FITNESS

Our staff is dedicated to making each course the most educational and successful that it can be. You do not have to be an athlete or a highly trained person to come on an Outward Bound program. You do have to be physically capable, active, and motivated to meet a physical and mental challenge.

Our courses are demanding. You will use your muscles in new and challenging ways. It takes strength and fitness to paddle a boat for six or eight hours in a day, carry a 50 lb. pack for 5 miles, climb a steep trail, scale a rock wall, work your way up and over a rocky trail or down into a deep valley. And that is exactly what you are going to be doing. So if you aren't already involved in a rigorous fitness program, now is the time to start.

Every minute you put in will pay off in enjoyment, comfort and fun as your course progresses. We are given a body and a promise of four-score and ten. However, somewhere along the line many of us misplace our owner's manual. As George Sheehan, M.D., perhaps America's best-loved fitness guru, puts it,

"We lead lives inferior to ourselves," writes William James. That is the greatest risk. The danger of not having lived at all, of not fulfilling the promise of birth. To do this, as Emerson says, "We must first be a good animal." And how to do that? Follow Nature's rules. Finding out how your body works best and following those instructions remains the surest way of making good things happen in your life.

Finally, try to avoid any precise expectations about how you will perform on your course. There are many kinds of strength, and strong muscles are only one of the things you will need. Others are a strong heart, a strong mind and a willing spirit. Bring them all. Count on being challenged in many ways. And be assured, you will find that your patrol is made up of people very much like yourself - not super men and women. Each member will bring something very special. Each will have accepted a very personal challenge and is setting out on a unique adventure.

Good luck.

Recommended reading:
» The New Fit or Fat by Covert Bailey
» Stretching by Bob Anderson
» Any book by George Sheehan or Ken Cooper
» One or two issues of any popular fitness or running magazine
» Physical Fitness Guidelines - available at no charge from the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports:
701 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20201
202.272.3430

"I learned to open up my wings and fly away from my comfort zone into the unpredictable adventure."