This is a continuation of our Move Outdoors series, where we highlight individuals who inspire others to get outside and connect with nature through movement and exercise. Know someone who we should feature? Email news@bcparksfoundation.ca.

MEET Patty from Maxed Out Fitness & Let's get physical

My name is Patty Patten and I own a small one on one personal training studio from my home in Edson, Alberta. I’m a wife and mom to two kiddos named Danny and Lucy. I love ultra running and hitting the mountains with my dogs Dorothy and Jake as much as possible.

GETTING OUTSIDE

I really enjoy getting out there. The road less travelled is more my jam. I love hitting trails in the mountains and going 50 km in a day with dogs and friends and feeling the freedom of what my body and small backpack can do.

I love camping and paddleboarding with my family and being able to catch our supper for the night from our paddleboards. The joy in my children’s faces when we all get “out there,” its just us on a lake or river is really the highlight even if it takes a 16hour drive with a some complaining. Its always worth it.

FAVOURITE PLACES TO GO FOR OUTDOOR ADVENTURES

Where to begin…one of our favourite places is Valemount. We love camping on Kinbasket Lake and enjoy all the hiking that Mount Robson and the surrounding area have to offer.

One of our other favorite places to go is into the Bella Coola Valley (Tweedsmuir Provincial Park). We enjoy floating the Atnarko River and trout fishing along the banks while we are there. Staying in Hagensborg and touring all the Indigenous historical sites is another highlight. This little bit of BC, although very isolated, is spectacular and has so much to offer.

The last place I’ll talk about is Lakelse lake located between Terrace and Kitimat. Camping on the lake and mountain biking the trails, hikes are abundant right from the campground, swimming and floating in the lake. Lastly floating the Kitimat River and fishing for salmon are only some of the highlights. To say we love the northern and central coast is an understatement.

Maxed Out Fitness

My fitness training started as a young athlete where I had great coaching and it really got me interested in how training our body properly could have a positive effect on what we enjoy doing in life.

I was lucky enough to have a job with the Canadian military as fitness instructor and that really propelled me into how important fitness was for our physical and mental wellbeing. After I was done working for the military, I started my own company where I focus on ultra-athletes, runners, post partum moms and general overall health.

Let's get physical podcast

Let’s get physical was spurred on by the pandemic. I had extra time and I wasn’t really hearing stories about running or getting outside that really interested me. I decided to start my own podcast where I interview all kinds of people making a difference in their community. Be it as a postpartum coach, a sports coach or even about land preservation.

ON Outdoor Fitness

I do have experience with outdoor fitness. I’ve trained many people to solo the death race, with is an 125 km long ultra race through the mountains, held in Grande Cache Alberta.

I also run a retreat business called Mountain. Mind. Body. We get women, many of which haven’t done much hiking, up to the tops mountains safely.

My personal experience with outdoor fitness started at a young age riding horses in the mountains and then progressing into my own ultra running career, which has seen me solo the death race and accomplish many solo hikes on my own over 100 km long.

The feeling of being confident in the great outdoors as a woman is liberating. Allowing yourself to really get out there and see nature at its core is spiritual, and that is one of my biggest motivators with my own clients and athletes.