This Thursday I will face a true test of courage – placing my adventurous ego on the blind date auction block. Lest you think it’s just a vain publicity stunt, proceeds from the auction go to benefit bicycle education at Bici Centro and The Bicycle Coalition in Santa Barbara, organizations that offer clinics on everything from peddle stroke technique to changing a flat tire. These shops are dedicated to getting people out on their bikes, something I’d like to do a little more often.

So join Sol Fitness Adventures Melanie Webb and the other 10 humble hotties at the CycleMAYnia Bachelors on Bikes Auction this Thursday, May 27th, at 6:30 pm at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum. Winners get an all expenses-paid date on a tandem bicycle to an exciting local event.

Check out the details on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=124932344186355&ref=mf

By the way, are you a fan of Sol Fitness Adventures on Facebook yet? Help me grow a community of people who believe fitness is more than just a gym workout – it’s a way of life!

Alright, I try not to brag about my awesome outdoor adventure lifestyle. But the entire point of being a Santa Barbara personal trainer and this blog is to share my passion for fitness and the outdoors. How can I possibly not share spring skiing at Mammoth ski resort, just at the risk of appearing spoiled rotten?

Anyone would consider snowboarding fantastic snow conditions on May 20th pretty great. But how many times does one get to fly in a private plane, snowboard a full day at Mammoth ski resort in California’s Eastern Sierra’s, and return the same day to America’s Riviera, Santa Barbara, California?

Maybe some of you are more spoiled than I am and get to do this all the time. But for this ex snowboard bum, life doesn’t get much better!

This morning wasn’t the typical sunny with blue skies Santa Barbara morning. It was chilly, foggy, and the gray color of the sky blended into the icy cold waters of the Pacific Ocean. I wasn’t about to let the dreary conditions stop me from getting out on my new stand up paddle board, though.

My new SUP is shorter than most boards – 10’6″ and the guys in the shop told me it would feel squirly at first. I wanted to test my skills on easy water. The water was as smooth as glass. Perfect!

My best college friend Heather joined me on her surfboard for moral support. With virtually no waves to speak of, we couldn’t ask for better conditions (remember, I’m not a fully-fledged surfer chic yet!).  I managed to stand right up and paddle away. We paddled through the quiet morning to nothing but the sound of the birds and the faint music from a sailboat in the distance.

I achieve a Zen state of mind stand up paddling. The sport requires focus at first, and clears the mind of all the muck and noise that clamor for my attention. The fear of falling naturally results in 100% focus as balance gets tested, strength develops, and learning a new sport creates new cross bridges in the brain. Add the sheer fun of play, marine wildlife like seals and pelicans, and the occasional ballsy swimmer, and the end result is one fantastic sport.

Without the necessary muscles, stand up paddling can be an uncoordinated and frustrating experience. As a personal fitness trainer, I’m combining strength workouts with stand up paddling for my adventurous clients. The ground workout strengthens the abs, back, butt, and arms, and the sport specific exercises translate directly to peak performance on the board.

Contact us to arrange your combined strength workout and stand up paddling session today!

Two years ago I blogged about my urban garden in Washington, D.C.’s Rock Creek Park. Each day I’d ride there on my bike, putter around, and enjoy the simple pleasure of the peace and quiet of my garden haven. Teaching my young urban friends about fitness and nutrition and sharing my harvest with my personal training clients made the garden even more rewarding.

Now that I live in Santa Barbara, California, farmers market produce is abundant. The idea of being a ‘locavore,’ eating food from your own community, is shared by many in this environmentally conscious city. But I still want the feeling of being involved in the production of the food I eat. Two months ago I built garden boxes in my own backyard. My careful preparation of the soil – I use the lasagna gardening method of layering compost, soil, and other organic material – has resulted in a promising crop of organic vegetables.

Growing our own food provides great nutrition, saves money, and is therapeutic. But I would suggest that growing our own food, whether it’s a tomato plant in a pot on the 20th floor of a high rise apartment building in New York City, the salad greens in the four little garden boxes I’ve built in Santa Barbara, or the many fenced urban gardens of Washington, D.C. should become part of our environmental consciousness. The transportation of produce around the country not only requires too much fuel and wasteful packaging, but separates us from the very earth we sprung from. Humans need to be grounded, to feel dirt under our nails, and most of all, to be connected to the food we eat.

Enough of my banter – time to go harvest my local Santa Barbara produce!

My birthday came 1 month early this year, and what a way to treat myself! After 2 years on my want list, the shiny shaped red and white Paddle Surf Hawaii Stand Up Paddle Board (SUP!) is finally mine, all mine. No more borrowing and begging. I’ve come along way – 2,768 miles, to be exact – from paddling the inflatable with my buddy Suggz and the Potomac Boardrats on the Potomac River to the aquamarine hues of the Pacific Ocean on the Central Coast of California, and couldn’t be happier.

Thanks to my new friends Barney and Chris at Blueline Stand Up Paddle Surf in Santa Barbara for outfitting me with my latest gearhead indulgence. The appetite has been satisfied. Now, waiting for the wind and white caps to die down so I can get out on the water and go for a paddle!

Who’s up for a paddle?

Today’s blog is a shout out to mind/body specialists living in the 805 area code.

Dr. Adina McGarr offers Santa Barbara counseling and Santa Barbara psychology services. For over 10 years Dr. Adina has been studying eating disorders, prescription drug addiction treatment, alcoholism and addiction, drug addiction relapse, and self injurious behaviors. If you are seeking a Santa Barbara therapist who goes beyond traditional addiction treatment methods, you may consider this Santa Barbara counseling expert.

For more information call Dr. Adina McGarr at (818) 518-6775 or visit http://www.mysantabarbaratherapy.com/

Who was your first fitness guru?

I gotta give props to my first guru, the first lady of fitness, Jane Fonda, for a bold comeback at the age of 73 to host World Fitness Day in Atlanta, Georgia (Atlanta, huh?). Check out the star-studded workout of Jane, Billy Banks, Denise Austin, and the man himself, Richard Simmons. The personal trainer in me is breaking into a sweat just thinking about all those fitness gurus under one roof.

And the Pointer Sisters, too, get out of town! Jane Fonda AND the Pointer Sisters, my first home video workout and my first cassette tape.

In case you missed Jane’s step aerobic workout in 1992, here you go: