Rock Gym

by Scott


In our previous life, after a day of sitting on our butts in a cube, we would head to the gym for some exercise. Even during our year-long trip in North America, we kept our 24-Hour Fitness membership active for the occasional workout and shower. In Australia and New Zealand, there is no big chain fitness center with locations outside the cities, so we've been forced to get creative.

It's easy enough to work the legs: jogging, biking, hiking, stair steps, and our favorite, running up sandy dunes. It was a little harder to figure out how to work the upper body. Sure, we can do push-ups anywhere, and playgrounds are good for pull-ups, but both get a little boring. Attending a few strength training classes with Heather's Mom inspired us to try some new things.

For a mere $15, Heather bought a set of elastic bands. These things are great for the traveling fitness fanatic. There are 3 different bands, each color coded to indicate resistance level. With some discarded PVC pipe, I made an extra set of handles so we can work out simultaneously.

We've also realized that a rocky beach is like a free gym with an infinite variety of dumbbells. The downside is that the dumbbells aren't labeled, but it doesn't take too much effort to find a reasonably matched pair. The upside is that we never have to wait for someone else to finish using them, there's no nasty gym smell, the views are to die for, and we can take a refreshing dip when we're done.

UPDATE:  Comments from our Scottish Highlander fitness consultant inspired the driftwood caber toss -- thanks Doug MacChilders!

Link to February Pictures