If you have the luxury of living near the water, you MUST try stand up paddle boarding if you haven’t already. Any body of water will do, rivers, lakes, the bay or the ocean. The benefits are plenty, and the hard work is masked by the enjoyment you’ll get from the sport.
At Drive SRQ we deeply believe in living a fun and healthy lifestyle, and often the best way to do this is by participating in an out activity. We love cycling, mountain biking, and anything near or on the water. Paddle boarding (SUP) has unique and specific benefits such as improving your balance, reducing stress, and increasing strength. All of your muscle are used when paddle boarding, and it is true that you may find it difficult at first, but once you learn the proper paddle technique you’ll be cruising over the water and making friends with dolphins, manatees, and varies birds that love to follow.
Stand Up Paddle Boarding is also low impact, all the motions are fluid, so truly anyone can do it, and if you fall, you just get wet! Being a low impact sport like cycling, you will get better cardiovascular health, as this is a distance sport. Every day you will be able to go farther and farther while simultaneously increase you strength, cardio, and balance. The sport can be done solo, or with a group.
The benefits are endless, and the connection with nature will have the stress leaving your body the second you hit the water and paddle that first stroke. Take it from us, just go for it, try it, you’ll be glad you did.
The last guy I dated gave me the, “It’s not you, it’s me” line. I gave him the “I know it’s you because I’m fucking awesome!” line.
Thank someone on Pinterest for that. It struck a chord for me and made me laugh.
I am a personal trainer and fitness coach. I can honestly say that over the last 20 years of being in the fitness industry, most of my clients (including ME) could use a little coaching on feeling fucking awesome!
I totally feel like shit when I compare myself to Scarlett Johansson or the current model on that Michael Kors ad. Does anyone really buy what those models wear? I mean really, sometimes the patterns are so distracting….I’d have a seizure for sure. Anyway, someone told me that comparison is the thief of JOY. Why would we subject ourselves of limiting JOY in our lives by comparing ourselves to others? It is so easy to do, I realize this. But telling ourselves how fucking awesome we are is also easy!
What makes you different and unique? Remind yourself daily that you are fucking awesome!
So the next time you find yourself browsing Pinterest for the next “Lose weight fast” diet regime or “How to get Kim’s butt,” read the funny pins instead. And tell the world, “I’m fucking awesome.”
“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity.” –John Muir
What does “going home” mean to you? Some of us live in a beautiful house, a tiny apartment, or a high-rise on the beach…but does it truly feel like HOME?
My house has granite counter tops, a huge screened-in porch, awesome appliances and has more room than I know what to do with. It is cozy, warm and I really like being there. But why doesn’t it feel like Home?
Home to me feels more like mountain views, cool breezes, and sounds of nature from every window. Now, not everyone would agree that hearing monkeys howl throughout the night is their idea of “home,” but maybe hearing the beach waves rush up on the shore – without using your sound machine – is what you’d prefer. Whatever it is that makes your Home feel unique to you.
For most of us, living on the beach to hear those ocean waves may be a far reach…don’t get me wrong, I’m all about taking a towel and a coffee maker and calling it home, but I imagine some places frown upon that.
So how can we start bringing more of what we call “home” to our house?
How can we shift our attitudes creatively to feel more at home in our current surroundings?
What’s one thing you could do to make your house feel more like home?
In the far east, there is a tree called the Chinese bamboo tree. This remarkable tree is different from most trees in that it doesn’t grow in the usual fashion. While most trees grow steadily over a period of years, the Chinese bamboo tree doesn’t break through the ground for the first four years. Then, in the fifth year, an amazing thing happens – the tree begins to grow at an astonishing rate. In fact, in a period of just five weeks, a Chinese bamboo tree can grow to a height of 90 feet. It’s almost as if you can actually see the tree growing before your very eyes.
I first read about the Chinese bamboo tree through my Daily Om email, and ever since, this has been the tag line on the bottom of every email correspondence I send: “Keep Watering your Bamboo.”
I’ve had several people asks what it means and each time I tell the story, I know my personal bamboo grows even more.
Life is very similar to the Chinese bamboo tree. You can work for weeks, months and even years on your dream with no visible signs of progress and then, all of the sudden, things take off. Your business becomes profitable beyond your wildest dreams. Your marriage and personal relationships become more vibrant and abundant than you ever thought they possible.
The key to the story:
Trust in the process
Be Patient
Could you wait four years for your dreams to come true, knowing you’ve planted the seed of amazing growth?
The best way to become a better golf player isn’t just by playing more golf, it’s by improving your overall athleticism. Swing harder hit, longer, and drive your game into high gear with Drive Fitness & Performance.
