Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico
Fitness
Julie Register visited this Destination Spa in December 2006

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FITNESS AT RANCHO LA PUERTA

I had grand plans for packing every hour at Rancho La Puerta full of activities. I would start the day with a rigorous mountain hike. I would do strength training and stretching in the morning. Afternoons would see more cardio, yoga and perhaps a lecture. I vowed to try one class that I would take me out of my comfort zone (It was dance week and any of the dance classes would have filled that bill). However, things didn't quite work out according to plan. I was ill before the trip. We were having major construction done on our house while still living in it. Both my husband and I developed respiratory problems that we attribute to all of the dust. Mine turned into pneumonia. While I technically better when the time arrived to leave for Rancho La Puerta, I was not fully recovered and had no energy. I considered postponing the trip but decided the clean air, healthy food and exercise was probably just what I needed.

I started my week off very slowly. No hike the first day. Breakfast followed by a Feldenkrais® class (enhances posture, ease of movement and flexibility). A nap. A luncheon for first time guests. Another nap. An Ayurvedic Massage. A talk about Mexico: Past and Present by Jose Flores, Ph.D. (extremely interesting!).

The Lounge - Rancho La Puerta's Center of Activity (Second only to the Dining Hall!) where all hikes begin

Oak Tree Pavilion with Views of the Mountains - Location of the Feldenkrais Classes Activity Sign-Up Sheet in The Lounge

On the second day, I joined the Meditation Woodlands Hike. We met at the Lounge at 6:45 am. Phyllis, our guide, started the hike with a quote from Kabir, a 15th century poet from India to remind us to be in the present moment.

"Kabir says this: just throw away all thoughts of imaginary things,
and stand firm in that which you are."

The Meditation Woodlands Hike Passed by the Labyrinth

The Meditation Woodlands Hike Passed Under Groves of Live Oak

We walked at a moderate pace in silence through the foothills of Mount Kuchumaa. Phyllis stopped about halfway through the hike to lead us in Tai Chi. Towards the end of the walk, we stopped at a monument to Mount Kuchumaa and Phyllis recited this poem:

Salutation to the Dawn

Look to this day!
For it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course
Lie all the verities and realities of your existence:

The bliss of growth,
The glory of action,
The splendour of beauty.

For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision
But today well-lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well, therefore, to this day!
Such is the Salutation to the Dawn.

- Kalidasa, Indian Poet

Monument to Mount Kuchumaa

Monument to Mount Kuchumaa

I returned for another Feldenkrais® session and added stretching classes (full body stretches). Each day I went on a non-vertical hike - twice on the Organic Vegetable Garden Breakfast Hike (a 4-mile, 2.5-hour roundtrip trek over rolling hills to Tres Estrellas, Rancho La Puerta's organic garden), three times on the Rolling Hills Hike (A guided, moderately paced, 2-mile loop over undulating terrain) and a Bird Walk (binoculars and guide provided).

Scene from the Rolling Hills Hike Rolling Hills Hike

Entrance to the Arroyo Gym where the Abs and Back Class was held, the Montana Gym where the Chi Gong Class was held and the Milagro Meditation Loft Milagro Meditation Loft

I added more classes each day - Chi Gong (moving meditation that improves balance and body awareness - I wish there were more of these!), Sculpt and Strengthen (resistance exercises to increase strength, metabolism, and bone density), Healthy Backs (techniques that soothe and help prevent back problems as well as strengthen and stretch postural muscles), Abs and Backs (tough 30 minutes of exercises to strengthen abdominal and back muscles), and I worked out on the machines when the Weight Room was open. By the end of the week, I had a full schedule and still found time for a restorative snooze by the pool each day. I never got to a Yoga class, Pilates class, Spanish class, Meditation class, Labyrinth or the Garden Walk because of scheduling conflicts, and I didn't try any of the art classes that were offered - all of which I would have enjoyed. I left Rancho La Puerta with my health and energy levels restored and then some.

*Pilgrim Hike

*Scene from a Hike

Jeff jumped in full throttle. He went on Alex’s Oak Trail, a moderate-challenging, gradual 2.5-mile loop to a lone oak tree and granite outcrop with special views of The Ranch on the first day. Another day he went on The Pilgrim Trail Mountain Hike, a challenging 3.5-mile guided mountain hike climbing 800 feet up Pilgrim Trail, returning via River Trail to complete the loop. Another day he went River Trail Mountain Hike, a challenging, timed and guided mountain hike climbing numerous switchbacks for 30 minutes and then returning. Another day he went on the Professor’s Trail Mountain Hike, a challenging 3.5-mile mountain hike over moderately steep terrain with a 800 ft. elevation gain before completing a loop. He also went on the Organic Vegetable Garden Breakfast Hike twice. He ended the week with the Five-Mile Mountain Hike for advanced mountain hikers which adds another 1.5 miles either the 3.5-mile Pilgrim or Professor Mountain hike. He also made full use of the Weight Room and never missed the Flexibility Workout (Full body stretches recommended for men) or the Core Workout for Men. He also tried Feldenkrais® once (you either love it or are indifferent to it) and went to a number of stretching classes. We mostly saw each other at meals. And we both loved the hikes and walks most of all.

For optimal results, Rancho La Puerta recommends you create a balanced program by choosing several options from each of the categories below. Whatever you do, relax, enjoy yourself, and revise your plan whenever you want. During your stay, try to maintain a balance between exercise and relaxation. The Ranch says, “The hammocks (there are three dozen) also are an important piece of fitness equipment!”

The fitness facilities at Rancho La Puerta are extensive. In 2003, the Azteca weight room was enlarged to almost 4,000 square feet and equipped with all new Hoist weight training machines and free weights. There are also
• Star Trac treadmills
• Life Cycle bikes
• Freewheel Keiser pacer bikes (spinning)
• 4400 Stairmasters
• Dumbbells (2 to 60 lbs.)
• Barbells (10 to 45 pounds)
• Precor Ellipticals
• Schwinn cardio Cycling bikes

There are also:

• 4 lighted tennis courts
• 11 gyms for class work (22,742 square feet total)
• 3 heated pools
• 5 whirlpools
• 3 saunas
• Volleyball court
• Basketball court
• Labyrinth of Inner Discovery
• 10 Schwinn Evolution spinning cycles in the Maya gym
• Six Alegro reformers, two Studio reformers, one Trapeze table, one Wunda chair, one work table, and a wide variety of supportive equipment in the Pilates Studio
• 1/6-mile Running Track

Behind the Olmeca Gym is a reminder of fitness equipment from the not-so-distant past

BACK TO THE MAIN ARTICLE about RANCH LA PUERTA	THE FOOD at RANCHO LA PUERTA
OUR CASITA at RANCHO LA PUERTA	PERSONAL REWARDS THE SPAS at RANCHO LA PUERTA

A Talk with Rancho La Puerta Founder, Deborah Szekely