adventure fitness - getting started and building momentum

I’m sitting here very pregnant writing a post about adventure fitness. I feel a little ridiculous because my 10 minute walks around the neighborhood, wobbly attempts at yoga, and 30 min mellow swims at the rec center are a far cry from actual fitness training. However, one of my goals this year was to use a blogging calendar. I’ve been brainstorming topics I want to share about ahead of time. Then, I schedule them on a calendar to hold myself accountable. When I saw this weeks topic I groaned and put it off. I was actually going to skip it all together.

That’s when I realized that the challenges I currently face are very similar to those with any training plan. Even if the goals are different. I’m preparing for labor, a mountain climb in its own right. While I’m not doing box jumps or lifting heavy weights, I’m still struggling with some of the same things. First and foremost, the hardest part of any training plan, motivation and getting started.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the rec center Marc has been executing an actual training plan. When we set our goals around New Years, Marc wanted to build some fitness and follow through on a training plan before baby came. Not because he’s planning for a big climb at the moment but because he knew that it’s only going to get harder as our life gets busier. Therefore, building the habit, motivation, and momentum now will certainly give him a leg up when baby Bergreen comes. Ultimately, Marc and I have always had some motivation to stay in shape. Our lifestyle as adventure and adventure wedding photographers requires us to be able to be active. In reality, we are actually at our desks much more than some envious 8-5ers believe. Just take the awesome infographic from ispwp.

We certainly love our job and we do get to travel to some pretty amazing places. However, if our instagram feed represented where we are at a given place and time you would have a lot of boring pictures of us working on our computers. So, we too need to train in order to stay youthful and active. Gone are our college days of being able to escape to climb a mountain on the weekend having eaten only pizza all week and pulled all nighters to get projects done early all without getting out of breath. So, let’s get to it. What are our tips for adventure fitness?

5 Steps Towards Adventure Fitness

1. Start with a Why: This seems to be a tip for anything we want to accomplish whether it’s in business, fitness, or some other category. Knowing why something is important to us helps us stay motivated on the days when we are busy or tired.

2. Make it Fun: The best part of adventure fitness is that our motivation is usually related to mountains, beaches, or some other beautiful aspect of nature. Therefore, these are generally fun goals. We’ve found the the most successful training plans incorporate some of that same fun. Need to get in 2 hours of cardio? Backcountry skiing or trail running sounds much better than 2 hours on the treadmill.

3. Get Specific: With the endless options for workouts out there, it can be helpful to talk specifically about what we are training for. Long distance runners train differently than sprinters. We might train for climbing differently depending on if we want to climb harder, longer, or higher. Getting specific with what our goals are helps us focus our training plan. Even if we want a little all around fitness, identifying that will helps when we are planning the specific workouts we’re going to be doing.

4. Get Regimented: Once we get specific it’s time to make the plan. Often, Marc and I just go to the gym to get in a workout. That’s fine, however, it’s not organized or targeted. Without the control of an actual plan it’s hard to make or track progress. Luckily, we don’t have to be fitness experts. We can borrow training plans for the experts who write them for specific goals.

5. Write It Down: Lastly, write it down. Not only what we plan to do but what day and what time. We’ve all heard that goals are much more successful when we write them down. I believe this is one of the top things to overcome resistance, get started, and gain momentum. If getting started is the hardest part, simply making a commitment to go to the gym on Tuesday will make me much more likely to get there. In the same way that I’m using a blogging calendar to hold myself accountable, using a fitness calendar can have the same motivating aspects.

The reward? Reaching the goal, signing that summit log, or just getting the joy that comes from daily exercise.

As always, thanks for stopping by the Bergreen Blog. You presence means the world to us!

Be sure to view more building a life posts to see what we’re up to, what we’re learning, and what’s helping us build a life and a business we love. You can also see some of our recent adventures and adventure photography.

We are Marc and Brenda Bergreen, a husband and wife photography team specializing in outdoor weddings and other adventures. As Colorado adventure wedding photographers we’re here to help you plan and capture your ideal mountain wedding. We also frequently travel to California and other wedding destinations to document your love in a variety of memorable settings. Don’t hesitate to contact us and let us know how we can help! Be sure to follow us (weddings instagram & adventures instagram) and/or like us (facebook) to stay tuned. In the meantime, remember to…