I have always had a love-hate relationship with fitness. I would psych myself up to go to the gym and then fall out of the habit a week later. Consistency and motivation were my nemeses. However, two weeks ago I decided to try a number of alternative fitness styles offered in Juneau. Perhaps one would stick. Since motivating myself to go to the gym never worked, this couldn’t hurt right?
In my initial research, I was surprised to see that the small town of Juneau offers an impressive range of options, from Aikido to Capoeira to aerial yoga.
Crossfit
For some unbeknownst reason, I chose to dive into the deep end headfirst, with crossfit. I had heard mixed reviews of crossfit for years; some said they loved it, some spread rumors of hyper competitive bros in muscle tees with gallon jugs of protein shakes. I had to see for myself.
On a rainy Friday afternoon, I left the office and drove to Tongass Crossfit, one of two crossfits gyms in town (the other being Crossfit Juneau). After getting lost several times in the neighborhood near The Rock Dump, I found the gym and timidly opened the door.
To my pleasant surprise, the gym felt incredibly welcoming. People of all shapes and sizes were hanging their coats and tying their gym shoes in preparation for the workout. I walked across the room and introduced myself to the man who looked most in charge. As it turns out, he was the instructor; my journalistic instincts had not failed me.
That day the class was doing power lifting exercises, something I had zero previous experience with but was pleasantly surprised with how capable the instructor made me feel through his coaching and encouragement.
After an hour of warm ups and lifting exercises, I left the studio feeling more sore than I think I’ve ever felt in my life. But it was a good sore, the kind that makes you feel like you’ve accomplished something. My whole body felt used.
As it turns out, that was part of the reason Max Rice got involved in crossfit to begin with.
“Definitely one of the reasons I started leaning towards it was just because of how well rounded it is,” Rice said. “I realized this was kind of a culmination of all types of fitness. We have aspects of gymnastics, Olympic lifting, power lifting, rowing, biking and swimming. We just try to be good at everything. And why not, right?”
As I drove home that evening I was still reeling from the empowering feeling of hoisting a weighted bar above my head and not hurting myself in the process. In my clumsy nature, this was an accomplishment on both counts. I certainly didn’t feel good at everything yet, but having the rest of the class there doing the same thing and struggling along with me provided an odd sense of camaraderie that helped us all keep going.
‘Yogapolitan’
My next fitness adventure took me to the other end of the spectrum, from lifting weights in a gym full of other grunting people all pushing themselves to the energizing music in the background, to a calmly lit yoga studio with no music and no grunting, just the quiet, encouraging words of Stephanie Quigley, the yoga instructor at Raven Yoga Shala.
“I think it centers you,” Quigley said after our practice. “You learn how to focus. It’s learning all the parts of your body and how they work together or don’t work together or what you need to do to bring it together, and it gives you a feeling of peace.”
Peace and focus is exactly what I felt while gradually moving through the positions and movements gently spoken by Quigley as she moved throughout the room. Well … peace and a whole lot of sweat.
Yoga is not typically something one associates with getting a good, hard workout in but I realized, while struggling to balance on one foot and holding my other leg out behind me in an awkward flying position, all of these movements use muscles in a way we are not typically accustomed to. It strengthens your mind and your connection with yourself by giving you a solid hour not to think about anything except exactly what you’re doing in that moment, but it also strengthens your muscles in a gradual and sensitive way.
I left that morning feeling calm and strong in both body and mind, ready to take on the rest of my day in a meaningful and intentional way. For those who, like me, are not particularly flexible physically or mentally, yoga could be somewhat difficult starting out but I would encourage you to stick with it as it not only makes you feel physically strong, even if at first you can’t complete all the movements, but it also makes you feel mentally in touch with yourself which admittedly, can be really hard.
High Intensity Interval Training
Later that week came more high energy. Mountainside Wellness instructor and owner, Kristin Mabry teaches a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) that is exactly what it sounds like. This type of fitness is meant to spike your heart rate through shorter bursts of cardio.
“Research suggests that if you get your heart rate up really high for a short amount of time you’re going to burn more calories over the next 48 hours than if you did a steady treadmill workout,” Mabry said. “You actually burn more calories working out for less time at a higher intensity.”
Additionally, this type of fitness is perfect for the busy professional who like me, never can seem to find any time in the day to stop by a gym and come up with a workout for themselves.
This workout involved things like kettlebell lunges, working your arm muscles as you swing weight from side to side while also engaging your leg muscles as you lunge. The intense cardio came in the form of holding a medicine ball over your head while jogging in place, on top of a bosu ball. Sounds complicated, right? A bosu ball is a half exercise ball type contraption that is meant to support your back through core exercises while also providing a softer surface for jogging in place, engaging your balancing muscles while also spiking your heart rate through cardio.
Altogether, this class was only 45 minutes but ended in feelings of exhaustion and accomplishment.
Aerial Yoga
My final adventure in the world of fitness took me off my feet and out of my comfort zone in the sense that I was literally hanging upside down for some of it.
Yoga Trapeze, or aerial yoga, is somewhat new to the world of fitness and utilizes a silk sling with different length handles. This is meant to help support the body during yoga poses, allowing the person to focus more on muscle development and mindfulness without the additional stress of trying to stay upright and balanced.
The best part of this workout was the inversions. Through a series of detailed steps and wrapping my legs around the silks, I was able to completely flip upside down and comfortably stay in a hanging position. While this might sound nerve-wracking and uncomfortable, these slings were actually originally designed to help heal spinal injuries through traction. I came out of my first inversion feeling relaxed, accomplished, stretched and perhaps even a couple inches taller; and hey, at 5 feet, 2 inches, every inch helps.
The verdict
Overall, each of these fitness styles has its own benefits. From a strength perspective, crossfit can’t be beat. Yoga is incredibly good in developing a sense of control and connectedness with your own body. HIIT was perfect for busy people who still want to stay fit, and Aerial Yoga stretches your body and your own thoughts of what is physically possible in ways you can’t imagine.
All of this together however, emphasized the need for a sense of community in the fitness world. In a world where everyone is glued to their phones and human interaction in the public sphere is seemingly gone by the wayside, not once did I feel out of place or socially uncomfortable. By exercising in a group setting, we were all able to push one another and help one another in ways that are not possible if you go to the gym on your own.
From the perspective of someone who rarely has the motivation to work out alone and has previously struggled with self-esteem regarding fitness and body image, the most important aspect of fitness is feeling welcome and hardest part is getting started. Fortunately, Juneau is full of people and studios that want to help.
• Erin Granger is an intern for the Juneau Empire.
Mountainside Wellness owner and instructor, Kristin Mabry, moves into an inverted position in her trapeze yoga sling during a Aerial FUNdamentals class Monday afternoon. (Erin Granger | Juneau Empire)
Kristin Mabry, owner and instructor at Mountainside Wellness, demonstrates a kettlebell exercise to her class Monday afternoon. (Erin Granger | Juneau Empire)
Students in the HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) class at Mountainside Wellness strengthen threir core muscles during a kettlebell exercise Monday afternoon. (Erin Granger | Juneau Empire)
