I know that some really great things happen during class at the Barn - I have experienced it both as a coach and a participant. So much effort. So much grit. So much change. So many goals achieved. So much growth. We see the improvements and accomplishments in your personal fitness journey. Some of them you may not have even noticed yourself. We see how hard you push each week and we are very aware of how much stronger many of you are now than when you first walked in the door.
So much happens as we sweat in that room.
It’s quite remarkable when you really think about it.
And as incredible as all of that is, I think the best thing we have to offer happens after the sweating stops.
It happens on the mats, outside the door, a lot of times in the Social Room, and often times later on in the day.
It’s the connection. It’s the conversations. It’s each other. It’s the community.
Some of you might think that conversation and community can happen anywhere. I think that’s somewhat true. But I feel strongly that some of us are more inclined to open up, to chat, to “get real” after physical exercise. Our minds are actually working “better” after we exercise. I think this plays out quite often, not only inside the Barn but, in our community because of the Barn. In other words, because of what happens in the Sweat Room, that which follows is so much sweeter. And a lot of times, it’s deeper conversations, better relationships, and rich community.
University of California, Davis Professor of Psychiatry, Richard Maddock told Outside Magazine, “There is a very consistent finding that the brain works better after exercise."
You don’t have to dig deep or do a wide google search to see the relationship between exercise and the brain. It’s nothing new. I’m not about to make you read a long dissertation on the MIND BODY relationship (there are many), but I’m simply going to make an observation about what we have going here in Park City.
It’s a culture that’s hard to find anywhere else.
The brain plays a pivotal role in fitness training by telling your body what to do - which body parts to move, how and when. In the same way, that movement and physical activity release oxygen throughout your body, including your brain, as well as mind-boosting endorphins.
The brain helps the body, the body helps the brain.
We can’t have one without the other.
This relationship plays out beautifully at the Barn.
I feel like YOU, the people, the rich community at BeauCo contribute to the incredible physical activity that takes place each and every day. Think about what you do or wouldn’t do without those around you - on the mats, on the Woodies, on the bikes. Chances are, you’re there in the first place because you’re not alone. And chances are, you are pushing a little harder because it’s a collective effort.
In the same way, that shared experience - ALL of that hard work and sweat drives the conversation and the community that flows afterward - oftentimes immediately, other times it plays out more slowly. Either way, we're better because of it.
You can’t have one without the other.
The sweat. The community.
The community. The sweat.
It’s pretty fantastic.