Do you feel like doing something crazy on your summer holidays? Imagine a place where you could get some fresh air, adventure, water, mountains and nature; and win a challenge of a lifetime at the same time. One of those places is a Spanish natural park “Aigüestortes” in Pyrenees.
Aigüestortes offers hundreds of lakes, many waterfalls, forests, mountains and breathtaking views. The park lies approx. 6500 feet (2000 meters) over the sea level.
Perhaps the most interesting way to get to know the park are the walking routes, of which the “Carros de Foc” route, which goes through 9 different refuges, happens to be the biggest one: 137 miles (220km). “Carros de Foc” means “cars of fire” and maybe for a good reason.
Carros de Foc is also the center of a spectacular challenge the park’s administration runs in the summer months. The challenge is to complete the 137 miles route in less than 24 hours.
Impossible? Think again! Thousands of people try it each year and dozens of them succeed. Enric Lukas did it in only 10 hours five years ago.
It takes a lot of courage, since we’re talking about walking for over 20 hours at a pretty good speed. By the way, I’m not sure that you can call it “walking” anymore.
It’s an effort that most of us can face physically, but only few of us can face it mentally. I think challenges like this one actually show you who you are inside. It’s something noone can take away, something that is authentic deep within your own character.
I’m going for it this summer. You can find more information about the challenge on he official site: carrosdefoc.com.
Note: A real bodytweaker knows how to spend his/her summer holidays
Cost: 20 Euros to take the challenge
If you live in a city, like me, you should seriously consider buying a bicycle. How many of us actually take our car to drive to work? An average American citizen lives only 6.5 miles away from his/her workplace. It’s a 15-20 minutes ride if you drive a bike instead of using your car or the bus!
Even if you live far away from your workplace and a bike trip may take you over 40 minutes, you still shall consider the benefits this lifestyle could bring. Sure, you may have to get up 20 minutes earlier, but even then bicycle provides the necessary exercise that could significantly improve your sleep. Your sleep may become more deep and relaxing and you would feel far more energized in the morning than with 20 minutes of extra sleep.
Further benefits include:
- Cardio exercise improves your general health
- Never worry again about your weight
- Your muscles and figure in general becomes more toned and slim
- You don’t spend money for gas or public transportation
- A bicycle is far cheaper than a car
- Your 2 cents to save the environment
- Be different, be cool!
You could use your bike to go anywhere! It’s not only about your work. You could go to your grocery store, visit your aunt in a nearby city during the weekend or even take a road trip to Canada on your next vacations.
Cheap and healthy lifestyle: a bicycle fits perfectly a bodytweaker’s non-consumer approach to life. You’ll have to invest a few hundred $$, but it’s still a far more beneficial investment than a car.
Note: A bicycle is a bodytweaker’s second pair of legs
Cost: You could get a bike from 120$, but look for quality not just for the cheapest price.
Personally I prefer to jog by myself, although I have to admit that group jogging can be more fun. A recent “research” by Professor Elizabeth Gould shows that solo jogging may actually be “bad” for your health.
For some reason, Professor Gould has linked the benefits of jogging to production of new brain cells. The experiment has been conducted on 2 groups during a 12 days period. It turned out that the participants that were jogging together produced twice as much new brain cells as the solo-joggers. Usually a reduced number of new brain cells is linked to high stress levels. Does that mean that social interaction during workouts may actually reduce stress?
I guess group workouts are fun and people tend to forget their life issues while having fun together. Therefore it’s a logical conclusion that having some quality time with your friends reduces stress. You don’t really need a research for that. Good job, Professor.
On the other hand the statement “solo jogging is bad for your health” is just incorrect. It may be less beneficial due to the lack of a social factor, but it’s certainly not “bad” for your health. On the contrary, it doesn’t matter who you are jogging with, the important part is that you are jogging.
Note: A real bodytweaker runs no matter if there is a society at all
Cost: 0$ to run with a buddy