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Looking For Adventure? This Chicago Blogger Found It-And Tells You All About His Experiences!

Posted in Fitness, tagged , , , , , on February 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Rock climbing adventure!

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

I stumbled upon this blog about a fellow Chicagoan’s outdoor adventures. It is aptly titled, “Adventure From Chicago“. The blogger (who does not give his name in his blog) has traveled all over the world and lists many of his outdoor accomplishments such as skiing, mountaineering,  rock climbing,  sailing and more.  It’s worth checking his blog out. It may inspire you to travel or even do some outdoor adventures as well!

Here is what he says about himself:

Blogger with his lady, Lisa

I love to have adventures – I’m an avid climber, sailor, mountain biker, hiker, road-tripper, international traveler… and on and on.  I like to do cool stuff.  And as much of it and as often as possible.  Interesting and/or weird things happen to me fairly often, and I embrace them and think it’ll be fun to tell about them.  I’m in an office most days – and can always use a break from work.  Though in 2008 I managed to take twelve weeks off.

The highlights of what I have done are: traveled the world for 6.5 months, own a sailboat in Chicago, host bachelorette parties on my boat, have a successful business involved in trading and investing, climbed some major mountains in the Himalayas, Andes, the US, and Kilimanjaro in Africa, teach rock climbing part-time at a gym, kayak, ski, do triathlons, fish, surf, etc.  If it’s fun or new or interesting or adventurous, I’m in.

Check out his blog here. Check out his  great videos and pics of recent adventures!

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(Rock) Climb Your Way To Fitness

Posted in Fitness, tagged , , , on August 16, 2010| 1 Comment »

bouldering
Bouldering. Image via Wikipedia

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

I recently met a young man that told me about “bouldering.” I am not a rock climber myself so I hadn’t heard of the term before. He explained to me that it was a manner of climbing an indoor rock climbing wall, that requires more technical skill and agility to go from point to point along a lower wall than usually used for indoor climbing. Indoor rock climbing is a great full body workout. Lifting your body upwards by pulling with your arms and engaging your core as you lift your legs trying to suspend yourself above the ground via your harness…it can be a strenuous, but fun, workout.

• Primary Muscles used in climbing: Forearms, Abdominal muscles (especially Obliques), Shoulders, Arms

• Read a fantastic article covering just about everything you might want to know about rock climbing  by Marshall Brain is here.

• Tips for getting started in rock climbing here.

• Rock Climbing Equipment (Listed with photos of shoes and proper harness placement) here.

• Rock climbing destinations within 6 hours drive of Chicago. Link to Chicago Sun Times article here.

Bouldering in Chicago

Chicago Bouldering Gym: Hidden Peak inside Lake Shore Acadmeny on Chicago between Halsted and Ogden. Find more info on Hidden Peak  here.

Hidden Peak is a bouldering gym. Bouldering is un-roped climbing within a specified height limit, and requires no technical training or harness.  It’s a great way to get the “feel” of the sport, and to develop stronger movement skills.  Experienced climbers love to train this way because it’s social, develops excellent power, and emphasizes technique over distance.  Don’t worry; they have a great soft landing to jump down to!

Since bouldering is inherently a social form of climbing, whether you are a first timer, or throw down on V10, Hidden Peak is a great place in Chicago to meet other climbers and share a great training session.  It’s nothing fancy–just good music, excellent boulder problems of all grades (changed frequently usually 100-150 problems up), and a great community.

Hidden Peak also has a few top-ropes that go the full 20 feet, and a basic rope skills and movement course for those wanting a more technical introduction to the sport (by appointment).  This class is a great introduction to the skills and techniques necessary for climbing in a taller, rope-focused gym, or toward moving into the outdoors.

Read a great post on one man’s bouldering experience at Hidden Peak here.

Indoor Rock Climbing Walls in the Chicago Area

Illinois indoor climbing walls here. For those that are into rock climbing, bouldering or are looking for a more challenging sport, here is a list of articles about rock climbing and bouldering as well as addresses of Chicago area rock climbing locations.

  1. Broadway Armory
    5910 N Broadway
    Chicago, Illinois 60640
    (312) 742-7502
  2. Oldtown Fitplex
    1235 North LaSalle
    Chicago, Illinois 60610
    (312) 640-1235
    http://ffc.com
    > Climbing wall with 13 ropes, extensive padded bouldering, 100+ ever-changing routes and problems
  3. Hidden Peak Climbing Gym
    937 W. Chestnut
    Chicago, Illinois 60622
    (312) 563-9400
    http://www.lakeshoreacademy.com/
    > 2,000 sq. ft. bouldering climbing
  4. Lakeshore Athletic Club-Illinois Center
    211 N Stetson
    Chicago, Illinois 60601
    (312) 616-9000 ext.281
    http://www.lsac.com
    > 100-ft climbing wall with overhang, slab, vertical and arête features.
  5. Lakeview Athletic Club
    3212 North Broadway
    Chicago, Illinois 60657
    (773) 529-2024
    http://www.chicagoathleticclubs.com/
    > Approx. 50′ tall, 6 ropes.  Multiple crack, dihedrals and aretes.
  6. Lincoln Park Athletic Club
    1019 W. Diversey
    Chicago, Illinois 60614
    (773) 529-2022
    http://www.lpaconline.com
  7. University of Illinois at Chicago Climbing Wall
    Student Recreation Facility
    737 S. Halsted St.
    Chicago, Illinois 60607
    (312) 413-5150
    http://imweb.ops.uic.edu/
    > 42′ artificial rock climbing wall with 7 ropes
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Have a Summer Adventure in Wisconsin at Wildman Ranch

Posted in Fitness, Health and Wellness, Nature and Stress, tagged , , , , , on July 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

When I talk to clients with children looking for a place to take them for a summer vacation and when I talk to young clients looking for a challenging way to spend a few days, I know there are a lot of options for travel this summer. Wisconsin may not stand out as a big destination, especially for those born or raised in the West Coast. But fear not, the Midwest is not all flat and boring.  Aside from Starved Rock and Devil’s Lake, Northern Wisconsin has a lot to offer the outdoor enthusiast.

