Anything but routine

KETCHUM - The athletes behind Ketchum's "ghetto workouts" have a slogan: "Routine is the enemy of progress."

And it's awfully easy for the gym to become routine, they said so they came up with a solution. This summer, they met regularly in a field out Warm Springs Road, where there are rocks, pipes, giant tires, logs, barrels and other equipment you might find on an abandoned construction site.

The group reproduces typical gym exercises but with a twist, like using an uneven log for overhead presses instead of an evenly shaped bar. They also came up with exercises of their own, like the heart rate-busting "mullet express," a sled made from wooden pallets, metal pipes and old skis that they push fast and hard down a stretch of gravel road, raising sparks.

"I'm so pathetic at the sled," said participant Kate Whitcomb, grimacing at the difficulty. "OK, that means I need to do it!"

The athletes have an obvious sense of humor, poking fun at improvised exercises like a barrel-and-rocks "squat potato" and the part of the field they call their "hillbilly playground" not to mention the names of the workouts themselves.

And they seem to have fun working out, too, not tuned into iPods or televisions but teasing each other and egging each other on to do one more rep or go just a little faster.

Eric Palmer, coordinator of the workouts, said he lost 30 pounds this summer with these unusual methods, and other regular participants are professional athletes looking to cross train for such sports as ice skating and event running.

The athletes don't disdain gyms, and many use them regularly, but they said they've found that the ghetto workouts are more inspiring and better at helping them achieve their goals.

"It's balance, coordination, because everything's not a set weight," said founding member Nic Nottingham. "The gym, everything's at a fixed pivot point. In real life, when are you ever handling a balanced load?"

Whitcomb said there are no excuses when it comes to improvised workouts - they're cheap, primarily using materials found in nature or around a typical rural home and they're available any time of day or night.

"This sort of workout is more raw. There's no mirror to look in, no audience to show off for," she said. "Do you want big pecs to look good at the gym, or do you want to be able to pick up your kid?"

The workouts are also fun, she said, and have gotten her excited to exercise in a way she hadn't been in the recent past. "The gym sometimes becomes work after work, it almost becomes a chore. We're like kids again, playing with things you find around the house."

These workouts are easy to adjust for any ability level; rocks and logs come in different sizes, and you can always pour sand out of or add sand to a five-gallon bucket. Palmer said even traditional gym equipment can be modified to do similar exercises, if that's what you have on hand.

However, participants need to pay extra attention to their form, keep their glutes and abdominals tight to protect their core, use common sense when handling things like rocks and logs, and know the difference between soreness and pain.

Consider working out with a partner, Palmer suggested, alternating who decides the agenda for each workout to keep it fresh and interesting, and be sure to include exercises for the upper body, lower body and cardio either in each workout or in each week.