Exercising for people who hate exercising - Mt. Lukens

Like many people, exercise is not a pastime I enjoy. It’s not just the painful physical exertion that gets to me, it’s also the associative things: the smell of gyms, lying my head on benches other people sweat on, and not being able to listen to songs I used to love because of workout connotations. The biggest turnoff for someone like me who is not a gym rat, is the judgment I feel from regular gym rats. Every time I walk to the treadmill, I feel their eyes on me, checking my body for deficiencies they don’t have. The gym is supposed to be the place to get healthy, but they’re places to go to remind yourself how unhealthy you really are.

When I was 19, I went on the Atkins diet, the first diet and exercise plan I ever went on. I lost 40 pounds, but I contribute losing weight to working out seven days a week rather than the unhealthy no-carb diet, which made me feel weak when I wasn’t on ephedra (which is no longer legal). I attempted another diet when I was 23, a low sugar diet that made me pass out after 8 days and that was the end of dieting since. With rare exceptions, exercising was never fun. Jogging was forever excruciating, stair climbing made me queasy, and weight lifting was often embarrassing. The only times I liked exercising was when I forgot I was exercising. I remember the times I enjoyed playing basketball with my friends or when I would go biking for long distances. As I’ve gotten older, I realized that the secret to exercising for people who hate exercising is to be active in things that are fun. Personally, the activities I enjoy are biking, hiking, swimming, and most sports that we all played back in P.E. I recently read about gyms that offer Dodgeball leagues, and that’s something that makes me eager to return to gyms. Often times, the motivation that kept me on the treadmill was spite for gym rats. But who needs spite when you can tag a gym rat in the face with a dodgeball during exercise?

I’m starting a feature that lists fun activities around Los Angeles for all of you who hate exercising just as much as me. My goal isn’t to whip everyone into shape, but rather to make you feel less guilty about that In-and-Out Burger you ate last Saturday night.


My first feature is hiking to the highest point in Los Angeles – Mount Lukens.



Fortunately, I didn’t have to travel to get on this six-hour round trip hike, it’s basically in my front yard, but here’s directions for everyone else: Mount Lukens is located in the Angeles National Forest of Tujunga. From Studio City, it’s a 45 minute drive. Get on the 210, exit Sunland Blvd, head north towards Tujunga. Make a left on Oro Vista, follow it until it turns into Big Tujunga Canyon Road and turn right onto Doske road once you see the Wildwood Picnic Area sign. You will need to display an Angeles National Forest Adventure pass, which you can buy at the 7-11 off Oro Vista and Sunland. You can purchase Adventure passes daily or annual, both of which are relatively cheap.

The Mount Lukens hike was my most ambitious hike in recent memory: 8 miles round trip with a 3200 feet elevation gain. I just got into hiking recently, so most hikes up until Mt. Lukens were two hour round trip hikes with little elevation gain. I had three friends join me and they made the difference between brutal and spectacular, but the hike was kind a marriage between the two: brutacular.
The hike is sporadically shaded, which makes for good areas to rest and rehydrate. The hardest parts of the hike are the beginning and the end because of sharp elevation gains. Everything in between is consistent: zigzagging paths with a mild elevation gain. The trail narrows dangerously at points and cactus often protrudes into the path, so being constantly aware is important. The hike is seasonally suggested for the winter and spring. In the summer (I don’t know why anyone would want punish themselves that badly, unless they are Catholic, which I get), rattlesnakes and ticks populate the trail. A friend of mine once went up in the summer and on the way down, almost stepped on two rattlesnakes that were well camouflaged in the dirt. I can’t imagine being three hours up, getting bit, and being stuck up there with no cellphone reception or an immediate way down, that’s the stuff nightmares are made of.

The hike provides a rare combination of great views of the San Gabriel mountains and the city of Los Angeles. Most hikes in the San Gabriels only provide a better view of the mountain valleys, but the top of Mt. Lukens boasts views (on a clear day) that reach as far west as the Pacific Ocean:


As far south as Palos Verdes:


As far east as the San Bernadino Mountains:


The north is dominated by majestic views of the San Gabriels:




Only on Mt. Lukens does downtown Los Angeles look miniscule and not the financial kingdom it really is (it's really small in the far left hand corner):


If you don’t hike or exercise much and get winded by one flight of stairs, I do not recommend this hike. It’s very strenuous and it took everything I had in me to complete it. I was absolutely exhausted by the time I got back. My legs were wobbly, my kneecaps felt like they were going to explode, and my feet felt like mashed potatoes. When I got home, I collapsed on the floor and almost fell asleep. I stretched my legs but I couldn’t get up for at least 15 minutes. I was sore for three days. It was satisfying to finish, but I’m not sure if I would do it again. If I did do it again, I would hike up, stay the night, then come back down the next day because doing it all in the same day was tough. I can’t imagine driving home afterwards, my legs would be shaking from the physical activity. I recommend doing this hike when you have one day to recover, because the next day, your entire body will be stiff.

No matter how strenuous and exhausting this 6 hour hike was, it beats going to a gym and spending an agonizing 45 minutes on the stairmaster while the toned mother next you kicks your ass by going twice as long and twice as hard.