As I was huffing and puffing my way up a hill this past weekend I was reminded of why I started Ascent Fitness. Here I was in the most gorgeous place, with great company, and great weather, but physically I was struggling!
I was definitely regretting all my excuses to not workout during Covid! I’ve had access to a gorgeous facility (Ascent) during all of this and haven’t used it once. (I know, it's embarrassing).
But admittedly, I am the first person to find a reason not to go to the gym. “I’m too busy, I’m too tired, I don’t want to go alone,” are some common ones. I’ve been running and hiking a lot during COVID, but I forgot my own wisdom on how much strength training helps.
You guessed it; I started Ascent because I wanted a fun, motivating, communal place to workout so I can go on ambitious outdoor trips without feeling miserable. And, I wanted to help others build that strength and conditioning too so they can also explore beautiful places.
But there is another (probably more important) reason. Even though this trip was harder than I would have liked, I still went, my body still did it, and I never doubted that I could. The confidence I have gained from past training and conditioning is still with me and what allows me to pursue ambitious trips.
I walked several miles a day with all my gear on my back. I climbed up rocks and snowfields, balanced on logs, and hopped rocks across rivers. Many of these challenges would have shut me down before I started training regularly in the Ascent way.
As I crossed 2x4 sized logs I had the confidence that I could do it. When rocks were just out of reach I knew I could stick my single leg hop. And I knew that even though it was hard, I had the ability to walk the miles and get up the hill.
When I started Ascent I wanted to lead a training program that focused on building skills and celebrated successes because this is what builds confidence! It is confidence not conditioning that gets people out doing things! Sure, the conditioning makes it more comfortable and potentially safer but without confidence I would have never ended up on the best, worst, backpacking trip ever!
I started Ascent to help others build the confidence to explore new places.
*If you have a similar story of how training at Ascent has helped you get through challenging tasks or helped you explore new places; we would love to hear about it.*