Thursday, October 20, 2011

movin’ on up

I lasted as long as I could, but after living here for a year without belonging to a gym, I couldn’t take it any longer.  Working out in my basement is doable (and running outside is great when the weather is nice and my knees aren’t screaming at me), but I am just a little more sane when I have the option of going to classes and have lots of cardio and weight equipment at my fingertips.  The gym we joined is brand new and practically everyone in our neighborhood has joined it because it is right around the corner.  Not only is it ridiculously convenient, but it is SWEET.  In addition to every convenience and service you would expect a gym to have, it also has an indoor/outdoor pool and waterslide area, hot tubs, indoor soccer field, racquetball courts, free childcare, a huge indoor climbing room, and a full salon/spa (for hair, nails, massages, facials, etc.).  It’s awesome.  After I signed up, I told K & B the good news.  Can you guess what they were most excited about?  ROCK CLIMBING!

I realized that the only day that the “free climb” time doesn’t conflict with soccer practice is Monday nights, so I decided to surprise the girls this week by taking them as part of our FHE.  Berkeley had been once before for a birthday party and apparently was the rockstar there because she was the only one who made it to the top.  Kendall had never been, but since Berkeley had been talking it up so much, she was pumped.

A few of the routes have automatic belays, so you don’t need to have a partner to belay for you.  It made it possible for K & B to both climb at the same time and I could just sit back and watch them have fun.

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Here you can see both girls climbing:

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When you get to the top, you just let go and the auto-belay slowly lowers you down to the bottom.  It’s almost as fun as the climb up!

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After mastering some of the beginner climbs, Kendall tried some more challenging ones. . . and even did a little bouldering!  Love it!

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Emery isn’t old enough to climb yet (you have to be at least five years old) but she had fun rolling around in the rubber mulch.

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I used to climb quite a bit in college, but it had probably been about 15 years since I last went.  So before we called it a night, I strapped on a harness and took one attempt at a decently challenging route.  I don’t have any pictures, but pretend this is me:

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I made it just as far as he is in that picture but couldn’t quite get up over that ledge (and by the way—he  didn’t make it either).  That will now be my goal. . . not as easy as it might look!  We all had so much fun that I think this is going to become a regularly scheduled activity for us ladies!

And of course I can’t think about climbing without picturing this amazing opening scene:

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow, that is an impressive gym! I think I would join too if I lived there. You've sold me! I've been rock climbing a few times since marrying Paul and took to it pretty easily. I miss big rocks- it's fun! Glad you found a convenient way to do it more often!

Erin said...

i love rock climbing and would love to take my kids to an indoor gym. what fun! sounds like a sweet gym!

Stephanie said...

Hooray, let's hang out there before my pregnant body demands I stop going.

The Dahle Family said...

Childcare is included automatically, huh? Now that's makin' it easy! Sounds fun!