never got scared.  Each climb got harder and harder.  We selected harder courses and moved to a taller wall.

 

By my third time up, my arms were exhausted!  I don’t currently do a lot of forearm work because…..well I never thought about it!  But my forearms ached the rest of the day! Some parts of rock climbing are easier than I thought while others are harder.  It definitely uses different muscles than I usually work. Overall it was a great time and SUPER fun.  We went back the next day.  We also have movement class this week and will climb over the weekend again.  I probably won’t be getting a membership until the winter time.  I just don’t have enough time to mix it with everything I love and get the money out of a membership.

After climbing, I read into the health benefits of the exercise.  I felt pretty spent afterwards but I wasn’t sure how many calories I was burning.  So I read this article and really liked the information.  It’s a good read with lots of info.

 

Last night I attended American Warrior Ninja Night at a local Parkour Gym called Urban Acrobatics.  American Ninja Warrior, if you don’t know, is an obstacle course that uses body weight and momentum to travel across six obstacles.  Every time you complete a course, you move on to the next round. No American has ever finished the entire competition. I have been watching AWN for several years and have thought about it quite differently over that time:

3 years ago:  Are these people CRAZY?!?  Who wants or needs to be able to do that? What a waste of time. Get a life.

2 years ago: I don’t think I could do any of that!  These people are nuts.

1 year ago: Hm…..maybe I could do that one but never that one!

This year: I’ve got to find a gym to try this.

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So I looked into finding a place to play like a ninja  First, I had to figure out what the heck Parkour even was.  For a good read about it: Check this out in the New Yorker.

Also, here’s a video of one of most famous Parkour athletes: David Belle.

If you somehow don’t know what American Ninja Warrior is, you can watch highlights and clips from this season HERE.

Now that we’ve covered the background information, let’s get in to the workout!

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I found this gym, Urban Acrobatics, by doing a simple Google search for “Ninja Gym Denver”.  I saw they had a Tuesday night American Ninja Warrior class so I messaged them on Facebook for the details.  Basically, bring your $15, sign a death waiver, and have fun! The gym looked like it had a few obstacles and I figured why not! A few days ago I did some more searching into the gym to see how legit it was.  I figured I’d go either way just to get some experience. (My boxing trainer is out of town…..) The more I looked into UA the more nervous I got about attending.

Urban Acrobatics is managed by Lorin Ball, who has competed in every season of American Ninja Warrior.  You can watch him from last season HERE. The more I researched the facility and saw videos of what they had and what their athletes could do, the more nervous I got.  I thought I was going to make a total fool of myself.  I had no idea what I could and couldn’t do.  I practice on monkeys bars a lot and know I can do pull ups.  My arm and core strength are good but my back and chest need work.  I had no idea what I was getting in to.  So what do you do when this happens? You invite a friend and make them do it with you.  Thanks Thomas!

Breakdown of the night:

Run – We started by going for a short but quick run around the outside of the facility: up stairs, down stairs, hop over railings, jump up the wall and when we got back you climb down the rope wall to get started.  I felt good so far!  I could keep up and while I didn’t look graceful, I could quickly make it over the objects.

Stretching – This is when we did introductions and stretched out.  Pretty typical.

Demonstration – Then the instructors went through the course.  At each obstacle they would give tips on how to best do it or alternate ways if you couldn’t get it.  You only got two chances on each obstacle before moving on.  Here’s what the gym looks like: I’m not going to try and describe lasts night course because it’s almost impossible to imagine but here’s a short breakdown:

Hop from balance beam, swing across the 6 foot gap, climb up the wall, across 3 balance bars, jump to the next landing, walk down the pipe, warp wall, rope descending climb, swing to a tire, box jump, salmon ladder.

Did you get all that? While I’m watching the demonstration I’m thinking, “how can I get out of doing that obstacle?” “There’s no way I can even try that!”  “Yeah……right!”  BUT, I was here to try.  My greatest fear was showing up and looking like a total idiot.  I was happy that there were others there trying for their first time.  Right away the instructors encouraged everyone to just try their best and asked the veterans to help out the newbies.  I really appreciated them accepting us!  I didn’t feel judged by anyone, except myself of course.

