Boot camp without the bark
Outdoor activities encourage fitness
By David Quick
The Post and Courier
Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Boot camps — group exercise classes modeled after early morning, military drills — have remained popular enough that it’s safe to say they no longer are a trend but part of the American fitness landscape.

Harriott Parker, co-owner of The Turning Leaf fitness studio in West Ashley, runs the outdoor boot camp.

Participants in Turning Leaf’s nature-based fitness boot camp try out stand-up paddleboarding on Shem Creek. Other activities in the 10-week boot camp include climbing on the wall at James Island County Park, yoga on the beach and kayaking.

Harriott Parker, co-owner of The Turning Leaf in West Ashley, liked the boot camp concept, but took out the barking Marines, calisthenics and quasi-torture.

“My philosophy behind all types of exercise is to keep people motivated by switching up activities, not doing the same routine like running on a treadmill every day,” says Parker. “Boot camps are popular because they do this, but I wanted to incorporate all the fun, outdoor activities that are available to us right here in Charleston.”

Her 10-week Outdoor Adventure boot camps, which she’s organized for a couple of years, serve as a sampler platter of fitness-oriented activities that people can choose to come back to on their own in the future.

Among the activities are taking on the climbing wall at James Island County Park, yoga on the beach, using stepper bicycles from Carolina Stepper to “ride” around Hampton Park, open-water swimming, kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding.

While the boot camps are open to all, she has found that they particularly draw women.

Among the most vociferous on a recent paddleboarding trip on Shem Creek were the self-described “grannies of the group,” friends Fran Gunter, 60, and Beverly Gumb, 59, whose fitness activities typically involved walking and gardening.

After Gumb got an e-mail from Parker about the boot camp, she e-mailed Gunter, who took little persuading to join Gumb in participating. Both enjoyed kayaking, the stepper bike and beach yoga and will consider doing it again.

At the stand-up paddleboarding session in April, 31-year-old West Ashley resident Elizabeth Brown says she loved the boot camp and expects to do the wall climb and paddleboarding again.

“I need motivation to participate and this is motivating, and pleasant,” says Brown.

Another benefit of it is businesses, with similar interests, working together to encourage people to access the Lowcountry’s vast array of activities.

For example, Parker enlisted the help of Dave Clifford, owner of Charleston Watersport Outfitters, in supplying kayaks and stand-up paddleboards.

Clifford says that the class helps to encourage people, who may not get on the water in a kayak or paddleboard, not only to get exercise but to experience the outdoors and possibly develop a care for it.

He’s also working with the Mount Pleasant Recreation Department on similar fitness-focused, outdoor activities.

“The courses are for anyone who is looking to get on the water to get more physically fit. The nature aspect is just an added benefit,” says Clifford.

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An Adventure Challenge Kick Starts a Whole New Approach to Life
by Stephanie Barna
On a recent Tuesday morning, a dolphin surfaced just behind me as I propelled my kayak through the warm creek waters near Folly Beach. As the sun rose over the marsh to the right, I battled my kayak, attempting to make the craft head straight where the other kayakers were going. The seven of us were enjoying this experience as part of the Outdoor Adventure Challenge, a five-week course offered by The Turning Leaf fitness studio in West Ashley.

Becoming an outdoorswoman has been a goal of mine since I started working behind a computer for hours on end. As a child I grew up on a river in New Jersey where we swam, canoed, fished, waded, and generally made the most of life on the water. I’ve been trying to get back to that kind of life ever since moving away at the age of 12. It’s not been easy. The modern era is all about being stuck inside, sitting on your butt, and generally avoiding the inconveniences of the great outdoors. Or at least my modern era is.

Since moving to Charleston more than a decade ago, I’ve yearned to kayak the creeks near my neighborhood, considered surf lessons, and kicked around the idea of taking the Department of Natural Resources’ Becoming an Outdoors-Woman course, which teaches women to shoot, hunt, and fish. Needless to say, I’ve done none of those things. But, because of The Turning Leaf, I’ve been able to start my quest to get back outdoors.

Harriott Parker and Darby Tucker teamed up in March to open their studio, and Parker hit on the idea for an outdoor adventure challenge. “It was a light bulb moment,” she says. “It’s the kind of course I would want to take. Each activity is fun and exciting. We want to get people pumped up and ready to go.”

The five week, 10-class challenge focuses on fitness, but instead of a gym, attendees gather at different locations throughout the area. The first class met in Hampton Park to jog the trail and take the fitness challenge. Two days later, the group met at Folly Beach to ride Carolina Stepper bikes, which look like road-ready elliptical machines, followed by a quick run on the beach and a brisk swim in the ocean. The next week, we headed back to the beach to do some early morning yoga poses followed by another swim. My favorite week was when we kayaked on Tuesday and then on Thursday tackled the climbing wall at James Island County Park. The challenge finished up with a yoga/pilates detox class followed by a Carolina Stepper ride/run/swim final challenge on Folly Beach in the rain. Through it all, Parker was a princess of positivity, cheering us the whole way.

Now that I’ve finished the challenge, I feel ready to strike out on my own. I picked up a copy of the new Charleston Adventure Guide, a handy and free booklet that maps a variety of adventures for paddlers, hikers, bikers, and runners. It’s the perfect companion for my new life as an outdoorswoman. OK, maybe I’m a little too optimistic, but now that I’ve reached the top of the climbing wall and finally know how to paddle a kayak straight ahead, I’m ready to head outside at a moment’s notice.

The next Outdoor Adventure Challenge will begin Nov. 15. The price for the class is $175. For more information, contact The Turning Leaf. 815 Savannah Hwy. (843) 225-7148. theturningleaf.org