Whether you’re a weekly player who wants to increase your level, a high school player hoping to make the varsity team, or an athlete just looking to play better with dad on the weekends, DRIVE FP can help get you meet your goals. Our oneofakind programs coached by TPI certified coaches, help golfers become stronger, more balanced, and less prone to nagging injuries such as:
Hip immobility, lack of pelvic rotation
Improper knee bend
Pronation of the feet
Shoulder immobility
Inefficient setup, pelvic tilt
Spinal stenosis, poor lumbar posture
Imbalance due to weak proprioception
If there is a breakdown in function and any given segment it will affect multiple outcomes including, ball-striking, distance control, and trajectory. Our training sessions focus on training players to feel the correct movements that will make their swing more efficient, thus providing better ball control. Simple, effective drills are prescribed to engage the correct muscles at the correct time during the golf swing. As the player focuses on the specific exercises, swing mechanics evolve into repeatable motions. The game has reached a point where its participants do not need convincing that better fitness, biomechanics, and health will improve their chances of playing their best. Today’s golfers need to be convinced that their instructors are up to date with the latest information on the sport. Golfers want to trust their coach, instructor or practitioner. TPI Certification gives golfers that trust!
Strength training is a type of physical exercise specializing in the use of resistance to induce muscular contraction which builds the strength, anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles.
When properly performed, strength training can provide significant functional benefits and improvement in overall health and well-being, including increased bone, muscle, tendon and ligament strength, and toughness, improved joint function, reduced potential for injury, increased bone density, increased metabolism, increased fitness, and improved cardiac function. Training commonly uses the technique of progressively increasing the force output of the muscle through incremental weight increases and uses a variety of exercises and types of equipment to target specific muscle groups. Strength training is primarily an anaerobic activity, although some proponents have adapted it to provide the benefits of aerobic exercise through circuit training.
Work your muscles in every way possible in this class designed to build strength, add definition, increase your bone density, and decrease your body fat by increasing your lean muscle. Research has proven that by adding lean muscle to the body you can speed up your metabolism and burn more calories when you workout and at rest. You will use hand weights, plate loaded barbells, tubing and your own body weight to change the shape of your body.
As I’ve discussed before, Florida has some of the best mountain biking in the country. Old phosphate mines have been converted into MTB parks and maintained by various clubs. These clubs are a tight-knit community of like-minded people that work as hard as they play.
SWAMP is out of Tampa and maintains the best parks in the state: Alafia, Croom, & Boyette.
OMBA (Ocala Mountain Bike Club) maintain Santo, probably the largest and best-known park.
Other MTB clubs in Florida are Club Mud, SORBA, Wilderness Trekkers, BMBA, Virginia Key Bicycle Club, Miami Hawks MTB Club, SCORR, Dirt Dogs of Florida, and Club Tread. There are many more, which just goes to show that mountain biking in Florida does exist and is exploding. If you are new to MTB or thinking about trying it, contact a club near you, I can assure you they will be friendly and very helpful in getting you started.
One thing you don’t want to do is ride the wrong trail at the wrong experience level, or damage a trail in any way. Our trail systems are delicate and very hard to maintain, so staying on them and following the signs is highly recommended. The trail system in Florida instantly look like you are being transported to another world, or at least another part of the country. They are beautiful and you will see trees and animals that won’t see riding a road bike, the trails are my gym, my church, and my therapy. Contact and support a local MTB club today!
On my last vacation to Costa Rica, I realized that I have been doing it all wrong. On this trip, my fiancee encouraged me (us) to eat clean, and stay on the move, as opposed to treating ourselves to going out to eat, relaxing, etc….as one normally does on a vacation. But isn’t the point of vacation to relax, and relieve stress?
It turns out the answer is yes, however, laying around the beach, sucking down pina colada’s, and going out to eat night after night is not the way to do it. By eating clean and staying on the move, seeking adventure I came back energized and refreshed. I realized I should be living every day the way I did for that one week in Costa Rica.
Don’t get me wrong, we did do some serious relaxing and eating on the last day, but it was well planned. We started off hiking the local area, looking for great views of the ocean, and let me tell you, Costa Rica, especially where we stay is not flat! It was as hard hiking down as it was up, the legs were burning, but the reward was in the view and the exercise we got from it. I would not have lasted 2 minutes on a stair climber in the gym, but hiking through the jungle made me not even think of it as a workout.
