MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Summer 2019

27 words :: Nelson Phillips photos :: Ryan Carter The rain is hitting me in the face now and I start trudging up the mountain. Five minutes in and I’m feeling stoked. I’m trucking upward, feeling totally invincible. Another two minutes comes and goes and I find my pace has slowed considerably. I’m breathing hard, my core temperature is elevating, and my brain is starting to tell me to slow down a bit. I’ve only done about 18 percent of the hill. • • • Today I opted not to go to the gym. Today, Blue Mountain is my gym. At 31, I’m decently fit, eat well, and exercise as often as I can—I enjoy it, after all. Except none of that matters when you’re up against a mountain. The mountain doesn’t care what you bench. It doesn’t care how many calories you can burn on a 30-minute elliptical cycle. And it really doesn’t care about your new Lulus. More and more people dedicated to challenging themselves physically are ditching the gym and hitting the trails, the Bay, and our friendly neighourhood mountain to beat down a few calories. Getting outside does a number of profound things to the body that researchers say elevates the effects of a solid workout and helps contribute to better overall health. According to Harvard Medical School ( health. harvard.edu ) exercising outside does many distinct things that will routinely help you outperform your gym self. First, your vitamin D levels will skyrocket, and the ol’ sunshine vitamin is responsible for getting your liver and kidneys working through the circuitous process when the sun hits your skin, helping protect the body against osteoporosis, certain cancers, depression, heart attacks, and even stroke. The biggest, baddest, best elliptical of all