New Year You

By SARAH HUBER for LOVELAND MAGAZINE

Shape up in 2019with help from threeLoveland businesses

Whether setting fresh goals as an experienced athlete or plunging into an exercise routine for the first time, three Loveland businesses offer the equipment, expertise and stellar suggestions locals need to get moving in 2019.

Bouldering at Wooden Mountain works the entire body without the feeling of a traditional workout.

Photo courtesy Wooden Mountain

Wooden Mountain weaves mental riddles with physical challenges

Though any exercise that gets the heart pumping stimulates the brain, climbing challenges the mind while delivering a demanding physical workout. Evan Mann, one of the three owners of the new climbing gym Wooden Mountain in Loveland, said, “Bouldering routes are called problems because they present a physical challenge that needs a solution in order to be climbed. Think of a Rubik’s cube that requires your entire body to solve.”

Since bouldering problems extend only 15 feet from the ground at Wooden Mountain and the floor is draped with a giant cushion to mitigate falls, climbers don’t need a rope harness. “Bouldering is the most accessible form of climbing. You don’t need to have any previous experience, but it does challenge the physique,” Mann said. “If you practice other sports, bouldering should be a friendly learning curve.”

Wooden Mountain features bouldering routes or "problems" that challenge everyone from the beginner to the seasoned climber.

Photo courtesy Wooden Mountain

Adam Lum, another Wooden Mountain owner, said, “Climbing is the perfect activity. It’s more fun than it is hard, and you get a workout before you even realize it.” Lum compared climbing to yoga, except the climber is moving toward a vertical goal. “Climbing is weight resistant, and after the first climb, you’ll be sore in areas you didn’t even know you had muscles,” he said. Bouldering improves strength, body awareness and proprioception, or knowing where one’s body is in space. “You can get in shape and tone all areas of the body,” Lum said. “Mostly, it’s fun and very intellectually stimulating.”

Lum should know. After misbehaving out of boredom in school in seventh grade, a teacher sentenced him to abasic climbing class. “I discovered climbing not only as an activity I loved and found challenging, but I also found a community I could fit into. That community and the physical challenge really did change my life,” he said.

Lum believes kids, and adults, who climb learn wise decision-making. “There’s no risk assessment through phones and apps, and that leaves kids having a really hard time making decisions,” Lum said. “Climbing, which lets you feel the risk and the balance together, fills that gap in a palpable way.” He added, “Climbing is a beautiful way of learning how to make decisions and how to access risk. Plus, climbers learn in community. You have a lot more fun, go further and climb better with others.”

At 7,000 square feet, Wooden Mountain is housed in an eclectic gym and features kids’ mornings, ladies’ nights, high school evenings, day camps and classes. Lum said, “All ages can climb. We recently had a 74-year-old man here climbing.” Preschoolers enjoy a climbing wall for tots. “If they can walk, they can probably climb,” Evans said.

First-timers at Wooden Mountain, “regardless of skill and experience, will go through a brief orientation of the gym, our walls, how we recommend to climb and what you need to do in order to have a good time and stay safe,” Mann said. Those new to climbing can rent shoes and should dress in comfortable gym clothes.

Experienced climbers are challenged at Wooden Mountain, with some walls sporting bouldering riddles altered at least every five weeks by experienced setters. Memberships and pay-per-visit plans are available.

Wooden Mountain Climbing Gym

1503 Taurus Ct

Loveland, CO 80537

(970) 497-2633

http://www.woodenmountain.com/

Club Loveland: A community hub for newbies, experienced athletes

“The New Year is always an exciting time to set new fitness goals,” said Robin Depperschmidt-Williams, general manager at Club Loveland, opening this month. “There is endless amounts of research on the importance of including regular exercise in your day today. It is an extremely rewarding feeling to set a physical goal and reach it,” in addition to the health benefits, improved strength and toned look.

Exercise is good for the brain, too. “Physical activity stresses our brains similarly to how it works our muscles. Neurons break down, then recover and become stronger and more resilient,” said Depperschmidt-Williams, who formerly led fitness therapy for people with dementia and other neurological challenges. “(Exercise) has been proven to improve your mood by releasing specific happy endorphins in the brain,” she said.

