When I was 7 years old my parents gifted me the “Rocky Mountain Wild Flowers” identification book. I still have the book, and Jake or I will reference it when we come across new flowers during our adventures. One of the many reasons I enjoy hiking and exploring in nature is for the wild flowers. In springtime, when the snow is melting and the ground is waking up, we like to start a game at the trailhead of a hike. How many different flower species do you think we’ll see today, and which ones? (Jake likes to add bird sightings to the game, but he's much better at this than I am.) This sets into motion a sort of "nature scavenger hunt". While this “game” is months from happening here in northwestern Montana, wild flowers are still on my mind. Today as I was putting together my latest hiking fitness blog, my mind drifted to common names of flowers. In the blog I discuss the importance of core stability, and I share one of my favorite core exercises, the Dead-bug. The Dead-bug (aptly named for the movement pattern) is an effective core strengthening exercise that I recommend all hikers do. I’m sure by now you are wondering, “Where do flowers enter this train of thought?”. Flea-bane; it’s a wild flower with a common name that was given because it was once believed to repel fleas. Like all flower, it’s beautiful and lovely. It just wasn’t lucky enough to receive a common name like “spring beauty”. I hope you, like me, are getting excited for feeling the trail under your feet! I invite you to add the Dead-bug to your training routine, and come springtime play the wild flower game with us.
Adventure awaits, be ready for it!
Kristen
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