My family and I recently returned from almost a month away working at a camp for high school kids. This summer we had the privilege of serving at a Young Life camp in British Columbia. To say it’s beautiful there would be an understatement. There are majestic granite cliffs on one side and an ocean inlet on the other. The tide comes in and out daily, and with it shells, starfish, crabs, seals, and an occasional orca or two. For my 8 year old son, this was all he needed to spend literally hours on the shore searching and scooping up his next fascinating find. This always proves to be a sweet time for our family. It’s not easy being away from Park City during some of the best weeks of the year, but we are grateful for this opportunity each summer.
One of the hardest things about our time away is not having a consistent workout. It’s a camp for high school kids, so there’s no gym (other than basketball and volleyball) or equipment. And when you have to take a boat or seaplane to reach the camp, hauling my own weights or Bosu was not an option (although I did consider it for a brief moment). I was, however, able to toss in a resistance band and a jumprope.
As is usually the case at these camps, I end up running a lot. (If you’ve been reading our blogs for a while then you know about the hill I ran last summer.) This proved to be challenging at this particular camp because it is located on an inlet tucked into a steep granite cliff with the ocean wrapping around the other side. There is only one place where someone can run and it is a short trail connecting to a wooden dock that stretches along the ocean for about a 1/2 mile. You can go back and forth to make it a mile. It is incredibly monotonous, but I was able to knock out quite a few miles on that dock. The view of the ocean helped - that and some good playlists.
After a few days, I was able to recruit a few other wives and we started working out every other morning. I felt so honored that they all stuck with it as it was such a mix of different ages, fitness levels and personalities. Two of the women were in their sixties and were not a part of any fitness routine back home. One of the women was my age and worked out in her basement 3 times a week. One of the women was a member of Orange Theory, and the youngest girl did yoga and hiked on occasion.
It was quite the undertaking with limited space and equipment, so I had to get really creative. We were in the middle of nowhere.
But with a resistance band (that broke the 3rd time we used it) a jumprope, a set of 10 lb weights I found, and a really great view, we did our thing on the deck outside the basketball courts.
And it was SO. MUCH. FUN.
We were able to share stories, learn about each other, encourage one another, and we laughed - so much. And there was sweat. So much sweat. It’s humid there, ya’ll.
The ladies loved it and would comment about how fun it was and how sore they were throughout the week. I kept saying I would lead it as long as they wanted, and we kept it going the entire time. It wasn’t the most technical or advanced workout, and it certainly wasn’t the most varied, but we did it - the six of us - and we loved it. The time we sweat alongside one another is one of the many treasures I get to take away from our time at camp.
I have a point.
As you already know, we have a great thing going at the Barn. It’s pretty remarkable when you think about it. We’re working out in a small room in a barn. The grass is dead outside and there are potholes in the parking lot. There’s no air conditioning or fans, no showers, and there’s rarely enough parking.
Yet, we fill the room day after day, week after week. And we do the work.
Together.
We DO have incredible equipment, coaches, creative workouts, the best music, cold towels, room to run and a social room and Beautique that are icing on the cake! We even have cake sometimes!
But my guess is that’s not what keeps most of you coming.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re in a hotel or a parking lot. You could be in the middle of nowhere, British Columbia. You might find yourself in a Barn or a Warehouse.
It really doesn’t matter.
It’s not about where you are. It’s about who you are with. We’re glad you’re with us.