Club Loveland opens its doors just in time for the influx of New Years Resolutions

Jonathan Castner/Loveland Magazine

Club Loveland members receive a free fitness assessment with a personal trainer to evaluate fitness and establish goals. Depperschmidt-Williams said, “For those that need that little extra push or accountability to stay motivated through the rigor of a new exercise program, we always recommend inviting a personal trainer into your workout.”

One way to positively tip the scales this year is to delineate between “eating good and eating right,” urged Depperschmidt-Williams. “Eating good is when you stop eating fast food and start to eat things that you have been told are good for you, such as fruits and vegetables. Although this is a great step in the right direction, you might not see results that you would if you were to start eating right,” she said. “Eating right is when you are setting a caloric goal, including the right macro-nutrient breakdown to reach that caloric goal.” Depperschmidt-Williams helps members ascertain daily caloric need for body type and activity level.

Club Loveland strives to be a“home away from home,” said Depperschmidt-Williams. “With a full range of free weights and plate-loaded equipment, circuit training, and athletic development rooms that are all

in their own respective areas of the gym, our facility will cater to everyone from seasoned athletes to the beginner looking for structured classes,” she said. The club features a hot tub, steam room, pools, restaurant, and bar. “New friendships, accountability, encouragement, team building, self-esteem, and self-confidence are just a fraction of what can be gained by engaging in fitness in a social setting.” Memberships are month-to-month with discounted memberships for seniors and military.

Club Loveland

289 E 29th Street Loveland, CO 80538

(970) 278-5764

https://clubloveland.com/

Exercise at home with commercial-grade equipment from Colorado Used Gym Equipment

Colorado Used Gym Equipment provides lower cost commercial level exercise equipment for those who would rather exercise at home.

Photo courtesy Colorado Used Gym Equipment

Before shelling thousands on an elliptical or treadmill, consider commercial-grade equipment at a steep discount from Colorado Used Gym Equipment, locally owned and managed in Loveland and Fort Lupton. Owner Shane Van Oene said, “The biggest thing we see on the equipment side of things is customers buying a new piece of equipment for $800 to $1,000 from a sporting goods store, using it for six months to a year and realizing it’s not holding up. Our equipment has 400 to 500-pound user capacities and is meant to be used 16 hours a day in a gym setting. When we put it in a home, we see customers, with minimal maintenance, using our equipment for years.”

VanOene thrives on success stories. “I had one customer call me who said he got on his elliptical for 40 minutes literally every day, and he lost 40 pounds in two months. If you are consistent with your exercise program, you will see results.”

He continued, “When I can get a marathon runner a treadmill that will allow her to run an hour a day every day and not break down for $2,000 instead of its retail price of $7,600, it’s pretty cool to see. People love the value of our equipment. By the time we go through everything in our refurbishment process, if a customer can deal with a few scratches or dings here and there, they are getting a great piece of equipment for the value. I have had people ask if certain treadmills are new. Wedonew running belts and decks on them and they can look just like new.”

Like Depperschmidt-Williams, VanOene emphasized that regular exercise is merely part of the plan. “Most people are buying a treadmill or elliptical to lose weight, which is awesome, but remember that losing weight is two-thirds diet and one-third exercise,” he said. “It’s very important to pay attention to diet. There are lots of great apps for creating a meal plan that fits your needs.”

VanOene encouraged burgeoning athletes to determine what suits their schedule. “Most people like to work out first thing in the morning, but that doesn’t fit me personally,” he said. “I typically do my workout late afternoon. Be aware of what works for you personally and do your best to get into that routine. Once you do it for about a month, it will become second nature, and you’ll miss it if you don’t get your workout in.”

He recommended, moreover, that athletes push their workout capacity. “Start with a 20-minute walk if you need to, , to get going. Walking at four miles an hour with three or four degrees of incline will burn calories, which is the goal.”

Colorado Used Gym Equipment welcomes those wanting to try out equipment to stop in. VanOene said, “Everything in the store can be used and tested to see if it’s something that feels right.”

Colorado Used Gym Equipment

132 4th Street Loveland, CO 80537

970.714.4042

https://www.coloradousedgymequipment.com/