Tips & Advice

Get Tips and Advice from the guides at Mountain Trek. Nutrition, Hiking, Sleep, Detox and Fitness are just some of the topics we cover.

Summer Lovin’ Health Spa Vacation All This Fall

fall-monica-meadows-hike

Summer is going on and on in the West Kootenays of British Columbia, and we’re still out exploring the beautiful mountains. Our fall program is well underway and each week, our guests are loving the golden light and balmy temperatures. October is a great month for spending days outside, especially as many people struggle with feeling a bit blue as as the light gradually recedes from our northern latitudes. A thermos of delicious warm soup on a high trail, and a good dose of vitamin D from sun on skin will keep anyone’s spirits up.

Mother Nature is the Pill for Real Health

Snowshoeing for Fitness
Guests at Mountain Trek learn about the importance of time spent in nature for good health. Now there is a growing body of evidence showing exposure to nature is the root of good health and wellness. At Mountain Trek, we witness over and over the stress reduction and improved well-being of our guests each day, which contributes to increased fitness and weight loss.

Nature is cheaper and has fewer side effects than medications.

The reason we have our guests spend 5 to 6 hours outside every day is that nature has healing qualities.

The term “Nature Deficit Disorder” was first coined by writer Richard Louv in his book “Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder”. This book brings together a growing body of research indicating that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development, and for the physical and emotional health of children and adults. Louv directly links the absence of nature in the lives of today’s wired generation to some of the most disturbing childhood and adult health trends: the rise in obesity, attention disorders, and depression. You really can’t dispute his theory; the reduction in stress and an elevated sense of wellness experienced by our guests who spend each day in nature, directly supports his findings.

Many of the Mountain Trek staff have worked as park rangers and wilderness survival instructors, and we’ve noticed over the years how different people are when they are outside.

Ninety percent of our guests live in urban centers and deal with sensory overload on a regular basis.

Sound, visuals, light, movement, and smells are all way too intense in the city and get filtered out and dumbed down to minimize the stimulus. It’s not until at least three days of being in nature 4 hrs per day that the senses reawaken and guests start to hear the birds, notice the wind rustle through the trees and feel it on their skin.

Our findings at Mountain Trek are echoed in an article in Newsweek by Dr. Andrew Weil, on Nature Deficit Disorder that says “the human body was never designed for the modern post-industrial environment.” Weil suggests that the sedentary lifestyle that humans spend indoors, industrial food altered from its natural sources and an unprecedented overload of information and stimulation affect health in the way of depression, reduced physical activity, and overconsumption of processed food.

Spend some time at Mountain Trek and you’ll find your senses reawakening in nature and you’re stimulated to work harder on your fitness goals. Passing wild heather in the mountain alpine, we’ve noticed eyes bulge and hikers get lost in the smell and sensation, ignoring the burning of their thighs. And you just can’t experience that in your office.


What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning health retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia, will help you detox, unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:

Hiking Vacations

Hiking Vacations

Every Spring Mountain Trek offers its alumni the opportunity to go on hiking vacations that explore some the most celebrated, culturally rich trekking routes in the world. After you kick start your fitness and weight loss at Mountain Trek, we invite you to treat yourself to annual hiking vacations that include treks in Europe, Asia and South America.


Join Mountain Trek for once-in-a-lifetime hiking vacations offered around the world. These hiking vacations, although not part of our regular fitness and weight loss program, involve hiking every day, which will always help to increase your fitness level and boost your metabolism. With two to three different sessions, suited to different fitness levels, you’ll always trek at a pace that is comfortable and perfect for your ability. After you kickstart your fitness and weight loss at Mountain Trek, treat yourself to an adventure vacation and explore some of the most celebrated treks in the world.

Bhutan

In 2016 we visit the “land of the Thunder Dragon” and discover why Bhutan is the happiest place on earth. It’s a land of beauty, mystery and deeply held beliefs and the hiking is some of the best on the planet.

