Living strong on the Olympic Peninsula.
All the good stuff is right here.

Complete this short survey to determine if you should continue reading this article. Circle the best answer for you:

1. Do you...
    A. Eat to Live?
    B. Live to Eat?

2. Do you...
    A. Live to Exercise?
    B. Exercise to Live?

If you answered B to both questions, read on; you are my people!

Some of my friends live to exercise; they can't wait to get to a gym or pull on their running shoes because it feels great to be working out. Not me! I do it, but not because I enjoy the feeling of working out. I work out because of the good outcomes, like stronger muscles, denser bones, more flexibility, better posture, greater cardiac capacity. I exercise to live.

The most powerful reason to work out, for me, is that getting more fit means I'm able to do the things I love to do on the Peninsula, especially now. The next four months are some of the most beautiful, welcoming months of the year. It's why many people live here; to get out and revel in the outdoors.

Before you go, be sure your muscles are up to the challenge. The last thing you want is to strain a muscle or set off a series of muscle spasms. It typically takes these kinds of muscle traumas weeks to return to normal. Summer doesn't last long enough to be injured! Increasing muscle strength and flexibility will help prevent these injuries, keeping the focus on the Peninsula's good tidings.

With 600+ miles of hiking trails in Olympic National Park alone, Peninsula summers are for hiking. Get ready by strengthening and stretching the hips, low back, thighs, calves, and the shoulders everyday. Strengthening the core muscles will help immensely for balance and endurance. In my world, the wilderness version of Murphy's Law goes something like this: if there is a pristine place to visit in the wilderness there are logs over glacial rivers to cross en route. Ever since a harrowing experience that took me up close and personal with a raging glacial river on a solo trip around Mt Hood I have been stopped short by a fear of log crossings. As a result, I've missed some things. But more recently, since improving my balance through modest strength training I've found these significantly easier and, fortunately, more successful. Leg and core strength don't just empower, they embolden. And that can make all the difference in where we go.

The Strait offers some of the most scenic kayaking in the world. Kayakers, be sure to engage the big muscles of the back and abdomen for paddling, letting the shoulder and arm muscles attend to the details of setting direction and lifting binoculars. For effective kayaking you'll want strong, flexible core muscles of the back and abdomen. Kayaking professionals recommend preparing for the water with Pilates or other exercise routines that build core strength and maintain good flexibility in the torso and legs. Tight hamstrings-the muscles on the back of the thighs-make kayaking extremely difficult, even painful, so though it seems that kayaking is an upper body activity it turns out to be as important to shape up the lower body.

Bikers, the Discovery Trail and hundreds of miles of Forest Service roads await. Be ready. If you spend the better part of the week sitting at a desk, it's likely that your glutes-the muscles of the bum-and your hamstrings are stretched and weak, while your quads-muscles on the front of the thigh-are shortened and tight. Stretching and strengthening these muscles in preparation for biking will not only make the ride easier and less risky for muscle injury, they counteract the impact of being a desk jockey on posture and back health.

Yet another treasure of Peninsula life is the local farmer who grows and/or produces delicious food in its rich soil. If you answered "B" to question #1 above, you are feeling very lucky right now. Local Farmers' Markets are heating up, and there are superior local cheeses, breads, chocolate, and wines to go along with the bounty of local farms.

To prepare for a season of feasting on the fruits of the earth and of the artisanal food wizards of the Peninsula, exercise is a must. If like me, you'd rather increase the burning of calories than cut down on them, here's good news from recent research: exercise scientists randomly assigned participants to two groups. One group did aerobic exercises-the surefire approach to calorie-burning-five days a week. The other group traded two days of aerobics for two days of modest weight-lifting doing aerobic exercise just three days per week. Guess what they found? The weight-lifting group lost more weight! That's most likely because muscle is calorie-demanding. As study participants built muscle, they required more calories to sustain their muscles and so lost more weight.

It comes down to muscles this summer: keeping them strong and flexible to reap the rewards of Peninsula life. If you consult the web for these exercises, beware! A cursory google of building strength and flexibility will turn up dozens of bad suggestions and unsafe recommendations. Before working out, seek guidance from trusted fitness or health professionals. These muscles are our tickets to the wonders of the Peninsula: exercise (smartly) to live (strongly on the Peninsula)!