Practice – We then had time to practice and just play on the obstacles and try to figure them out before our timed run. So I went around and tried all the different obstacles and was surprised at what I could do!  I had a pretty good vision of what my abilities were but I surprised myself a few times. Practice was essential for me because I really didn’t know.  This was also my favorite part of class because you could get tips from the other members.

Conditioning – After practice, everyone gets a chance to run the course timed.  While you’re waiting for your turn, Lorin assigns conditioning exercises.  Last nights were: 30 leg lifts, 3 rope climbs, and one minute holds on the rock wall.  The 30 leg lifts were easy as I do that exercise all the time.  The one minute holds were a little harder.  We were only allowed to use one foot but my toes are strong from boxing and my fingers are strong from play piano so I was pretty good at this exercise!

We also had to do rope climbs.  I am not awesome at this.  I had to use the rope with knots in it because after my run my arms were dead! But I made it to the top just the same.  I didn’t have three climbs in me but I did one. By the end of class my arms, forearms, chest and shoulders were sore.

My Run – During class everyone gets a timed run.  I was not at all excited about it!  I was nervous about everyone watching me!  Luckily I went towards the end and lots of members had moved on to their conditioning.  Some of the veterans finished the course in under a minute.  I was hoping to come out injury free.  When It came to my turn, I did the best I could.  I failed the first obstacle twice, got the second and third.  When I got to the Warp Wall, I already knew I couldn’t reach the top from practice.  But I gave it all I had anyway.  On my third attempt I finally touched the top!  The warp wall is just as hard as it looks even though it’s not nearly as scary as I thought! I was really proud of myself.  I had to take the alternate route since I couldn’t pull myself up the wall and then failed the rest of the obstacles.  It took me over 5 minutes. BUT I was impressed with myself and pushed myself to try and do new things, so in my mind, I win! Here I am after class trying a few things again.  Neither of these videos is as strong as I hoped since I was already pretty spent:

Wow.  This post has gone on for much longer than I thought it would………

After class I talked to Lorin about which class/classes would help me most.  Since I’ll be doing the Touch Mudder (AHHHH!) in September, I need obstacle training. He was very helpful and gave me a trainers name and number that works for UA.  I had a GREAT time and will definitely attend in the future and have lots of friends to bring! I’m already thinking about when I can try that warp wall again!

Moral of the story: I was scared as hell to go to Ninja night.  I was scared to try.  I was scared to get hurt or fall but I did it anyway.  And the result? No injuries and a huge amount of pride! Push yourself to try something new today even if it’s scary!

This Saturday, July 4th 2015, I accomplished my last fitness goal that I set for myself in January.  I hiked a 14er and made it to the summit!  For those that don’t know, a 14er is a mountain that reaches over 14,000 feet above sea level.  Denver, the Mile High City, is 5,280 feet above sea level.  Today’s post will consist of some advice for hiking and an account of how it went.

Can I Hike?

Anyone can hike as long as you choose a path that’s right for you.  Here’s some things to consider when choosing a path:

1. Distance – Now I know it sounds silly but don’t forget most trails are posted for length one way.  Most hikes you double the distance for there AND back.  Be really careful here. Just because you can walk 3 miles, doesn’t necessarily mean you can hike three miles.  All of the things below will effect how difficult the hike is. When in doubt start small because you can always add distance but you don’t want to get stuck half way down a trail.

2.  Altitude – If you will be hiking through an elevation change, there’s lots to consider.  I don’t notice much of a difference if the change in altitude is 500 feet or less.  Once it’s more than that, my body will notice.  The higher the elevation, the less oxygen there is in the air.  This makes it harder to breathe and some people even experience altitude sickness.  Remember to drink TONS of water and listen to your body. If you’re starting at a higher elevation than you live, give yourself a while to acclimate before starting your hike.  Then remember to take lots of breaks on the way up!

3.  Expected Weather – Try to prepare for all kinds of weather.  I recommend bringing all items in ziplocs and bringing extra for your feet in case of rain.  Also, remember to layer your clothes.  Every 500 feet up will bring the temperature down 5 degrees.  It’s hard to plan for how cool it will be versus how hot you’ll be from hiking.  Bring lightweight layers so you can dress appropriately for that part of the hike. Remember sunscreen, sun glasses and bug spray!

