Mountain Athletics

with The North Face team

Let me start by saying that I am not a 'gym person'.  I'm a typical old-school outdoor person that 'goes outside and do stuff'.

But it doesn't mean that's the way we all should be.
If I were introduced to a similar fitness routine at a younger age - I might have adopted the discipline - but growing up with gung ho group in the mountaineering circle just led me to 'just do things' with or without the appropriate training and conditioning.  (And hence my knee pains, among other things).
The good thing at least was that, I was introduced to military-style fitness routines as early as my high school days (i.e. candidate officer training) where I believe I started getting better bodily strength and endurance particularly core and upper.  Martial arts was another good add which promotes holistic workout.  But the consequential strength and endurance developed as a mountaineer was far more significant in my current fitness condition.



Still, anyone needs to condition him/herself on a regular basis, whether targeting a specific deliverable (like race time, mountain peak, etc.) or just to maintain a certain level of fitness.  Conditioning and correct routines can help people avoid injuries, and of course increase performance.

Mountain Athletics
Barely 2 weeks prior to my trip, The North Face invited my team to explore a series of routines designed for mountain climbers - aptly called 'Mountain Athletics'.  Fitness coaches from Fitness First helped design the program.
So after the work-out, I FELT it.  The good thing about each exercise? It has a very targeted muscle group (climbing muscles); a rightly conditioned muscle set will protect the joints (avoid injury) and increase performance.  2 days after this event, I still felt some pleasant muscle sores and fortunately with zero joint pains (the other good measure).
One big value of mountain athletics program that I see is the possibility of customizing the program based on an individual's need.  We all have our own unique strengths and weaknesses and a watchful fitness coach can see which area needs improvement and how to improve them.

Here are some photos of the fun exercise...

Inside Fitness First in Megamall doing 'half squats'.  I was cheating by putting my weight on my core/torso :)

Not part actually I was intrigued by the rope's use

reminds me of kick-boxing days

supermen!

using TRX to stengthen arm muscles / core

This 'bazooka' was used as weights, this and jumping jacks

Big space, and even bigger room-spaces in the interior

Wacky /group pose - these are mostly UP Mountaineers. Until next time!!!