Where is your next EPIC adventure? Even more important, how do you prepare physically and mentally? Tap into your competitive edge with Melanie Webb’s outdoor fitness adventure coaching. Now preparing clients for Mt. Kilimanjaro, The Playa, and NYC (New York City!?)

How often have you met someone who signed up for an incredible outdoor adventure trip thinking they would have plenty of time to train and prepare? Before they know it, the trip is 4 weeks away, life has gotten busy, and they aren’t ready. There are two choices at this point – 1. Go anyway and hope for the best; or 2. Blitzkrieg the sport-specific training and find an expert to coach you along the way.

This is the kind of fitness training that gets the outdoor adventure guide/personal trainer/gear head in me so excited that my energy overflows as I coach my clients toward their fitness goals. To summit a mountain, spend a week in the desert, or be on your game in the Big Apple requires much more than simply ’showing up.’ As your fitness adventure coach, I will help you develop a strategic plan, research the physical demands of the destination, select the right outdoor equipment, and prepare you mentally and physically for the challenges ahead. Preparation becomes part of the experience, the trip itself is the climax, one which will exceed your expectations because you invested the time and energy to achieve it.

So plan that adventure trip! Live the life. Tap into your fullest potential. Accomplish your fitness goals with Melanie Webb of Sol Fitness Adventures.

Because fitness is more than a gym workout – it’s a way of life!

Santa Barbara Mind Body Specialists

Being fit involves more than bicep curls and crunches. Don’t forget the healing side. The local experts on this page will help you accomplish your fitness goals; soothe sore muscles; make spinal adjustments when necessary; and guide you to overcoming substance abuse or behavioral obstacles. Your local Santa Barbara mind body experts are here:

• Make the connection between mind and body with expert personal trainer and outdoor adventure guide Melanie Webb. (805) 722 – 4599 or soladventure.com
• Soothe sore muscles with the healing touch of massage therapist Yolanda Chasteen at Spa Escape. Find Yolanda at (805) 456 – 9208 or spaescapesb.com
• Receive rapid relief with the expert methods of Dr. Kara Gochnour. (805) 687 – 0533  or DrKaraGochnour.com
• Kick those nasty habits with the assistance of Dr. Adina McGarr. (818) 518-6775 or mysantabarbaratherapy.com

Fitness is more than a gym workout – it’s a way of life!

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!

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!

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/

“Not all the ravages caused by our merciless age are tangible ones.  The subtler forms of destruction, those involving only the human spirit, are the most to be dreaded.” – Paul Bowles, December 1981

I recently met a woman whose health has been severely compromised by an acute and extremely rare chemical sensitivity. She’s been driven from the home which took she and her husband 18 years of their own skill, creativity, and vision to build. Not an inch of the home has gone unturned in an effort to make it more habitable; not a doctor unvisited. It’s been four years since she’s been able to live in her space.

One might expect to find such a person out of their mind and miserable, self absorbed and destitute. Quite the contrary. What I find in my new friend Susanna is a spirit full of compassion, overflowing with empathy, and a feisty spirit of determination. She seeks solitude and peace of mind daily on the trails of the Los Padres National Forest and the sands of the South Coast of the Pacific.

I am reminded that, if we make the conscious decision to make it so, all things can and will work together for our good; that the power of mother earth to heal, if not our physical bodies, but our spirits, is greater than we know.

Join Sol Fitness Adventures and other outdoor vendors at a special family climbing social and brunch! The event will raise money for the installation of a new climbing wall for the Montessori School of Ojai. Your $5 entry fee gets you an omelet, music, climbing pointers, massage, music, and the opportunity to bid on EPIC outdoor gear. Sol is happy to contribute gift certificates toward two of our favorite outdoor trips: Inca Trail Trek: Machu Picchu, Peru, and Redrock Backpacker: Southwestern, Utah.

See you Sunday February 28 from 10 am to 12 pm at Vertical Heaven Climbing Gym. Located at 1954 Goodyear Ave., Ventura, CA

Many a New Year’s resolution is made to embrace a healthy lifestyle. People sign up for yoga and Pilates classes, work with a personal trainer like Sol Fitness Adventures, or adopt a new and vigorous hobby, such as snowboarding.

A key point to remember is that exercise is not what it used to be – it is no longer a quick jog around the block in old cotton sweatpants and a t-shirt. The clothing and accessories that accompany exercise have come a long way, baby. If you spend a significant amount of time doing an activity, it is only right that you look the part. Many brands have created the perfect clothing for every activity.

Thanks to the popularity of extreme sports, it is easy to look stylish and be perfectly comfortable during winter sports. The essential item for snowboarding is a jacket. The key feature to look for is a good lining to keep in warmth. Today’s jackets are often adorned with many pockets and key clips to carry all the extras. Rip Curl and Animal create fantastic jackets in highly desirable designs.

Two essential accessories to stay safe and comfortable during winter sports are gloves and hats. The material of the gloves needs to be suitably strong such as Gortex or Durathane and they need to be waterproof. Hats come in many different styles and forms, like the beanie, and many of these are suitable as long as they provide warmth.

This post brought to you courtesy of our stylish European friends, ExtremePie.com. Check out their hot deals on winter-sports clothing at
http://www.extremepie.com/quiksilver.

Time to switch gears from canyoneering to ocean sports, and that means surfing. I think it’s one of the last board sports on my list: snowboarding, done; wakeboarding, done; skateboarding – junior high attempts were enough to convince me that I sucked; longboarding – college wipe-outs and separated shoulders were enough to convince me that, once again, I sucked; paddleboarding, done – and ready for more with all the paddling spots here!; water boarding – wait, I’m not the CIA… I guess that’s my list of board sports. Let me know if I missed one.

I met Rob at A Frame in Carpinteria and signed up for my first surf lesson. News the night before told of the devastating earthquake that hit Samoa, resulting in a tsunami warning for the California Coast. That made for some sweet dreams! Luckily, conditions were good enough the next morning to go out and the marine layer – ‘fog’ for you non-locals – that had been lurking around lifted.

After a TMI verbal lesson on the beach I hit the water on the 12-foot longboard. With Rob’s help I caught a few waves on the inside and mastered the stand without looking like a ‘jack-in-the-box.’ Then he turned me loose. I’m convinced that it was about this time that strong current and riptides rolled in. My next 20 attempts at catching a wave resulted in 0 waves caught, one nose-dive (pearling is not cute); five missed waves – thank goodness there were a few of those thrown in amongst the pummeling – and 14 opportunities to either get dumped or master ‘turtling’ – grabbing the rails of the board and deliberately rolling it over to shield me from the mis-timed waved crashing on top of me. I mastered that roll fast.

There is only so much pummeling this body – and ego – can take. I sat down, exhausted. I woke up this morning visualizing catching a wave. I was acutely aware that my aching body was bruised and sore in some very unexpected places. So I’ll give it a rest for a few days. But I’ll be back!