4.  Topography – I don’t like to track how far I am on a hike because I find it very discouraging.  However, I do like to look at the topography of the course before I start.  There is usually a sign at the beginning of most trails with this information. I like to look for check points like streams, hills and valleys.  That helps me know where I am on the trail without having to think about how much farther it is to go. Every part of the hike will take a different amount of time.  A half mile here is not the same as a half mile there so don’t push yourself to make great time because you really can’t compare one to the other.

5.  Terrain – Depending on the popularity of your trail, it’s terrain can really vary.  An ‘open trail’ hike that no one ever goes on is going to be more like a ‘no trail’ hike.  However, a ‘closed trail’ hike can often be much more open and obvious if tons of people have done it.  The terrain should help you decide on proper footwear and clothing.  The more ‘closed’ a trail, the more hiking you’ll actually be doing versus walking.  The more woodsy a trail, the more clothes you’ll want to wear for shade and protection from bugs.

Some popular trails even have message boards where you can see how the trail looked the day before you do it. Don’t be afraid to bring too much stuff you’re first time as long as you can carry the weight.  You’ll figure out what you really need the more times you hike.

Hiking Mount Bierstadt

Hiking a 14er (Mountain that reaches 14,000 feet) has been one of my goals since moving to Colorado.  However, in January I set it as a goal for this year.  After not-so-patiently waiting for the temperature to rise high enough to hike, we set a date to hike Mount Bierstadt on the 4th of July. I really thought it was going to be no big deal.  I’ve done a half marathon, so how hard could it be?

Answer: FREAKING HARD

The first mile of Bierstadt isn’t so bad.  It’s not much more than walking, step up here, walk across here, small steam here, mud there…….and then it get’s hard.  The hike up Bierstadt is a 3 mile hike with 3,000 foot elevation gain. After that first mile, the gain in elevation started to get to me.  We had to stop and take breaks A LOT.  You feel like you’ve only gone 10 steps since the last time you stopped but then you look back and you’ve made it farther then you thought.  You take a minute to catch your breath and then within a few more steps, you’re already huffing and puffing.  There’s no training for altitude without practice.  I had not had enough practice.

When you train for physical goals, it gives you a bottom to refer to.  You’re thinking, “I can make it, it doesn’t suck as bad as that one time.”  But when you haven’t trained, sometimes the event IS your bottom.  I hit bottom during the second mile.  There was a point where I didn’t really know if I could do it.  I wouldn’t let myself give up or turn back  but I really really really wanted to.  The last stretch of Bierstadt is all boulders that you have to figure out for yourself.  There’s no trail at this point but you can tell where to go because you’re almost to the top. This was actually the most fun part.

And then you make it to the top.  There were 20-30 people at the summit when we arrived and lots of dogs.  Everyone is celebrating what they’ve just done and taking pictures.  It’s kind of fun to celebrate with everyone! AND THE VIEW!

I have never been anywhere so beautiful in my entire life!  The hike was so hard but so worth it.  Where else can you see and do this on a Saturday for fun? I love where I live!

 

Often when I tell people I’m in boxing training, they think I’m doing kickboxing.  Here’s what they envision:

 

While I actually like these types of classes, this is not what I’ve been doing.  Kickboxing classes definitely have their place and are great calorie burners.  I enjoyed them a lot when I was working on my endurance and agility.

Last night I was lucky enough to have TWO private sessions with my trainer but I was even luckier to have a friend at the gym who could take some video.  I get photos of me boxing pretty frequently but I’ve never seen videos of myself.  In a way I didn’t really want to watch them.  But after I did, I really wanted to share them!  I think I’m looking pretty good!  It’s always hard to box and try to think about what you look like because you’re doing so many other things.

Here’s all the things I’m thinking about controlling in these videos:

1. Footwork

2. Stance

3. Forehead down

4.  No eye contact

5.  Full extension on my jab

6.  Pivot Right hand

7. Pivot left hook

8.  Proper placement

9.  Proper speed

10.  Proper power

11.  Breathe

12.  Cover your face

13.  Slip

14.  Don’t get hit

15.  I hate Jameson

I’m sure there’s more that I forgot.  But it’s the combination of every part working together that makes boxing what it is.  Hope you enjoy!

 

 

 

I’ve now been taking private and semi-private boxing lessons for 6 months with Jameson Bostic and DaVarryl Williamson at PunchDenverBoxing. (Like them on Facebook Here!) I haven’t been writing about it much since my focus has been running. But I can absolutely, 100%, without-a-doubt say that I love it!  Every athlete has a preferred sport and mine is definitely boxing.  When I say that I’m in boxing training, people think that I’m doing kickboxing.  This is not the case. There’s no Tae-bo or jump kicks.  There’s no booty shaking or dance cardio mix. There’s only perfect technique and training. While running comes in a close second, my heart and mind are always excited to walk in to the boxing gym. You can read all about the health benefits of boxing: here.  But I have to say, that’s only a small part of the reason why I love it.

Boxing classes go faster than any other type of class I’ve taken.  At my gym, PunchDenverBoxing at Touch ‘Em Up, they hold semi-private sessions every night.  A few times a week I also get a private lesson from my trainer, Jameson Bostic.  Whether I’m working with a small group or by myself, the hour goes so quickly.  Most of the time it goes so fast that I stay for a second class :). We start with exercises such as: running, pull ups, push ups, agility work, tricep dips, ab wheels, hula hooping and always plenty of sit ups.  Each night is a little different.  Sometimes we flip tires or do box jumps.  It just depends on the night and the abilities of the group.  Then we get into the punching.  We usually work long combinations with mitts but sometimes do bag work or speed drills.  No matter what, there’s always something to be doing or working on. There’s never time to just stand around and catch your breath. But after almost six months now, I feel very strong at boxing and can see how it’s bled over into my everyday life. Here’s my top four reasons for loving boxing:

 

1.  I’m never perfect

In boxing there are so many things to think about: Block your face, elbows in, full extension, foot work, pivot, height……..My gym wants it perfect, every time.  At first boxing made me feel totally inadequate. Today my punches aren’t fast enough, yesterday they were too high, tomorrow the will probably be too low.  It’s hard for me not to be perfect.  It’s hard to realize that even when you’re trying 150%, sometimes your body just can’t do what you’re telling it to do.  But when you’re arms are tired and you’ve done this same combination 10 times already, hearing “Perfect” from your trainer is all worth it.  When you hear the sound a good right hand makes on a mitt, you want to hear it over and over. Boxing teaches me that I can’t always be perfect.  Things can go wrong at the last second but with training you can figure out how to improve on the mistake that you’ve made.

 

2.  More than just punching

I also love that it isn’t just about punching.  When using proper technique, boxing exercises your whole body.  It takes a ton of control to punch with accuracy.   There’s footwork, breathing, stance and eye contact to think about all outside of the punch you’re about to throw.  Then there is the combination to remember and which punch to throw when.  It’s an accumulation of so many muscles working together that the punch is just a small part of the equation.

3.  Mind Control

It’s really hard to hear “Nope”, “Not good enough”, “How many times have I told you” and so on from your coach.  Really hard.  But it’s worth it to keep going to get the one “Perfect”.  I like being motivated through yelling and being held to a standard no matter what.  I don’t want a coach who accepts my ‘good enough’ attitude when I give it.  I need to be pushed. Because I get this mental practice at the gym, I find it happens in my everyday life at work and at home.  Some people might think that training to be a fighter makes you a fighter all the time.  I’ve found the opposite to be true. Throughout the day I’m calmer.  It’s easier for me to step outside a situation and see it for what it really is.  My demeanor is overall calmer and less stressed because of boxing.

4.  It’s freaking fun

Boxing makes you feel tough!  I now walk around at night with no worries.  I know that if a situation gets out of control, I can defend myself.  Boxing is just fun!  It’s fun for me to see a grown man wince from my punch in the ring.  It’s awesome to get the loudest right hand of the night. It’s fun to watch fights on TV or live and actually know what’s going on.  Boxing is the most fun sport I’ve ever done and I can see myself doing it for quite some time!