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A Portland Trail Blazer game is fun for the whole family! There are many packages and ticket options for families.

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Hello Everyone,

Great news!  Portland Family Adventures was selected to be part of the “Oregonian News Network: The best bloggers from Oregon and the Pacific Northwest,” which will excerpt selected posts and make them available to a larger audience throughout the Pacific Northwest.

This is an excellent opportunity for PFA, and we’re happy to be part of the “Outdoors/Recreation” page – check us out!  I want to thank George Rede from the Oregonian who invited Portland Family Adventures to become part of the local blogging family.  I encourage everyone to support these local bloggers as part of the Oregonian’s effort to reach out to important community resources.

Thanks to all of our subscribers and readers!  We’re having a great year so far…

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Sick and tired of the same old gym atmosphere? Looking for a space to work out with your partner where you’ll be supervised closely by a certified strength and conditioning coach? If so, I’d like to introduce you to Elemental Fitness Lab (EFL) owner Chris Bathke.

My wife and I visited for a personal training session where Chris did an initial assessment, worked through some common movements and exercises, and put together an exercise program for us. We enjoyed the personal touch and the pleasant environment inside the EFL. We think you will as well! Chris was also gracious enough to answer some of my questions for Portland Family Adventures (PFA).

PFA: Before I ask you some specific questions for parents, could you tell our readers a little bit about your credentials and experience as a personal trainer?

Chris: I’m a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, which is still the gold standard for certifications in the U.S.. I also hold certifications from the International Kettlebell and Fitness Federation, the World Kettlebell Club, and am pre/post-natal certified. Before starting EFL I was training trainers at Equinox Fitness in Santa Monica, along with regular clients since 2006. Before that I taught some martial arts and trained a few people part-time while working in the music field. I was fortunate to get to know some of the smartest individuals in the health and fitness world around 10 years ago who encouraged me to go into training full-time. I started going to conferences, workshops, and studying as much as possible and haven’t stopped since.

PFA: Your business, “Elemental Fitness Lab,” is a unique space in the world of fitness. When I walked in, I immediately noticed the open-space and lack of more traditional gear like barbells, dumbbells, and rows of fitness machines. Of course, you have some of that equipment, but it seems like Elemental has a different philosophy when it comes to working-out. It seems that larger gyms try to fill their space with as many machines as possible. Your gym has open space. Can you talk a bit about your philosophy and equipment?

Chris: My philosophy is to help people move better first, then look at other qualities. If a person lacks hip mobility, has shoulder pain, or is limited by core strength then having them do the latest “hardcore” metabolic workout can potentially do more harm than good. And for those reasons I don’t use any machines that lock you into fixed planes of motion. It’s simply not as effective in improving movement quality, not to mention strength. Over the years I’ve used just about every piece of equipment out there, and keep up on the research, so what I choose to use here is simply what I have found to work the best.

PFA: No doubt, many of our readers are probably involved with group fitness classes. What are some of the differences between semi-private training/small group training and group training? What are they missing that you can provide?

Chris: In general group classes are less effective in that everyone naturally has different levels of strength, endurance, mobility, injury history, or other limitations so what may be a good workout for one person may be way too easy, too hard, or even injurious for another. The nature of group classes limits the ability to improve strength as it’s not possible to safely coach technique with that many people at once, and since strength is a fundamentally important aspect of improving fitness then. I’ve seen more people get injured in cardio classes than those who lift really heavy weights. What we do is write programs designed specifically for each individual so that not only is it safe, but more effective.

PFA: How do these individualized programs work once inside EFL?

Chris: The way EFL works is everyone does what we call semi-private training where there are 1-3 members with each coach per hour which cuts the price by about 1/3 of a normal 1 to 1 personal training session. Each person will be doing a different workout than another using the program designed for them yet enjoy the camaraderie of training together with others.

PFA: The first thing we did at EFL was the “Functional Movement Screen” (FMS). After the FMS, you put together a workout based-on the results. For our readers, what is it? Why do you use it?

Chris: The Functional Movement Screen is just one part of our assessment process, but is vital in allowing us to gauge how well a person moves. It was developed by physical therapists Gray Cook and Dr. Lee Burton, and is now pretty standard among collegiate and professional athletic programs. Yet the beauty is it is the screen is a measure of human movement, not just athletes. Athletic programs use it because they recognize it has real value in helping to keep their clients improve.