This past Spring when I attended the Adventure Travel Expo, I stopped by the  booth of Wildman Ranch.  The representatives there were super friendly and a little…wild. They had a white water raft in their booth and one of the gentleman agreed to pose in their raft!

Wildman Ranch Booth at Adventure Travel Expo. Image by Sue Shekut

What can you do at Wilman Ranch?

Be a wild man or wild woman. Or even a wild family!

• Wildman Whitewater Ranch is an outdoor adventure resort and whitewater rafting center in the Midwest.

• The ranch offers whitewater rafting trips down the scenic Peshtigo and Menominee Rivers in Wisconsin near the Michigan border.

• Challenge yourself on their 60-ft tall High Ropes Course and adrenalin-pumping Giant Swing.

• Explore the Northwoods wilderness on an ATV Trail Tours and, in the winter, on a Snowmobile Tours.

• Scale the terrain of the Rock Dam Gorge with a supervised Rock Climbing and Rappelling adventures.

• Team up with your friends or family in an exciting afternoon of Wildman Paintball Pursuit.

If you are feeling mellow, try out the “Lazy River” Tubing, Lake Touring in a Sea Kayak, or a round of golf on the Wildman USGA Golf Course.

Wildman ranch also provides campsites and cabins nestled among towering hemlock trees along the river’s edge just beneath the famous Horse Race Rapid of the Peshtigo River, the longest stretch of whitewater on the entire river.

Rates for rafting run from $32 for an adult up to $54 depending on the rafting course you select. Children rates run less. Click here for rates on all Wildman activities.

Wild Man Ranch is located just north of Door County,  4.5 hours from Chicago.

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Dare To Hike Devil’s Lake, Wisconsin

Posted in Fitness, Nature and Stress, tagged , , , , , , on April 18, 2010| 1 Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Hiking up the rocky "steps" is a great workout

A few weeks ago I had the good fortune to spend a few warm summer-like days in Wisconsin at the Wisconsin Dells. When I was  a child, my family used to take me and my brother to the

Dells and I have fond memories of lakes, hiking, go carts, haunted houses and, of course, Tommy Barlett’s water show with water skiers skiing in human pyramids.  Visiting again now so many years later, “the Dells,” as they are known to the initiated, are now a haven for water parks and other amusements. However, my man and I are always up for a bit of nature and hiking so we soon grew tired of the amusement park strip and headed to Devil’s Lake to hike up and down what we think of as a mini Yosemite, Devil’s Lake. Like much of Wisconsin, this region was created by glacial formations and so has a lot of very rocky terrain and tall cliffs to hike and rock climb.

The day we were at the lake, March 31, the weather was warm, about 75 degrees F, and we saw kayakers out on the lake as well! Many families and couples were out that day. We hiked from about noon to 6pm and at sundown the views of the lake from high on the cliffs were spectacular. I’m sharing some of our pics from that day’s hike to help entice you to make your own journey to this beautiful natural park, unusually hilly (I’d say Mini-mountains is more like it) for the Midwest.  You don’t have to go far to find cliffs and rocks and lakes–Devils’ Lake is just about 3 hours Northwest of Chicago, about 30 minutes North of Madison, WI.

For info on Devils’ Lake, click here.

For directions, click here. Devil’s Lake State Park address: S5975 Park Rd., Baraboo WI 53913-9299 Phone (608) 356-8301

Fees

For an out-of state resident, a one day pass is $7. For an out-of-state annual pass, it’s $35. Camping is available at Devils Lake as well, click here.

View of Devil's Lake from East Bluff nearly at the top of the cliff

As we started our hike, we met one of the Park’s “rangers” as he and his companion started off on a kayaking trip around the lake.

What a great job! Manage the Park and go kayaking at lunch!

The water was cold, but soon will be a great place to swim!

The day we went was a pretty windy day, so you mostly hear wind instead of the relaxing waves lapping at the shore, but this short video gives you a nice view of the lake from the water’s edge.

While we were hiking, we passed several groups of people practicing their rock climbing skills on walls of rock.

Rock climbers taking a break

We spent 6 hours hiking up and down different areas of the East Bluff Trail. The hike was fairly strenuous in parts because we choose routes that took up up and down the rocks to really challenge our cardiovascular systems and of course our calves! (Which were good and sore the next day)

No, this is not Yosemite, California, it’s Devil’s Lake, Wisconsin!

Sundown at Devil's Lake, WI

And at the end of our long day hiking, instead of relaxing in a nice jacuzzi, we decided to head over to the indoor waterpark Mount Olympus at Hotel Rome where we were staying. We spent two more hours climbing up and down stairs so we could slide down long winding water slides. In one day we gave our bodies and our minds a lot to enjoy!

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