Oh September

From Gossamergear.com

So it is still hot outdoors in Florida, but the days are now beginning to get a little bit shorter.  The nights are only hot on occasion (no more mid-80's temperatures) and that Florida sun is not quite as hot as it was a week ago.

It is still far from cool fall weather, but there is a positive shift.  I can feel it.  It has motivated me to start exercising (indoors) again and to start hiking outdoors to get ready for fall and winter backpacking and bicycling.

I started last week simply with 50 sit-ups (crunches) and 10 leg lifts.  The idea is to get myself used to doing these again on a daily basis.  Each couple of weeks I'll be adding more bodyweight exercises from the photo above and will be roughly following their workout plan.  If the weather cools a little, I’ll start riding the bike again once or twice a week and build up the mileage over the next few weeks on the local bike trails.

Here is a LINK to the exercise plan on Gossamer Gear's website that includes utilizing your body weight.  If you follow the picture above, I'm still at the EASY stage.

If you need some other help with getting started with an exercise program, Google “backpacking exercise” to find more plans and workouts than you could imagine.  There are many weight training and bodyweight plans which are designed to get you ready to backpack.  Most of these exercise plans tell you to hike as much as possible, work your body core, and to start slowly and build easy.  I have been lazy this year, but am excited to get outdoors hiking when the weather cools, so that’s my motivation.

Remember that when the rest of the country is buried under snow, you can use your summer-earned health to hike in Florida's best outdoor season.  Plan a balanced winter vacation for your family that gets you a couple days of family backpacking bliss along with quality family time at Walt Disney World.  Check out FLORIDA TRAIL MAPS here.

Fall Florida backpacking trips with the Tampa Bay Sierra Club begin the first week of October.  I should be ready to start about mid-month, and will lay out a plan for that in the next weeks.