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Take advantage of yet another cool spring weekend with a fitness challenge at the coast, a Mother’s Day hike in the Piedmont, and what may be the most ideal first hike ever offered.

Coast

You think of firefighters, you think of folks in pretty darn good shape. So who better to stage a fitness challenge?

Saturday, the Wilmington Professional Firefighter’s Association holds its Second Annual Charity Firefighter’s Fitness Challenge. Wondering what types of challenges the Challenge entails? “A multi-stage combination of high intensity cross-training exercises inspired by the physical demands of being a firefighter.” (If it helps, the event poster shows folks hoisting a barbell and flipping big tires.) Competition is by team, in the male, female and coed categories.

If you’re really into a challenge, there’s a 4.5-mile run before The Challenge: you can do either or both.

Logistics: Second Annual Wilmington Professional Firefighter’s Fitness Challenge & Run, Saturday, May 13, Greenfield Lake Amphitheater Park, Wilmington. $150 per team. More info here.

Saturday forecast: High of 78 with a chance of thunderstorms.

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Looking ahead: Fort Fisher Kayak Trip, July 7, Halyburton Park, Wilmington. More info here.

Piedmont

The spring season of Sunday afternoon hikes by the Eno River Association is winding down — all the more reason to catch the ERA’s Mother’s Day Hike this Sunday at Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area in Hillsborough. At 867 feet, Occoneechee is the highest point in the Triangle. It includes five separate ecozones; curiously, the most mountain-like — rhododendron, mountain laurel (now in bloom), galax — is at the bottom of the mountain. The hike will be on the Occoneechee Mountain Loop and Chestnut Oak Trails.

Logistics: Eno River Association Mother’s Day Hike, Sunday, May 14, 2 p.m., Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area, Hillsborough. More info here.

Sunday forecast: Sunny with a high of 78.

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Looking ahead: The last hike in the Eno River Association’s Spring Series is June 3, National Trails Day, on the Bobbitt Hole Trail at Eno River State Park. More info here.

Mountains

A dilemma: you love the idea of hiking, but only in the mountains — waterfalls, vistas, other carrots, you know — where the trails tend to be more challenging. You don’t want your first hike to be too long or too hard. You just want it to be gorgeous and memorable. Boy, do you ever ask a lot!

Fortunately, our Hike NC! affiliate is here to help. Saturday, join Christy Thrift and her team from Thrifty Adventures on a 2-mile hike at the Orchard at Altapass just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in Spruce Pine. The hike is on a gently graded trail that weaves through an apple orchard. At the midpoint, the hike will pause to do some breath work (exertion and altitude, you know). The hike finishes back at the start with yoga lead by a certified yoga instructor (which will help resolve any stiffness and soreness).

It is the perfect way for a beginner to ease into hiking.

Logistics: Hike & Yoga at The Orchard at Altapass, Saturday, May 13, 10 a.m., Spruce Pine. More info and sign up, here.

Sunday forecast: Sunny with a high of 71.

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Looking ahead: Pisgah National Forest: Lower Douglas Falls Trail Hike, Asheville area, June 3. More info here.

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Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below. 

Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below. 

Coast

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The post This weekend: Cool spring lingers (but for much longer?) appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

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Coast

Flytrap Half Hell Haul 7K: even if you don’t run, how could you not want to be a part of something with a name like that! And when you discover the Half Hell Haul is on the trails of the Boiling Spring Lake Preserve, well, that’s got to seal the deal.

Boiling Spring is a coastal preserve near Wilmington protected by both the state and The Nature Conservancy. Among it’s rare plants: the Venus flytrap, and it’s one of just 15 Venus flytrap populations remaining in the world. With Venus flytraps being carnivorous, there’s added incentive to log a good time. And the Half Hell in question? That would be the Half Hell Swamp.

Logistics: Saturday, March 22, 9 a.m. $15-$30. More information here.

Saturday forecast: High of 73, mostly cloudy.  http://www.wunderground.com/weather-forecast/US/NC/Wilmington.html

Piedmont

Maybe you’ve toyed with the idea of yoga but are baffled by the options: Ashtanga? Bikram? Kripalu? Power yoga sounds a little aggressive, and what’s the deal with hot yoga: down dog in a 103-degree room? Really?

Saturday, you have a chance to sample different types of yoga and get some of those questions answered, at YogaFest NC, a day-long celebration of yoga at the McKimmon Center at N.C. State University in Raleigh. Various types of classes, meditation sessions, educational programs, exhibitors, complimentary massages. And lunch catered by Neomonde. A daylong affair.

Logistics: Saturday, March 22, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. $55. N.C. State University McKimmon Center, Raleigh. More info here.

Saturday forecast: Irrelevant, since it’s indoors (although Saturday’s weather is forecast to be much warmer than Sunday’s.

