Exercise Explorer, MD

When I first pitched the idea to the Coeur d’Alene Press of writing a series of articles to promote exercise and fitness options here in North Idaho, I had no idea where it would take me. Over the last year of trying new things from hot yoga to jiu jitsu to figure skating, I’ve learned so much and had tons of fun along the way.

As a form of exercise, you can definitely break a sweat when you’re square dancing, and have a good time while you’re doing it. And as a social exercise, Martha likes that, “kids have to put away their cell phones in order to do this… They have to meet each other on a personal level.”

Growing up in Southern Idaho, Jake was introduced to handball at an early age because his dad was a handballer who won several state championships. Jake started playing handball “as soon as I was physically capable of doing it” and he’d “crawl on the court when I was a baby and watch my dad play and wait at the tournaments, and as soon as the guys would come off the court I’d go out there and start smacking it around.”

When it comes to personal training, I pictured working out one-on-one with a super-fit dude yelling at me to get every last ounce of effort from me. Although great for accountability and personalizing workouts, I assumed it was only for professional athletes and rich people because it was so expensive. Since I’ve never actually worked with a personal trainer these vague impressions were not based on facts or lived experience.

All designed to strengthen your core and mobilize your spine, it can sometimes feel like Pilates is torture as you’re getting stretched and pulled in profound and confession-inducing way. It turns out that Pilates was not invented by 16th century Dominican priests after all but rather by the eponymous Joseph Pilates.

One of the reasons pickleball is so addictive is that it’s super easy to learn and start playing right away. It’s a fairly straightforward game played with paddles and a wiffle ball on a smaller version of a tennis court. Other than a weird scoring system that uses 3 numbers and a few quirky rules anyone can learn the basics in just a few minutes.

In tennis you’re not only facing your opponent, “you’re also playing yourself. I like the mental gymnastics of it because… your heart rate is getting up and everything gets kinda chaotic… but you have to stay calm. And that’s the whole thing like, don’t break the Pringle in your mouth. It’s a good reminder to stay calm and I think that’s a good life lesson.”

I recently texted Brandy Anderson about doing a trail run together. I’ve known Brandy since she moved here 15 years ago and started coaching Lake City High School’s cross country teams. In addition to coaching LCHS cross country, she’s the busy mom of four kids (all of whom do sports including basketball, running and lacrosse) and also somehow coaches swimming at the Kroc Center and tutors at Hope Education Consulting.

Sprint triathlons are super fun and great for those trying a tri for the first time, because they are short with just a half-mile of swimming, 12 miles biking and a 3-mile run. Olympic distance triathlons are twice the distance (1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run). The format for triathlons is always the same no matter the distance.

There are all sorts of e-bikes just like there are different bicycles to meet your specific needs. Mountain e-bikes are made for tackling the most aggressive trails and remote locations. Trail bikes have less travel on the shocks than mountain bikes (and are a bit lighter) and are great for easier trails and riding on gravel roads. Hybrid/commuting bikes have smaller tires and a more upright configuration so they’re easier on the neck and back. Cruiser bikes are built for comfort and are great for going out for coffee and are also more affordable.

Rowing on the water is much more social than being alone on the Concept2 Erg. I’ve been with my rowing partner for over 10 years, and there’s a bond that develops when you try to perfectly sync your movements with another person and work together to make a shell glide easily through water.

Rowing is low-impact, which means it puts less stress on the joints than high-impact exercises like running or jumping. It’s not only a great aerobic exercise but is unique in that it requires both strength and endurance and is a full-body workout that engages multiple muscle groups, including the legs, back, arms and core.

Hockey, according to Amy, is extremely popular and has lots of financial support. “Figure skating, on the other hand, is hockey’s wicked stepchild in North Idaho and yet, we have some amazing up and coming young people in our area.”

Tai chi chuan is an internal Chinese martial art known for its slow, intentional movements which originated sometime between the 12th and 17th centuries in China. It has spread worldwide as a form of gentle exercise and moving meditation with proven benefits to mental and physical health.

Jiu Jitsu (Japanese for “gentle art”) is a martial art focused on leverage and applying techniques which allow a smaller person to subdue a much larger opponent. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu incorporates techniques from Judo, Sambo and wrestling.

For everyone who exercises regularly, and especially if you engage in high-intensity exercise, it’s important to recognize the value of recovery.

