MELANIE WEBB is an innovator in the growing adventure travel industry whose quest, personally and professionally, is to challenge the body, lift the spirit, and do so while immersed in wilderness. An avid explorer, Melanie’s athletic pursuits have taken her to Northern Africa, South America, Asia, Europe, and throughout the United States and Canada. Sol Fitness Adventures, Melanie’s business venture to share her passion for exploring the outdoors, landed top reviews in OutsideMagazine twice in 2011 – for its new Adventure Travel Preparation training service and its Redrock Backpacker trip near Zion National Park. Under Melanie’s expert guidance, Sol’s guests have explored secluded slot canyons, overcome fears and bad health habits, and experienced the life-transforming gifts of Mother Nature.
Cutting her teeth as a personal trainer in Washington D.C.’s elite training venues, Melanie recognized the need for stressed-out city dwellers to experience the outdoors and headed back home to the West to establish Sol Fitness Adventures. As a trainer and an outdoor adventure guide, Melanie’s clients have included CEO’s and corporate employees; a dancer from Canada’s Winnipeg Ballet and an injured motocross star; a squash national champion and first time exercisers; socialite moms and a former U.S. Secretary of Defense.
Raised exploring Utah’s wild and scenic places, Melanie’s mentoring in the body arts began as a high school volleyball player at age 14, with physical therapists working on chronic leg injuries and her coach introducing visualization techniques to improve performance. She continually pushed her physical limits in search of her next brush with the wild, competing in sprint triathlons, 5 and 10k races, snowboarding, and hiking. Defining moments in her athletic career include coming back from injury many times — like undergoing knee and shoulder reconstructive surgeries. It was through the path of healing herself that Melanie broke from formulaic training methods, influenced by alternative therapies like Rolfing and energy work. It was from these and her continued love of exploring wilderness that Melanie developed her unique and personalized training style. Melanie’s athletic lifestyle continues to be an exciting journey – one that she’s thrilled about sharing with Athleta in 2012!
ACCOMPLISHMENTS & CREDENTIALS:
- American Council on Exercise (ACE) Certified Personal Trainer
- National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Advantage Trainer
- Wilderness Training and Client Accountability
- Integrated Flexibility Training
- Reebok University Active/Reactive Neuromuscular Training
- Pranayama meditation and energy healing techniques
- Bachelor of Science Physiology and Human Developmental Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
- Adventures around the world: stand up paddled Bali, Indonesia; trekked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Peru; snowboarded the Andes Mountains in Portillo Chile; rock-climbed Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; hiked the Highlands of Scotland; biked through the Emmental Valley of Switzerland; and explored the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.
- Featured in numerous national publications and on national TV, including: Outside Magazine, Real Simple, Cosmo Girl, Weight Watchers, Appalachian Mountain Club, CARSON, DC Style, Mammoth Sierra Magazine, 805 Living, and Good Morning America.
2012 INTENTIONS:
- Compete in first stand up paddling competition
- Continue Capoeira practice by mastering the handstand
- Increase cycling mileage to 50 miles distances
- Continue to share the peace, solitude, and physical challenges of Zion National Park backcountry with adventurous guests
- In the next 10 years, hike Mt. Kilimanjaro
WEBSITE: SolAdventure.com »
I noticed we both have the intention of climbing Kilimanjaro…I’m thinking Athleta group climb!
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Hi Carri – Oh yeah, I’m in. “Athleta’s First Ascent” has an awfully good ring to it!
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After a particularly rough period in my career and an awesome yoga practice this evening, I enjoyed your message! Now I want to work for you!
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Very interesting! I had a fasciatomy when I was 20…I wonder if rolfing would have worked for me or not. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
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@Kathleen, I’m completely complimented, thank you! Working for myself is career number 4 for me, but it’s amazing how “all of my skills and talents that I developed in former roles are coming together for my success now” (It’s a mantra a healer taught me, I invite you to use it!). And yes, come and work for/with me! Best of luck to you.
@Jacqui, I wonder! What body part was your surgery? And how is the function of your body part now? My 17 year old niece just had a fasciatomy on her lower legs; I’d hoped her parents would try Rolfing first as well. But she has made an excellent recovery. Thanks for your comment, all the best!
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Your time with the ski instructors brought back memories:) I taught for many years… when I was in Steamboat and studying for another certification test … My friends and I came up with a slogan… what you ran into: Analysis Paralysis!! Too much thinking! We do better with feel…and letting go;)
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You are so naturally pretty! Living the healthy and fulfilling life shows!
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@Patricia Thank you so much!! You just made my whole day. All the best to you!
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I am a psychotherapist, I hope you are in/have participated in therapy. IIt is interesting that none of the readers commented on your powerful account of the abuse you inflicted on your body. Using exercise to :quiet your mind” makes me think of adult ADHD. Many times “cutters” cut their body to “feel” something. Just think if you were given the option of psychopharmacology early on, so many of your injuries could have been prevented. It is like the anorectic getting praise and positive reinforcement for being too thin and “in control” of her weight. Don’t get suckered in when others compliment you on your athletic prowess, when you were in reality abusing/punishing your body.. You can be a source of great healing to many others in this field who also suffer from this. Thanks for sharing your great isight. You have much to offer here. I am thinking of all the little girls who endure injuries and do not listen to their bodies and continue training, usually with a great desire to “please” others.
Thank you for putting your message out there.
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