Naked Exercise #7: Skating
Stripped down. No equipment. No skates. No ice. Great for lower body strength and muscle tone. And a terrific balance exercise, too. Not just Better and Cheaper. Better and Free. All you need's a floor.
Hiking, stair-climbing and calcium.
You have to see and climb it to believe it. Dorr Mountain's East Face Trail: thousands of stairs carved into solid granite. Straight staircases. Switchback staircases. Spiral staircases. Steep ones. Slippery when wet. Build strong bones.
Labor of love
I know it's a holiday, but let's do the math. As I sit at my computer and write this, I'm burning about 40 calories every 30 minutes. Probably the same rate you're expending energy while you read and push your mouse or slide your finger. But now it gets more interesting ...
I’ll have ice with that: Hike in Jasper
90 degrees in New York. I closed my eyes, strapped on my snowshoes and transported myself to the Athabasca Glacier. Wishing I was back on the Wilcox Pass Trail. I get the shivers just thinking about the view. Which really beats getting the sweats.
Naked Exercise #6: Pumped
Stripped down. No equipment. No exercise balls, no balance boards, no weights. Not just Better and Cheaper. Better and Free. A recipe to strengthen your biceps. Press Play.
Free Old Faithful
Admission to all the U.S. National Parks was free for the kickoff of National Parks Week last Sautrday. All 400 of them. Even the first and still the most amazing one: Yellowstone. Old Faithful and the majority of the planet's geysers are here. Free for one day. Really Cheap every other day.
Naked Exercise #5: Crunches. Modified.
Stripped down. No equipment. No exercise balls, no balance boards, no weights. Not just Better and Cheaper. Better and Free. Strengthen your abdominal muscles. Your lower back. Press Play.
Seven Glaciers in Seven Hours. Cool.
August is Glacier Month at BCS because, well, what's Better and Cheaper than finding a cool spot in a national park in August? What's Slower than a glacier? What's cooler than seeing seven glaciers in a single hike in Glacier National Park? You have to do this hike someday.
Naked Exercise #4: Push Up
Stripped down. No equipment. No exercise balls, no balance boards, no weights. Not just Better and Cheaper. Better and Free. Strengthen your arms, shoulders, hands and wrists. Press Play.
Air-Conditioned Hikes
When the natural world's temperature-humidity index hits 110 F and its air quality index is less than poor, it's time to get artificial. Man-made air. Man-made beauty. Time for a little museum hiking. If you're on your feet for three or four hours, you'll burn somewhere between 600 and 1,000 calories while you feed your head.