Mountains

We love hiking. We love hiking at night. So you can imagine how excited we get about hiking in the mountains at night. Pretty darn excited.

And it’s hard to imagine a better place to hike at night in the high country than Mount Jefferson State Natural Area. Mount Jefferson rises more than 1,600 feet above the surrounding landscape, topping out at more than 4,000 feet. In the dark, that translates some pretty cool views of the lit landscape below. This hike, out to Luther Rock, has some challenging climes, so come prepared.

Logistics: Saturday, March 22, 7 p.m. Mount Jefferson State Natural Area, West Jefferson. Meet at the park office. For more info call 336.246.9653

Saturday forecast: High of 58, mostly cloudy and according to Ray, you “cannot rule out a few light showers.” http://asheweather.com/Forecast/West+Jefferson

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Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below.

Coast

CapeFearCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar for the Cape Fear/Wilmington/southern N.C. coast searchable by date and event name.

Coastal Guide
Comprehensive calendar including nature programs from a variety of costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs. Covers the entire coast.

Crystal Cost Tourism Authority
Comprehensive calendar focusing on the Crystal Coast. Good source for programs offered by N.C. Coastal Federation, Cape Lookout National Park, N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve and other costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs.

NCCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar including programs for the Outer Banks and Crystal Coast.

North Carolina Coast Host
Comprehensive calendar for the entire coast that lets you search for events by day, by region, by county, by city or by event (based on key word).

This Week Magazine
Primary focus is the Crystal Coast (North Carolina’s coastal midsection).

Mountains

Asheville Citizen-Times
From the main page, click on “Outdoors,” then WNC Outdoors calendar.

Blue Ridge Outdoors
Searchable calendar lets you extend your reach to events throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast (or you can just limit it to North Carolina). Also lets you search a boatload of categories, ranging from Hiking, Mountain Biking and Climbing to Trail Running, Triathlon and Road Walking.

The Mountain Times
From the main page, click on “Calendars,” then Main Events.

Todd’s Calendar

Piedmont

Charlotte

Charlotte Observer events calendar
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including Nature, Recreation, Recreation & Wellness, Running

Charlotte Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triad

GoTriad.com
Comprehensive calendar includes a Sports & Recreation category.

Piedmont Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triangle

Triangle.com
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including: Birding, Boating, Cycling, Nature, Rec & Wellness, Recreation, Running, Swimming, Tennis, Yoga.

Carolina Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Statewide

Great Outdoor Provision Co.
Calendar includes three weekly events for each of its seven markets: Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville, Raleigh, Wilmington and Winston-Salem. Search by market.

Office of Environmental Education
One calendar for the numerous Environmental Education Centers statewide.

North Carolina State Parks
Lets you search for programs at the state’s parks, recreation areas and natural areas by location, by month, by topic. To reach the calendar from the home page, click on “Education,” then “Fun & Free Programs at Parks.”

National Forests in North Carolina
From the home page, click on Carolina Connections for news updates on the state’s four national forests as well as hints on recreational opportunities and a detailed rundown of recreation areas and the amenities at each.

U.S. National Wildlife Refuges
Rundown, by month, of regular activities at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service refuges in North Carolina.

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The post This weekend: The sun shines on Saturday appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

I wrote the following story ran for The News & Observer and Charlotte Observer. It ran in both papers on Tuesday, Nov. 12; it runs here, in its original form with links.

“Fun,” “social” and “a great stress reliever” aren’t exactly terms Rocky Balboa would have used to describe his workouts. But then, Title Boxing Club isn’t Mighty Mick’s Boxing gym.

Title Boxing is a new millenium take on one of man’s oldest sports, replacing pugilism with a peppy workout designed to burn calories and tone muscles. Title opened its first new age boxing gym in Kansas City in 2008. It franchised the operation two years later and in May opened its 100th club, which are spread throughout 27 states. Title moved into North Carolina this past summer; it currently has two gyms in Charlotte and one in Cary, with plans to open more in both markets.

If you’re still envisioning Mighty Mick’s — a dark, dank, depressing, put-up-your-dukes dungeon located in an otherwise abandoned Philadelphia flatiron — and wondering why the popularity, again, Title Boxing is a far cry from the boxing gyms of old. Cary’s club, for instance, is located in an upscale retail/apartment community, has a glass facade, is carpeted and despite the intense workouts that go on within, is devoid of the stench of sweat-soaked dreams.

“We’re not a gym,” says Joe Saele, who owns the Title Boxing on Ayrsley Town Boulevard in Charlotte, “we’re a club.”
The distinction, according to Title Boxing, is several fold.

