Guides - Getting Started 

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Start Young

   My son is 19. Some mornings, over breakfast, he challenges me to arm wrestle. I always graciously decline so we just end up comparing biceps. He swears my muscles are firmer than his. He exaggerates, of course, but I tease him, "That's because you spend your spare time sitting in your computer chair beating up cyber bad guys while I spend mine running, lifting weights, and climbing mountains." 

   Yesterday after I told my son I was going rappelling and rock climbing over the weekend, I took the opportunity to share a precious insight. I said, "There's so much adventure out there. Don't wait till you're forty like me. Start young." 

   All the wonders and extremes of nature. The fun and excitement of sports. The pleasure of exceeding one's perceived human limitations. And the ecstasy of competition and winning. These challenges pack so much life! Unfortunately, not everyone can take advantage because the demands on energy and physical fitness are high. So how do you take advantage of all these potentially invigorating but extremely demanding thrills? 
 

1. Want it. You have to know that you want the excitement. Not everyone does. Many people are content living a "soft", comfortable life in sterile, safe, and stress-free environments. That's perfectly fine. That's their happiness. 

Some of us are just "crazy" enough to leave all the comforts of home to trek painfully up a mountain or dive dangerously into the sea. Some want so desperately to find out how fast he can rollerblade down a hill or how often he can beat his friend in lawn tennis. 

If you want to know if you will survive three days in the wild, if you want to feel the rush of being the first to cross the finish line, if you want to hear applause for your innovative dance routine… if you want the thrill, you can get it. 

2. Prepare for it. Any marathoner, swimmer, and speed racer would say he is who he is now because of months, even years, of diligent training and constant practice. Preparing for an extra-challenging activity requires mental, psychological, and physical training.

This could entail special diet, specific exercise, strength training, and even meditation. Learning the right skills and the correct moves, and taking on the appropriate mindset, are all necessary. And best acquired from professional mentors. Hours of perfect practice makes perfect. And when you have gone through the basics, memorized the moves, and primed your flesh and psyche for the challenge… 

3. Do it. The first time is always the toughest. Breaking into a totally new experience can even be traumatic. But for most adventure-seekers, the good or bad encounter of the first try is what inspires them to do it again and again. They learn, they improve, they try again. And with each attempt they build up an addictive high that eventually becomes the ultimate goal of the activity. Ask the basketball players. The martial artists and the professional dancers. The cyclists and the ice skaters. Whether they engage in these strenuous activities as a career or as a hobby, they will say they do it because they feel good doing it. They feel alive! And because there's still a lot more to experience out there, you can continue to feel alive if you…
4. Try something else. When you've played competition volleyball for several years, with shining trophies side by side on the top shelf, why not consider being a champion in badminton this time? And didn't you always wonder if you had the nerve to go rock climbing? How about spelunking? And yes, they say there are good diving instructors in Anilao. Go for it.

   But I envied the younger ones who had decided to grab hold of life and experience its thrills while their bodies were at their prime. They were stronger, had more stamina, and therefore appreciated the adventure to the fullest. They knew what they wanted. They were prepared and they did it. And they started young. 

• Expect the Unexpected
• Two Mountains - Insights on mountaineering
• Mt. Pulag Chronicles

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