Mountain Trek Health & Fitness Retreat

Italy

Italy’s Amalfi Coast boasts centuries-old cathedrals, multi-hued houses on steep cliffs and a variety of walking experiences from medieval lanes to rugged pathways in pine forests – all of which we enjoyed in 2015!

Mountain Trek Health & Fitness Retreat

Japan

The land of the rising sun called to us in 2014. We explored the culture, visited temples and hiked the world-famous trails of Japan during the day. Then we relaxed in traditional hot spring onsens every night.

Mountain Trek Health & Fitness Retreat

Nepal

There is no mistaking the allure of the tallest mountains in the world. The hiking in Nepal was spectacular and making it up to the Everest base camp was a highlight, literally. It was probably the highest most of us will ever go.

Mountain Trek Health & Fitness Retreat

Peru

In 2014 we hiked the Inca Trail, wandered through mountain villages, met the Quechua people and eventually made it to Machu Picchu, the famous Incan site built on a 8,000-foot peak.

Mountain Trek Health & Fitness Retreat

Spain

We followed the legendary Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in 2012 and finished our journey at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, in the northwestern part of the country.

Simple Formulas For The Best Waistline and Wellness

Stress management lectures

Have you ever wondered why after consistent exercise and eating carefully, your body won’t let go of those unwanted, extra pounds of fat? To demonstrate, here’s a sneak-peek at the scientifically based principles we use in Mountain Trek’s much-celebrated Fitness and Weight Loss Program.

In short, there are simple but significant formulas for metabolic change that include: nutritionfitnessstress management, and sleep health.

Our bodies have two metabolic phases

We have two metabolic states: anabolic or “growth”, and catabolic or “decay”.  And humans have been genetically wired to shift from growth to decay and back seasonally (like most animals), for our survival.

Undoubtedly, the lifestyle we chose to live in our urban, industrial world, is the root cause of our fat storage epidemic.

In the West, we are primarily sedentary in our lifestyle while having access to more calories year-round, than at any other time in human evolution. As a result, our hormones have adapted to this abundance and inertia by keeping us in a chronic state of deposit and decay; leading to:

  • fat storage
  • muscle loss
  • bone density depletion
  • chronic tissue inflammation
  • fatigue
  • chronic, systemic stress

Read Related Article: Strength Training: Burn Calories 24/7

strength training for weight loss

We have become stuck in a catabolic metabolism that prematurely ages and robs us of vitality. There is a way out of this cycle that shifts hormones back to an anabolic state, and the metabolism from “decay” to “growth”.

Mountain Trek guides clients back to their natural, hunter/gatherer body, using formulas that re-claim muscle and bone. Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is naturally increased through potent strength training; unwanted and unneeded stored fat is burned away with correct cardio formulas; blood sugars and insulin levels are managed by adjusting essential nutritional patterns; cortisol is reduced and DHEA is elevated with stress management; sleep is improved by working with melatonin.


What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia, will help you unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:

Fun & Fitness in a Winter Wonderland

guy running on snowshoes

There are so many great reasons to join us at Mountain Trek this winter. As promised, our 7 day “Turkey Burner” will melt away the extra pounds acquired over the holidays while you hike through pristine, snow-capped peaks.

Every morning is a reset on the quiet, snow-covered mountains circling the lake below our lodge. It’s the quintessential mountain lodge experience.

The Turkey Burner provides all the fitness, weight loss, and de-stressing of our summer program as we explore the alpine on snowshoes. Snowshoeing burns more calories than regular hiking due to the resistance created by walking through snow. The high-tech gear that Mountain Trek provides to guests, allows for anyone of any ability to go anywhere.

3 bowls of soup

Hearty soups and stews on the trail every day are warming while also being calorie-controlled. As ever, the Mountain Trek kitchen cooks up the deeply nourishing and astounding meals for which they have become known. The natural hot springs next door are at their absolute best for soaking after a day of hiking and exercise. Steam billows up around you and snowflakes melt as the hit the water.Finish the day at our timber frame lodge around a crackling fire with hot tea, relaxing in the company of your companions.

