My Favorite Gym is...Red Rocks

It turns out my favorite workout location is not a gym, but perhaps the greatest outdoor concert venue in the world, Red Rocks Amphitheatre.  I had done a few isolated workouts there before, but back in April I kicked off participating in the Health One Red Rocks Fitness Challenge, a 90-Day public fitness program with weekend workouts (usually Saturdays at 7 am).  For $150, we were put into groups with personal trainers and given regular nutrition and fitness advice while working towards winning improvement prizes.  The final workout is July 28 and prizes will be awarded after a final fitness assessment.

I was fortunate enough in this program to be paired with Jamie Atlas (Yes that is really not a stage name) as a trainer.  Rather than the buffed out Gold’s Gym tank top wearing wanna be superhero I was expecting, Jamie turned out to be a giant, goofy Australian who runs Bonza Bodies Fitness (www.bonzabodies.com) with a logo that invokes the Wallabies of Australian Rugby.

One reason we probably connected right away as I just love the Australian people and their attitude towards life (a “No Worries Mate” sign is in my office) since I spent a month in Adelaide on a teaching assignment.  But it goes beyond just the Aussie connection, as Jamie is one of the best at getting people fit in Denver having been named the best personal trainer by 5280 Magazine in 2011 and 2012.

So just as I was starting to look forward to sleeping again on the weekends, or more likely finding another reason to get outside in the mornings, I signed up for another 8 weeks of workouts at Red Rocks starting August 1^st.  The Bonza Bodies 8 Weeks Body Transformation Challenge (www.maxwellcreative.com/bonza/8-week-total-body-transformation/) includes workouts during the week at Red Rocks and their gym, nutrition advice, weekly tips and advice, rewards and gifts to the value of $150 all in addition to the Saturday Red Rocks group workouts for just $77.

Since it is difficult to get enough Jamie Atlas workouts, I did two today.  First I went to one of my final Red Rocks Fitness Challenge classes getting in a shortened session.  Then I came back later for Jamie’s class at the free Fitness on the Rocks festival.  Fitness of the Rocks was workouts combined with a fitness festival of booths and almost 3000 people.  The picture below shows the mob for the boot camp workout.  Also to make sure that it was difficult to type this post due to workout soreness, I threw in the Naked Foot 5K (www.thenakedfoot5k.com) in the middle.

Fitness on the Rocks Filled the Amphitheatre

So while I go moan and groan due to the muscle pain from my 3-a-day workout session, think about joining me for the Bonza Bodies challenge because there really is no better gym in Colorado then Red Rocks.  And the estimated 500,000 visitors each year who come for hiking, biking, running and training would agree.