The HOTWORX franchise organization supports heroes in the military who keep us free and the first responders who keep our lives safe. This desire to support those heroes motivated the company to create an annual fundraiser known as Hiking for Heroes. It all began last year when we formed a climbing team to scale Kilimanjaro to raise $1 per foot of elevation climbed which amounted to $19,341. We raised over $20k and donated that amount to Sacred Mountain Retreat Center. SMRC provides a program in the beautiful Black Hills of Deadwood, South Dakota for wounded veterans and first responders. All in for 2022 HOTWORX has raised over $100k for this cause.
The HOTWORX Hiking for Heroes team will jump start 2023 by scaling the tallest mountain in the Western Hemisphere (and the Southern Hemisphere) with an expedition scheduled for January 10-22. This year we have a 5 person team including the same 4 from last year’s climb and one more athlete for 2023.
On January 10, 2023, 5 sponsored athletes will take on a 12-day climb to the top of Mt. Aconcagua. At an elevation of 22,841 feet, our goal is to raise $45,682, which is $2 for each foot of the journey to the top of the mountain. Contributions to this fundraiser will be donated to Sacred Mountain Retreat Center, a non-profit organization near Deadwood in the Black Hills that brings our Military, First Responders, and Gold Star Families to South Dakota for a time of respite and healing. If you wish to support this cause, please click the link below…
https://www.gofundme.com/f/hotworx-hiking-for-heroes-mt-aconcagua
We have three major sponsors to thank for this climb to the top of ACONCAGUA…
Last year we put our HOTWORX 3D training to the test on Kilimanjaro to get us to the top on the shortest route with only a 27% success rate. In spite of those odds, all four of us made it to the summit! Kilimanjaro is the tallest free standing mountain in the world, the tallest mountain on the continent of Africa and the fourth tallest of the seven summits. This year we take on Aconcagua, the second tallest of the seven summits of the world.
Cardio conditioning is the key to climbing a mountain. I watched several people who failed to get to the top of Kilimanjaro last year and it made me grateful for the time my team spent in the HOTWORX sauna getting cardio ready. I can tell you that it made the difference in our performance to beat that 73% probability of failure. This year it will be no different for conditioning. Different mountain, higher elevation, but the infrared cardio training, both the isometrics and the HIIT is what gets the heart ready!!!
One of the key health benefits of infrared therapy is improvement in cardiovascular health. Infrared light increases the production of nitric oxide, a vital signaling molecule that is important for the health of blood vessels. This molecule helps relax the arteries and prevents blood from clotting and clumping in the vessels. Aside from these, it also combats free radicals to prevent oxidative stress and regulate blood pressure.
Nitric oxide is essential in improving blood circulation, which provides more oxygen and nutrients to injured tissues. Thus, infrared light hastens wound healing and stimulates the regeneration of injured tissues, reducing inflammation and pain. (1)
What we are about to do will be incredibly taxing on our minds and body, but it pales in comparison to the sacrifice of those veterans wounded in battle. May we never forget what they have done to protect our freedom to live how we choose and to explore and to climb mountains if that’s what we want to do! Because of them, we climb!!
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