Scenic workouts

By KELLI KENNEDY

Associated Press

When college rowing buddies Bojan Mandaric and Brogan Graham vowed to stay in shape post-graduation, they didn’t want to shovel out hundreds to join a gym or even drop $20 for a yoga class. So they returned to one of their most grueling college workouts: the stairs at Harvard Stadium.

Five years later, there are nearly 800 others running those steps with them at 6:30 a.m. every Wednesday. Their routine, known as the November Project, now has thousands of participants and free workout clubs in 20 cities, with other groups and individuals also gathering in iconic spots to get their sweat on.

Sites include national monuments, historic landmarks and other public spaces around the country, ranging from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., to the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, to New York City’s Gracie Mansion, the historic home where the mayor lives.

The mountains of stairs and wide stone platforms at these sites are ideal for box jumps, step routines and tricep dips. Often the workouts must be held at dawn before the tourist crowds arrive. But the scenic views these landmarks offer cannot be rivaled by looking out the window of a nondescript gym.

“It creates a sentimental way to connect with your city,” said Mandaric. “There’s a romantic component to it, you’re working out, endorphins are flowing, you’re meeting cool new people.”

Some parks have imposed restrictions on fitness groups, requiring classes to be free or banning classes above a certain size. National Park Service officials say parks can play an important role in contributing to a healthy America and encourage their use for exercise, but many memorials and monuments have areas where jogging and group workouts are not allowed, in order to “maintain a reflective and contemplative atmosphere.”

Still, the National Mall, home to the Lincoln Memorial, hosts International Yoga Day and the Marine Corps Marathon, and November Project groups work out at the Lincoln Memorial steps early Wednesday mornings.

At the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Denver, Joe Hendricks’ free workout Saturday mornings had been drawing a few hundred people. But two years ago, he said, the city ordered groups with more than 20 people to limit sessions to Sunday only.

Now, roughly 200 join him for a Sunday workout. Hendricks, 53, leads the workouts alongside several other fitness groups and soloists at the sandstone monoliths where the Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains.

It’s a sentiment that is echoed by other workout groups. Hendricks met his wife of five years at his Red Rocks boot camp.

“It’s become almost like a social group,” he said. “This summer alone there are nine weddings happening of people that have met at my group.”