DAY ONE! I couldn’t pick something easy and low-key for my first workout. It needed to be motivating and something I haven’t done before. Let’s start by saying how lucky I am that my boyfriend was willing to help me get started. (ok…maybe I needed to beg a little)…(and maybe he DID say, “Are we seriously climbing stairs?”) Either way, he made this a fun first day for me!
My parents have talked about a forest preserve not too far from our house that was great for outdoor stair climbing. My Dad would go there when he was training to climb the Hancock Building in Chicago for a charity event.
Swallow Cliff is a nature preserve that used to be a toboggan slide. It has almost 300 limestone stairs. It was a challenging workout and a place I hope to visit pretty often.
The first climb up wasn’t too bad. We kept a steady pace and didn’t need to stop. There is a nice overlook at the top which gave me a chance to rest before walking down on the other side. The second time was a bit more difficult. My legs were definitely feeling a burn but we made it all the way up without having to stop.
Even after the workout, Swallow Cliff is a nice area to just walk around. This was definitely what I needed in a first workout in order to motivate me for the days ahead!
My Fitness Journey