Obstacourse: How we got our groove back in the off-season

Here we are entering the New Year, the time for taking stock of our lives and making resolutions for the year ahead. We think about what we can do to become the best versions of ourselves and how we can live life to the fullest. I feel that often adding a new workout regimen or joining a gym is part of these plans. 

The Peninsula Roller Girls took an early step towards said fitness goals by entering our off-season with Coach Keith & the rest of the crew at Obstacourse Gym in Redwood City. Coach Keith has been kicking our booties twice a week, making us stronger and helping us gain endurance through weekly off-skates workouts at Obstacourse. The changes are noticeable - both on the track and IRL.

“Be Positive. Have Fun. Challenge Yourself.” Those three sentences may well be some of the first answers derby a player would give when asked why they join the sport. They also happen to be Obstacourse's motto. The partnership with Obstacourse came at the best possible time for the league. We feel extremely fortunate to have met Keith and Candice during one of the hardest times in recent PRG memory and that they have welcomed us into their community with open arms. 

So what is Obstacourse? In short its a obstacourse style gym where you can train to be a Spartan, Ninja Warrior, or more recently, a Derby Skater. If you're not reach to tackle the course on your own quite yet they also have group workouts that are sweaty, intense, and most importantly, FUN. They offer Zumba classes too! Check out their website here.

The challenging and playful aspect that an Obstacle Course adds to what might otherwise be a boring, run-of-the-mill workout reminds us a lot like of the type of fun we have playing derby. And the circuit training we do as a league is a great way to build camaraderie and push both individual skaters and the league as a whole. For you data nuts out there, this stat says it all: PRG averages 40 high fives given during an Obstacourse workout. True story.

Obstacles are for kids too! Obstacourse has also welcomed our junior derby team and they're loving it. My own kids (who are junior derby skaters) ask to go every Saturday. One of the best parts as a busy derby mom is that you can drop the kids off! A two hour Obstacourse session for the kids means a peaceful dinner for me. 

All of this awesomeness will translate to a really great derby season in 2018 - with skaters who are in really good shape and able to do cool stuff. We can’t wait for our first scrimmage and bout of the year to show off how much stronger we've become. And if you're in Redwood City on a Monday night and want to work out with some derby girls, swing by Obstacourse for their 7pm class <3.

-Pax Punches