“In a normal gym,” says Max McGee, general manager of the Cary club, “you have the musclehead factor — guys standing around trying to impress one another. “Here, all you have to do is show up and we’ll do the rest.”

Charlotte club member Brian Richards elaborates: “They push you,” says Richards, who joined the club the first day it opened. “Before, in group workouts, I was on my own, and  I didn’t push myself hard enough. Here, the instructors push you hard.”

“There’s no cheating yourself,” adds Jim Bakey, 23, of Holly Springs.

Unlike the more traditional boxing gym, where you might leave with a black eye or cauliflower ear, the only contact you have here is with a traditional “heavy” bag (a k a, a body bag).

“You don’t get hit, there’s no spit-in-the-bucket,” says Saele. “We appeal to soccer moms. In fact most of our members are women.”
Max McGee, general manager of the Cary club, says, when they opened in September, about 80 percent of their clientele was female. “It’ll level out to about 60 percent,” he adds, based on memberships at other Title facilities.

Then there’s the club’s Trainer’s Circle, an arc of benches where participants arrive early to wrap their wrists (required, mainly to prevent wrist injury from punching the bag), talk to the trainer and talk to one another.

“It’s very social,” says Lauren Orlando, a 29-year-old who makes the drive from Chapel Hill to the Cary club several times a week.
And there’s mandatory trainer interaction with each club member.

“The trainer is required to touch each bag at least once during a session,” says McGee. And it’s not a social call. During the punching sessions, for instance, the trainer may don oversized punching mitts and get the boxer to spar with him — at a faster pace.

Title offers various hour-long classes, but its most popular is its “Power Hour.” The hour begins with 15 minutes of cardio and strength exercises, followed by 30 minutes of eight  3-minute rounds of boxing with “active resting” in between, followed by 15 minutes of core workouts. The initial 15 minutes consists of a flurry of movement — running, jumping jacks, squats, lunges; the final 15 minutes involves planks, pushups, and various takes on the sit-up.

The boxing segment relies on four main punches: cross, jab, hook and upper cut, all of which are gone over by the trainer with new boxers. In rapid succession, the instructor yells out various combinations — “cross, cross, jab, cross, cross, jab” — and class members try to keep pace. Each three-minute round is timed on a well-watched digital stopwatch on the wall.

Title boasts that you can burn up to 1,000 calories during a single Power Hour.

Brian Housle, a senior exercise physiologist with the Duke Diet & Fitness Center in Durham is a big fan of boxing workouts. A kickboxing instructor himself, he says the workouts cover it all. “Cardio, strength, coordination, balance, agility — it’s a total body exercise,” says Housle.

He is, however, skeptical of the 1,000 calories per hour claim.

“It’s not an imaginary number,” says Housle. “But its unlikely that the average person could burn that many calories per minute.”
“On a moderately strenuous bike ride,” Housle explains, “the average person will burn 6 to 10 calories per minute. That’s about 300 to 500 calories per hour.”

“To burn 1,000 calories in an hour you need to burn 16 to 17 calories per minute, and that’s very, very, very, very, very vigorous activity,” says Housle. It’s also activity performed by an already big, muscular fit athlete, he adds, because it would take a lot of muscle mass to burn that many calories.”

Regardless of the CBPM (calories burned per minute), Title Boxing guarantees that if you stick with the program by going at least three times a week for three months, you’ll see results — or your money back. (Those results, adds McGee, are mutually determined by the club and member at the start.) Drop 100 pounds and you get a year’s free membership.

Cary club member Bakey, a physical therapist, doesn’t care about weight loss. A marathon runner who has clocked a personal best of 3 hours and 20 minutes, he’s just in it for a good, hard workout. He uses a different gauge to determine how good of a workout he’s had.
“After the first class,” he says, “I came home and laid on the floor for two hours. I was spent. But it was a good spent.”

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What a fledgling boxer should know

* The four punches used (as defined by ringsidebygus.com):

Cross — power punch thrown with the boxer’s dominant hand. It’s also called a straight right, right or straight punch.
Jab — punch thrown quickly with the boxer’s leading hand straight from the chin in direct line to the target
Upper cut — thrown at close range, with either hand. The jaw or the solar plexus is the target.
Hook — inside power punch; a short, sideways punch delivered with the elbow bent so the arm forms sort of hook. The temple, side of the jaw, ribs and liver is the target.

* There is no hitting of fellow classmates. The only hitting is of the 100-pound heavy bags, about 50 of which are in each gym.

* Boxing gloves are provided to first-timers.

* Physical concerns? As is the case when you start any exercise program, Duke Diet & Fitness Center Senior Exercise Physiologist Brian Housle says you should consult a physician beforehand if there are concerns about your health. While there can be a lot of wear and tear on the wrists and shoulders, Housle says learning proper technique from the start should mitigate those issues.

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