Endurance, Agility and Core Control for Backpacking Season
A small-group personal training series.
If you enjoy backpacking and would like to be more prepared for the hikes you have planned for the summer season, this is the perfect class for you.
We all expect to be a bit deconditioned at the start of backpacking season, and to get stronger as we go on a few hikes. What we may not realize is that wintertime deconditioning accelerates as we get older, and that many of the injuries or pains associated with backpacking, such as knee pain from downhill hiking, are a result of the sudden, intense overload that we’re subjecting ourselves to.
Likewise agility, and the quick reaction ability needed to navigate the roots and rocks on the trail can be enhanced with the right training.
Training is a far more efficient and effective way to prepare the body for the demands of the activity, compared to trying to do enough training hikes to get in shape.
Training will also help target areas that can be missed by just performing the activity itself.
It’s possible to start the season prepared to enjoy the magic of the high country while also extending your backpacking career…instead of feeling like your first backpacking trip is a sort of fitness boot camp.
I’m offering a 6 week, group training series with a focus on getting ready to hike up and down mountains.
Backpacking rewards us with beautiful vistas and remote locations where we can be deeply immersed in nature. But if it becomes too painful to get ourselves there we may no longer feel motivated to access these places.
Persistent, progressive training of the motions that translate best to the activity will allow you to do the activity with more ease and less discomfort.
Starting on April 11th, we’ll spend 6 weeks training everything that needs to be trained to get you ready for backpacking season.
Training sessions will be twice per week. Sessions start at 11am on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Each session will be 45 minutes.
This will be a supportive environment with a level of challenge that is customized to your starting point.
This class is best suited for those who enjoy hiking, or want to enjoy hiking again. It’ll be a perfect fit whether you:
- Have been finding that your lifestyle has been shifting toward being more sedentary and you want to feel confident and prepared for your summer trips.
- Are an avid hiker who nevertheless could benefit from a bit of preseason training.
- Are recovering from an injury or other situation that has caused greater deconditioning than you’re used to.
This class is also a good choice for those who have noticed that they have started to get some consistent pains from hiking (particularly in the knees and feet) and those who are finding that their reaction time in recovering from stumbles or confidence in making tricky creek crossings has been decreasing.
This is a way to train for functional increases in your favorite activities in an environment that’s compassionate, fun and supportive.
There’s a lot to know about building a solid fitness routine that will work for your body and for your activities, especially as your body becomes more complicated with time.
The key elements that make exercise magically effective are that you start in the place that’s right for you, and that you load your body at a pace it can handle.
The other key element is that you don’t take it too easy on yourself. Doing so would be a disservice and keep you from becoming as strong and able as you could be.
I believe in vigorous challenge with a whole lot of compassion.
I want to help you be able to do more of what matters to you.
I also want you to leave the class knowing how to use physical challenge to build yourself up, instead of breaking yourself down.
I’ll be offering this class out of my home and my space will only accommodate 5 people, so if you know that you want in, please book your spot.
Also, if you have a friend or family member who this would be perfect for, please tell them about it. I know that consistent training can change someone’s physical function, which can change their life.
The class cost is $297. Registration closes March 31st, or as soon as the class is full.
Hi, I’m Roselie
This class is informed by my 18 years as a massage therapist, specializing in relief from persistent pain through clinical rehabilitative massage. I’ve been interested in exercise for some time and started pursuing my own training 2 years ago. I received a Functional Aging Specialist certification from the Functional Aging Institute and have been honing my coaching skills with a handful of willing trainees. The most important thing to me about both fitness and massage is that we continue to be able to do the activities that matter to us, and that we nurture a relationship of friendly cooperation and compassion with our body.
The way this works.
Once you’ve registered for the class, on the appointed days you’ll show up at my house a couple minutes before 11am. We will start at 11am sharp and you’ll need a minute to get from your car to the shop where the class is held. If you’re going to train with shoes on then you’ll need a minute to change your shoes. I recommend training barefoot if your up for that so that your feet can get a workout as well, but you can also train with light hiking shoes or any other footwear that works for you.
It’s going to be cold in the shop, which will feel great once you’re warmed up. I’m happy to add a little heat if the group finds it too chilly. So, you’ll want to start with a hat or warm layer that you can take off once your body temperature is elevated. You’ll probably find it convenient to bring a water bottle. There is a sink and a toilet adjacent to the class space.
We’ll start our warm up gradually, do the heavy work, then end with more static mobility exercises as we cool down.
You’ll learn how to get the work into the right place in your body, and you’ll probably see several progressions of the same fundamental exercise as I expect the group will not all be at the same ability level for each exercise.
Our very first class will be assessment and learning oriented. You might not end up working as hard as you will later on in this series. We’ll work on finding the line between what you can do and what you can’t do and writing it down. This is so that we can start in the right spot, but it’s also so that later (maybe more than 6 weeks later) you’ll be able to see very clearly that you are able to do what you couldn’t do before.
When this 6 week series is over, I’ll be offering more. Both continuations of the work that we’ve done, and also work for other areas and specific to other activities. You can help steer this by sharing your interests and priorities with me. You are, of course, not making any obligation to continue on with any of that.
Payment
Once you’ve committed to the class and I’ve received payment I’ll ask you to fill out the following health history and intake form so that I can learn a bit more about you and tailor the training sessions to your needs.
The cost for the class is $297 and that is due in full in order to reserve your place. If you would prefer to make two payments, email me and we’ll set that up. If you change your mind after you pay, but before class starts I’ll refund all but $75 and offer your space to someone else. I realize you might have some fear or hesitation come up as you contemplate the step that you’re taking (or maybe you’ll be completely relaxed and enthusiastic about it, I don’t know), exercise can be weirdly, viscerally intimidating. However, I want to point out that the hard part is showing up, and each time you show up you’re creating the future that you want.
Intake Forms
I need to know a few personal details about any health conditions you may have, and I’d like to get an early glimpse of your starting point and any specific movement limitations you experience.
https://forms.gle/kwB8mEgs8KpMd77cA
Refunds
If you decide not to continue within the first 2 weeks of class you’ll be given a 50% refund. If you decide not to continue after the first 2 weeks have passed there will be no refund. This not only reflects and honors the work that I put into creating and customizing the class and the space that was made for you in this community. It also acknowledges that it can be difficult to consistently show up for exercise, and that having a bit of skin in the game can actually help you stick with your decision and follow through. It also helps me feel like I won’t be trapping you into something if you sincerely decide it’s not right for you.
And as I mentioned above, if you change your mind after you pay, but before class starts I’ll keep a $75 deposit and refund the rest of your money.