Climbing Wall is Kickoff to Success!

It’s official! Employees at Adair Country Inn & Restaurant are on their way to looking “10 Years Younger in 60 Days.”

Innkeeper Ilja arranged a terrific kick-off event on Tuesday evening at the indoor climbing wall at the White Mountain School , right here in Bethlehem. Student rock climbers Sawyer, JJ, and Ze’ev took us in hand and set us up for the evening, explaining everything from how to step into our harnesses to performing safety checks to learning the different commands each climber and belayer (the spotter on the ground who controls the rope that anchors the climber) needs to know.

“We wanted to do something fun and out of the ordinary to begin our two-month wellness program,” says Ilja. “The evening was such a success. Everyone participated and climbed the wall at least twice. Some, like Lynn and Brad went all the way to the top, inspiring the rest of us.”

Most of Adair’s employees had never climbed before, but were enthusiastic about learning, with “fun” being used most often to describe their experience. A couple of us liked it so much we plan to return to try it again. “It was fun,” says Chef Orlo. “It was a nice way to start off this adventure to better health.”

Our evening wouldn’t have been possible without our wonderful climbing guides from the White Mountain School. These young men were knowledgeable and extremely patient, making sure we were both safe and having a good time during our introduction to rock climbing. Thanks, guys!! The school’s climbing instructor Will Holets also let us know that, beginning on January 3, the climbing wall will be open to the public from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The first month is free, followed by reasonable rates. Give the school a call at (603) 444-0513 to learn more.

Participants in “10 Years Younger in 60 Days” have pledged to commit to a health & fitness plan to feel more energized, younger and better able to serve Adair’s guests in healthy ways. Now that we’ve kicked-off the program, we’ll meet each week for eight weeks for a weigh-in and blood pressure check, along with an inspirational program to help motivate us to give up our old habits in favor of healthy new ones, like exercising more, eating nutritious foods, and getting regular medical and dental check-ups.

Each week we’ll also share a healthy snack, and rate it here. On Tuesday evening, Innkeeper Ilja served trainer Drew Manning’s Spinach Shake, a recipe that was featured on the Dr. Oz Show. The Shake was a nice, bright green color, smelled like peanut butter and was refreshingly cold after an hour of climbing, but got mixed reviews, from the polite among us who made a face after tasting it, to the more outspoken, like one of our climbing guides who declared he’d rather stick with the sugary snacks he likes. Others in our group liked it a lot and wanted the recipe. For those who’d like to try it here it is (and just so you know, Innkeeper Ilja confessed that she made a mess in the kitchen putting it together!)

Spinach Shake
Makes 1-1/2 servings

Ingredients:
3 cups spinach
2 cups ice
1/2 banana
2 tbsp of peanut butter
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
3/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk

Directions
Add all ingredients to blender and blend on high speed, until completely mixed.

Next Week: Our first weigh-in and setting our personal goals for the “10 Years Younger in 60 Days” program. Stay tuned!