To say that I didn’t know what I was getting myself into would be a massive understatement. Truth be told, I’m still not entirely sure what to think. But when one of my partners at Ironwood Family Practice, Dr. Leah Weatherly, dared me to go to a Body and Soul class with her at Peak Health and Wellness in Coeur d’Alene, I don’t think she expected me to actually take up the challenge.

I tend to agree with Mark Twain who famously quipped that “golf is a good walk spoiled.” Nevertheless, in the spirit of being open to new things, I met up this past fall with Cam Abey and her dog, Navy, at CamFit CDA to find out more about golf-specific training. Cam is certified by the Titleist Performance Institute and started CamFit CDA in 2020 but just moved to their current location in Dalton Gardens this past September.

Our class of 16, mostly women, started off in chairs, but we weren’t sitting for long! Liz, who knew everyone by name, had us up and marching briskly around the outside of our circle, moving our arms and high-stepping to get warmed up.

I love swimming! It offers a fantastic full body workout with little to no impact on bones and joints. Because of this, absolutely anybody can partake in water-based exercise. So there’s no excuse such as having a bum knee or needing a hip replacement to keep you from enjoying exercise in a pool.

I love swimming! It offers a fantastic full body workout with little to no impact on bones and joints. Because of this, absolutely anybody can partake in water-based exercise. So there’s no excuse such as having a bum knee or needing a hip replacement to keep you from enjoying exercise in a pool.

I’ve always loved bikes and biking. I still remember my first road bike, a black and red Bianchi that I bought in 1989 — what a classic! My first two years of medical school I refused to buy a car so I biked everywhere in New Hampshire, even in winter. Back then there were no fat bikes or snow bikes so I put chains on my Trek mountain bike to get around. They helped a bit on icy roads but were useless in snow because I would sink down and get stuck instead of riding on top of the snow.

After arriving at Coeur Climbing Company, which is tucked behind the outlet malls in Post Falls, and changing into shorts and climbing shoes, we met Dan Shaw, one of the owners, to take a tour and try it out. The gym is bright and spacious with over 6,000 square feet of climbing surfaces including 24-foot-high roped walls and bouldering walls up to 15 feet high. The colorful routes are clearly marked by degree of difficulty and changed often so that climbing regulars will not get bored. In fact, cleaning the holds and route setting is a full-time job for the dedicated staff. For advanced climbers, there’s a Moon Board which connects with your phone to light up different patterns and has over 20,000 different routes!

Peloton, for those unfamiliar, is the stationary bicycle (although they also now offer a treadmill and rowing machine) that has a video feed so you can participate in spinning classes real-time or tap into their enormous library of previously recorded workouts. I’ve been riding a Peloton bike at home pretty consistently since 2019 and I’m enormously grateful for it because it kept me exercising during the craziness of the pandemic.

I was feeling nervous as I walked from my house to CrossFit CDA on Fourth Street. Kind of like going to church after not having attended for a long time. It’s been about 10 years since I was a regular member of the CrossFit congregation and what I remember are intense workouts and lots of super fit people. I am definitely not in the shape I was back then! But from the moment I stepped through the door, Coach Chandra greeted me warmly and as I was stretching out, other acolytes came up and introduced themselves to me.

In addition to being very warm, the studio was dimly lit with soothing music playing in the background (which must be some sort of prerequisite for yoga studios). My first class was Hatha-style yoga and, generally speaking, I was impressed that the classes included almost as many men as women. Everyone looked fit and somehow ageless in the way that yoga people tend to do. Our instructor had a very calming voice and led us through a series of 26 hatha poses that proved to be very challenging and sweat-inducing. Let’s just say, by the end of the hour I was a puddle.

On a recent gorgeous fall morning I stepped out of my house wearing my brand new walking shoes and headed for work a bit earlier than usual. It was 50 degrees with clear blue skies as I hiked briskly to Dr. Walsworth’s house so that we could walk to work together.

At Exercise Institute, because you work one-on-one with a trainer, the workouts are customized to your abilities and limitations with an eye toward avoiding injury. Even if you don’t know the first thing about lifting weights or have never used resistance machines before, they will guide you through each step so that you are using the machine properly and using good technique.

The point of this column is not to convince you of the benefits of exercise, but rather to explore that follow-up question I often get.