If you’re looking for a way to greet the New Year and kick start your resolution for a healthier lifestyle, the Turkey Burner will get you there.


What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning health retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia, will help you detox, unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:

What I Learned at Mountain Trek

At Mountain Trek, it’s a pleasure to hear back from our guests. Keith was with us this spring and has penned his personal experience the two weeks he hiked, exercised hard,  detoxed, learned, and enjoyed the camaraderie his fellow trekkers.

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=112306145489266

Integrative Medicine Goes Mainstream

Integrative medicine, commonly known as alternative or holistic medicine is now considered mainstream. For this I’m grateful as being an advocate of natural medicine for close to 20 years, I’m no longer considered a “hippie”. Also, with health care on the top of everyone’s mind these days, integrative medicine puts health care squarely on the shoulders of those responsible…us. Integrative medicine sees the body as a mind/body/spirit connection, not just in physical terms. Elements of it can be as simple but powerful such as diet, exercise, and stress management. Seems simple to some of us but for others it can be scary. However, taking responsibility for our health is necessary when you consider that up to 70% of all diseases are preventable. Can you imagine the reduction in health care if the majority of us adopted lifestyle habits that included eating well, exercising, and stress management. Pretty powerful stuff.

Integrative or alternative medicine opens doors for us to explore the benefits of certain foods to eat (ie. fish for omega 3 fatty acids, or blueberries for antioxidant benefits), exercise not only helps us stay fit but helps detox the body, and meditation is a yogi’s best friend and truly one of the simplest and best ways to manage stress. It’s not considered “out there” anymore to adopt these principles as lifestyle choices. And I can seek the advice of other trained health professionals such as acupuncturists, naturopaths, and other qualified individuals who are trained in ways medical doctors aren’t. Just a different approach to health and wellness I can access.

What prompted me to write about integrative medicine is I heard a publication was to be inserted into the Wall Street Journal as a reference to integrative medicine. I’m still looking for it (if any of you New Yorkers out there see it, please send a copy to MT)  I applaud any and all efforts for people to educate themselves on how they can take care of their own health and wellness.

Ecstatic Energy from Reaching a Goal. Now That’s Vitality

everest base camp

In March, eight Mountain Trek Alumni, with Program Director Kirk Shave and iTrekNepal’s intrepid Sherpa guides embarked on a “bucket list” adventure to Everest Base Camp.

Despite weather delays, the group used teamwork to create a bond of support, propelling them from 9000′ to over 17000′ and back down to 13000′ in just 9 days. Views of world famous peaks, glaciers, and rivers mixed with rich Buddhist Sherpa culture, made for a once in a life time adventure. Mountain Trek’s week long, hiking based, fitness program allows guests to kick start their return to an active lifestyle, making dreams like this a reality.

 

Tales from The Ranch

This past November I had the pleasure of leading the Mountain Trek Program with Jeff at Rancho La Puerta in the sunny Baja. Let me sum it up: it’s hard to be motivated to “move” here in the cold, dark, north! 

If you’re thinking of joining our upcoming Winter Program at Rancho La Puerta, here’s a taste of what you’ll experience…

Imagine waking up to bird song and walking along a cobble stone path from your cozy casita to catch sunrise Yoga. The smell of blooming lavender is in the air, quail and rabbits scurry through the gardens.  After breakfast you begin your four hour hike (with no driving) through enormous wind sculptured boulder art. The warm sun on your skin, a welcome change from the cold winter back home. You’ll refuel with a delicious,organic salad with vegetables grown in the garden and local, fresh caught prawns.
Next it’s time to choose from an amazing selection of classes, like a knee friendly, water aerobics class in the outdoor pool, or a postural alignment class. With 2-3 hours of different class choices daily, there’s something for everyone!  After a vitality packed dinner you finish your day of “moving” with a salsa, spin, Nia, or circuit class.
If you like moving your body in the sun (in the winter!) I highly recommend spending one or two weeks at Rancho La Puerta from January 29 – February 5, and February 5 – February 12. More info check out the Rates & Dates page.
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