This year 2024 has been interesting with my return to corporate medicine. Being a small business owner has been a steep experiential climb. My default accounting practice was always “let the bean counters” for the hospital take care of my assigned office while I devote all my energy to patient healthy lifestyle guidance. WRONG. I am learning late in life that no one shares the same passion or commitment as you. It takes time to learn about a patients desires, fears and motivation. If there are limits placed on time to formulate change, the default will be assume the patient has average talent and deploy average suggestions.
Apply that concept to hiking. Assume a summit is average difficulty. If you train for the most complex goals with an average routine, you won’t make it to summit (…or worse you will get hurt and slow down the entire group).
As I turned 60, I still feel my calling is to inspire others BUT my clock is ticking and I know there will be an endpoint to what my body will tolerate in the aging process. I am going to ask those interested to train like you are heading to Everest Base Camp and give NO excuses for the weekly and monthly requirements to succeed. We all have to work and save up for retirement. JUST AS IMPORTANT we all have to be investing in cardiovascular stamina/muscle strength and power. If your muscular “bank account” is zero, expect that all your monetary savings will be used for doctor visits, medicines, procedures and devices as you hit retirement age. If you plan to invest in training after you retire when you are overweight, under muscled, with no stamina…you can watch me and my team ascend…OR…you can re-prioritize your health as FIRST and start your real investments. I am aspiring now for bigger goals to help me drive forward amidst all the road blocks of late middle age.
2025 - Rainier
2026 - Machu Pichu
2027 - Everest Base Camp
-train and join me on an adventure
or
sit and scroll my pix
-DrRic
How it started
My drive to maintain healthy lifestyle change started in 2010 when I signed up for the Chicago Marathon after losing my mother to pancreatic cancer. I didn’t train much and legs refused to continue running at aid station 13. Ended up walking the remainder of the event and celebrated the finish realizing that walking a distance is slower but still a win. I decided to try hiking so set goals for Yosemite the next year. I was able to summit Half Dome for an accomplishment but there was something in my DNA that resonated with being in nature more than just finishing the miles. I made it a point to accumulate national park experiences every year since then but at one point decided to share the experience with others. I began sharing my nature therapy experience with relatives in 2014 with an inspirational summit at Angels Landing in Zion and every year including the pandemic, I have made it a point to inspire people on how to start lifestyle changes with just getting outside.