PFA: When we walked in for our appointment, a couple of parents were finishing up a private workout with your supervision. If parents want that type of workout, what can you offer them in the Elemental Fitness Lab?

Chris: We have quite a few couples that train here, some together, and some separately depending on schedules. If two people wish to train together than that fits in perfectly with our semi-private training structure. Both people can enjoy training together yet using a program designed for each individual. It’s much more efficient, and safe in that everyone does exercises that will benefit them most. We are all busy so it is better to avoid wasting time and energy on cookie cutter “workouts of the day” and instead do something that will help you achieve your goals.

Technorati Tags: Elemental, fitness, lab, Chris, Bathke, personal, training, Portland, individual, small, group

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What’s to Love:  Since moving here to Portland in 1999, my wife and I have hiked Angel’s Rest too many times to count.  To this day, it remains one or our favorite hikes in the Columbia River Gorge, and it’s one of the first hikes when entering the Gorge from Portland. While we carried our oldest son up the hike when he was younger, this was our first visit to hike the entire 4.8 miles (round trip) with both kids.

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What’s to Love:  On our ever continuing 2011 skatepark tour, we managed to find this gem in Vancouver, WA.  Ripzu has been open about a year and a half, but it seems like a brand new facility to me. Everything is in excellent condition with a superior riding surface and one of the nicest layouts for beginning riders in the Portland area.  

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What’s to Love:  Located 12 miles SE of Sandy, Oregon on the flanks of Mt. Hood, Windells is a training camp for kids (and adults!) interested in skateboarding, skiing, snowboarding, BMX, and free riding.  The sheer magnitude of the outdoor skatepark (aka “concrete jungle”) is enough to make most kids’ jaws drop to the ground in awe. I hope to write about the camp experience (academy, residential, and day) in the near future, but the focus of this article is off-season/day-use access for the general public, which is well worth the price of admission and drive from Portland.

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Our friends at “Life is Good” sent us a couple products for review.  I warned them that our kids would destroy anything they sent us within a matter of days.  They decided to take the Portland Family Adventure challenge and send us the products anyway!  As a reader of this site, you’ll know that we keep things positive and publish only recommend adventures, hikes, restaurants, activities, parks, etc.  If we don’t like it, we don’t publish it.

“Life is Good” as a saying and a company fits well with our attitude here at Portland Family Adventures!  While their clothing and hats have adorned our kids (and many of yours too!), this time we ventured into travel mugs and tote bags.  Because we’re publishing, I am happy to give a green light to both products and encourage you to order them for your family (links below).

First up, the “Journey Tote” is a lined, sturdy, cotton-canvas tote bag with some burly handles.  The bags come in two colors, but we liked the green floral print on brown.  The size of the bag is just right for carrying along all sorts of snacks, kids’ toys, and even jackets.

The two things we like best: 1) There is a “hook and ring closure,” which allows you to close the top of the bag without sealing it shut; and 2) an internal zipper pocket that is great for a wallet, phone, and/or keys.

We’ve taken it on several trips.  It takes a beating and still looks brand new.

Next up, we have the Life is Good stainless steel travel mug.  How much can you say about a travel mug?  First, don’t put it in the dishwasher!  DUH!  Of course, I put it in the dishwasher, and it still keeps drinks hot for a long time.  Of course, I’m not always the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to the “rules of the dishwasher.”

What else can I say?  We love the “twist-off” top, which pops on and off with a firm twist and pull, and the pretty slate-blue color is nice. As you can see in the photo, my son likes the travel mug for sipping his hot tea.  He’s become rather attached to the mug.

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What’s to Love:  The Oregon Garden is full of surprises, especially during the month of October when they host “Family Harvest Days” every Saturday from 1PM to 4PM.  We went with every intention of visiting the Harvest stops, but we were quickly sidetracked by the tram tour and our own kids’ wanderlust through the well organized and meticulously maintained gardens.

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What’s to Love:  When I purchased my son his new skateboard for his 8th birthday, the owner of a local skate shop was enthusiastic about the Newberg skate park, especially for kids.  Basically, it was everything he said it was and more!  This is the nicest skate park I’ve ever seen in my life, and while the official name is the “Chehalem Skate Park,” most people refer to it as the Newberg Skate Park.