After a couple days of hiking, we tried surfing, key word being ‘tried’. It wasn’t easy, but man, if you don’t know what you’re doing it’s one hell of a workout, nothing on the whole trip made me more exhausted. The next day we rented mountain bikes, again it was grueling, but the views and cool breeze from the ocean made it all worth it. On the last day, we drove to Arenal. There are hot springs naturally heated by the volcano everywhere, and we just soaked the muscles and relaxed.
It was an amazing trip, but the point is this, I realize not everyone can go to Costa Rica, or maybe even leave the state, but what you can do is think different. Go outside your normal thought process and the way you think things are supposed to be done. By turning our vacation into a non-stop adventure, we came back healthier, happier, and stronger. It also made me realize I should be seeking this lifestyle in my own home town, every day.
Mountain biking is one of the best ways to get fit and have fun. Mountain Biking does take a lot of skill and effort, but the best part is, after a long ride, you don’t feel like you worked out, you only feel like you went on an adventure and had fun!
Most people think mountain biking is for the pros, or it’s too difficult or hard to
get into. While it is true that there are a lot of difficult intermediate and black diamond runs that do need advanced skill and effort, there are tons of trails that are flat and windy, but also beautiful and exciting.
Growing up in Florida, it took me years to discover all of the amazing places to ride. I never imagined that there could be ‘mountain’ biking in Florida. I by chance discovered that mountain biking is not about riding down mountains, but rather riding through the trails and various terrains on a bike that is capable of handling all the bumps and obstacles that you may come across.
You may be thinking that buying a good mountain bike is expensive, and you are right, it is. If you are truly going to take this on, you can not get a cheap bike from Walmart. It is best to get one from a local bike shop and have it fitted to you so that you are comfortable. Plus, your local bike shop will often give you free maintenance and tune ups on the bike, which mountain bikes need more often than road bikes. I recommend starting off with a $400-$600 bike from a local bike store or from craigslist. The only thing I would recommend would be making sure you have disc breaks and not caliper breaks, calipers are great for the road, but not for going downhill or taking fast turns.
To get started, I recommend finding some local places in your area with trails. You may have to drive up to an hour away, but I guarantee that anyone can find trails to ride within an hour of where they live. It’s best to hike the trails first, see what they look like, what the conditions are. Hiking can be just as fun, adventuress, and rewarding as mountain biking. Once you get a lay of the land, it’s time to take out the bike. Make sure you have:
Helmet
Camel Back (for carrying water)
Good shoes
Gloves
Once you have your gear, get used to the bike a bit, then take it to the trail, just go for it. I promise you, within minutes you will have a smile on your face and feel like you are 5 years old, riding a bike again for the first time.
It’s great exercise, but it’s about the adventure, the rush! After about 6 weeks, you will be reading blog after blog seeking more information on bikes, equipment, body position and riding styles. It’s addicting!
If you have any questions, just let us know, but in the end, my point is simply that you can do it, you will love it, and to just go for it!
Standup paddling is an awesome workout, which is one reason why top athletes from various sports use SUP to cross-train. Whether standup paddling, SUP surfing, practicing SUP yoga, SUP pilates or SUP Barre–you’re engaging muscles, burning calories, increasing your heart rate, and getting those endorphins pumping. Standup paddling forces you to activate muscles from your shoulders down to your toes, so you’re truly getting a full-body workout–even during the light paddling sessions.
2. Mental Health
Being out on the water, surrounded by nature and its beauty is scientifically proven to help you relax. While we know we’re happy post-paddle partially due to those endorphins, tuning out the stresses of everyday life during your SUP session naturally helps you unwind. Standup paddle for a healthy approach to giving your overworked mind a break.
3. Sociality
A fun—and safer—way to SUP is to share the time with friends. If you and your pals aren’t into just cruising, there are plenty of social SUP activities supervised by professionals, from SUP tours that include winery and brewery stops, to group SUP trips, SUP-related festivals, and even kids’ summer SUP camps. There’s endless opportunity to make lasting memories when you have a paddle in hand and friends alongside.
4. Competition
The competitive side of SUP is strong, with races held year-round and worldwide. There’s a competitive event suited for every type of standup paddler, including river races, SUP surf contests, downwind races, and sprints–all with varying board classes, age and skill level divisions. Friendly and serious competitive events can be found near you by checking out the Event Calendar.
5. Adventure
SUP allows us the adventure of exploration and discovery, the ability to travel great distances and far-reaching places we’ve never laid eyes upon. The sport offers the opportunity to experience new thrills in once tired places while invigorating our souls with the excitement of the unfamiliar and the unknown. From exotic countries to our local waterways, standup paddling gives people the chance to explore the world from a different perspective.
