This is a picture of me taken from the top of Sacsayhuaman (pronounced “sexy woman,” tee hee), an ancient Inca city overlooking Cuzco, Peru.
Last week, I went on my first ever “hike,” climbing my way out of Colca Canyon. It only took two hours, but I climbed 3600 feet, I had blisters on the bottoms of my feet (damn sneakers), my thighs burned, I was out of breath (damn altitude)…and I was happy as hell.
Yesterday, my friend Cash and I mountain-biked through the Sacred Valley before arriving at Ollantaytambo. (Big shoutout to Douggie at Cusco Adventure Team for being a tremendous resource and breath of fresh air in an industry with shoddy salespeople and shoddier equipment. This is the man you need to see if you go to Cusco and want to do adventures right.)
Why am I bringing up these two activities? Because they’re two outdoor things that I have never really done before, they kicked my ass physically, and I was nowhere NEAR a gym.
I really enjoy going to the gym and I love lifting weights, but I also know that it’s entirely possible to get a good (or maybe even better?) workout by getting creative with your surroundings instead.
Although I have yet to find a good tree here in Peru on which to do some pull ups, my exercise routines have been ridiculous, varied, and location independent (just like me!). Here are some of the things I’ve done to keep active over the past week:
- Jumping jacks during a parade in Puno
- Push ups on a cliff overlooking Cusco
- Lunges on a floating island in Lake Titicaca
- Sprints through Sacsayhuaman
- Jump squats in the desert surrounding Huacachina
Did I get ridiculous looks from people? Absolutely. Was it fun? Heck yes. Do I have video evidence of all of these things? You bet your ass I do.
You don’t need a gym membership. You don’t need to lift weights. You don’t need fancy equipment and a trainer. You need a desire to live better. a little bit of creativity, and the energy to walk out your front door. My Epic Quest will take me all over the world, and I imagine my exercise routines in each place will be completely different.
Variety is the spice of life, right?
Here are just a few suggestions on how you can get creative in your own home town/city:
- Go do a bodyweight routine in the park.
- Find a hill and run sprints.
- Climb the tallest hill or mountain in your town.
- Raining outside? Run up the steps of the tallest building in your city.
- Do pull ups on your kids jungle gym in the back yard.
- Do push ups in the middle of a crowded plaza. Who cares?
- Snowing outside? Go shovel your driveway or chop wood, Rocky IV style!
The world is an amazing place and we humans are pretty amazing creatures. We learn to adapt when we’re introduced to new stimuli, and we’re pretty versatile when it comes to learning new things. I had never been truly biking or hiking before, and now I would gladly do either again in a heartbeat.
I’m in the process of leveling up my life, eating new foods, visiting new places, and trying out different fun activities. I encourage you to do the same. You don’t need to fly to exotic locations (but you can if you want to) and you don’t need an expensive gym membership, you just need to get creative with your surroundings.
After visiting Machu Picchu on Tuesday, I’ll return to Cusco before flying home on Thursday. Expect a full blown travel update, pictures, and videos starting next week once I recover.
It´s your turn to get creative. What kind of workouts do you do that don’t involve a gym membership? What´s the latest new activity that you tried and fell in love with?
-Steve
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