Fall 2017 - WK1 - LOCATION~LOCATION~LOCATION
SmithsonianEmpress
Posts: 1,163 Member
Tell us where you're from/where you live. How does your environment pair with your fitness level/goals?
...Are there gyms near your home or job? Do you live in an area where you walk, climb or hike a lot? Is your home in a neighborhood where people frequently run or do outside activity? Are there a lot of fitness events in your area? Have you participated in or signed up for any? Do you do anything exercise related on your job? With coworkers? or maybe something with family/friends. Do you have a personal trainer or participate in group activity for accountability?
Do share!
...Are there gyms near your home or job? Do you live in an area where you walk, climb or hike a lot? Is your home in a neighborhood where people frequently run or do outside activity? Are there a lot of fitness events in your area? Have you participated in or signed up for any? Do you do anything exercise related on your job? With coworkers? or maybe something with family/friends. Do you have a personal trainer or participate in group activity for accountability?
Do share!
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Good morning! I like in Akron, Ohio - aka home of Lebron James. While some areas of Akron are notoriously sketchy, the neighborhood where I live (Highland Square) is great! Lots of young, active people in their early 20s and 30s. My apartment is within walking distance to restaurants, bars, a health food store, a movie theater, and a drugstore. My gym is unfortunately a 15 min drive, but that's still not bad!
No one at my job (in another town) is active. We have tried to implement a wellness program, but I think I'm the only enthusiastic one - everyone else is just in it for the reduced medical insurance rates.
My husband and I both go to the gym together and try to help keep each other accountable with our diets as well. We can't afford a personal trainer though.1 -
I live and work in Silicon Valley, which is in Northern California. I work in San Francisco and there are a lot of fit people in the city, particularly bicyclists. Driving is inconvenient and parking can cost $50 a day, so a lot of people don't own cars.
Our house is in South Bay, which is quite far from San Francisco. It's a beautiful residential area but, apart from hiking, everything is far. The gym is a 20-25 minute drive, so I mostly exercise at home with videos and apps, or go for a jog with my dog. I used to hike a lot before I got married but it's hard to do that now because our toddler is too small to walk a lot but too heavy to carry. A lot of people who live in my area surf or ride horses. We used to do both but now mostly surf because all our money went to a house remodel and horses are expensive.
At work, it can be hit or miss. Some people are fitness fanatics, others weigh 400 pounds. That's how high tech is, in general. But all companies here offer onsite gyms or free gym memberships. Some companies offer free food, which is not such a good thing. Last time I worked for a company like that I gained 15 pounds.
My accountability partners are you guys. I was struggling to keep disciplined until I found MyFitnessPal. My husband and I work out separately but we do share a lot of information. One thing we do together is bicycling to restaurants whenever we go out. We take our toddler with us - he rides in a trailer.
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I live in Columbus, Ohio which is also a weird mix of super fit and overweight people. Columbus used to be one of the fattest cities in the US but they've really made an effort to turn things around.
There always seems to be some kind of 5K or race happening somewhere around town and a lot of breweries and parks offer yoga and other group fitness on the weekends. Columbus is also home to the Arnold Classic, a huge bodybuilding and fitness event started by Arnold Schwarzenegger himself (there is a statue of him outside of our old convention center haha) http://www.arnoldsportsfestival.com/usa/
My husband and I live in a nice apartment complex surrounded by a good neighborhood that's condusive to walking/running but I prefer to exercise in the gym. Our apt has a gym but it's so small and pretty run down. Not all of the dumbbells have a pair anymore and occaisionally the treadmill just doesn't turn on. I think (hope) they are going to re-do it soon but in the meantime I joined an Anytime Fitness located about 15 min away. My husband and I try to hold each other accountable and do a good job for the most part but I do miss having a trainer and a schedule. This group, another one that I'm in, have been awesome for helping to keep me on track and motivated!
Everyone in Columbus drives everywhere and my job is sedentary so I really have to make a concerted effort to be active. It would be awesome if my job had some kind of fitness or weight loss incentive so maybe I'll suggest that to HR.1 -
Hello everyone! I live in Iowa and have a house in the country. I live in a nice, rural area between 3 cities (Quad Cities, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids) so there are lots of fun events and farmer's markets, etc. but not close enough to any of them to have a gym membership and be practical for daily/weekly use.
I don't belong to a gym and the 2 closest ones are in small towns, with 1 being more for retirees and the other one is full of body builders (training and competing, they are hardcore!).
Where I live, we get a lot of traffic and the road is gravel, so not safe to walk/jog, especially if I have my kids with me. But I do go to my parents a few miles away since they have a very quiet road. There is also a state park about 30 minutes from home that I like to hike with the family. I used to run the Race for the Cure and lots of other small 5Ks when I was younger, but haven't done that in years. Next year I'd like to do my hometown 5K and my current towns (next town over) 5K. Also, the Quad Cities has a big 7 mile race I'd like to do next year, The Bix 7.
As an office manager, I'm stuck at my desk all day. My previous coworker and I used to take walks 2-3 times a day but she left and my current coworker of the past 3 years takes smoke breaks... So yeah, I walk by myself now, lol. I've tried to get them to walk, but a 5-10 minute walk is not happening. I used to be too self conscious to walk alone in our industrial park, but now it doesn't bother me. I need to get away from my desk! lol And the people at the surrounding business always wave at me
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Hi ladies!
I reside in Louisiana....where the food is great, the hospitality is even better but the weather is hot, humid and unbearable at times...we have short winters and HOT summers.
I live near Planet Fitness, where I used to have a membership, but I ended it during my last pregnancy and just haven't went back. I also live near L.A. Fitness which has classes that really interest me--they have a children's facility, a pool, sauna and full basketball court BUT their hours suck. They don't open early or stay open late enough for me and my current lifestyle.
The land is pretty much flat here so hiking and like are pretty much a no go.
My neighborhood is nice and I often see people outdoors so that is encouraging but I do notice I'm the only runner which is kind of odd and makes me feel a little out of place some days.
I have looked at nausea trying to find races because I see tons of people on MFP doing them but I can't find anything here. I did see a zombie run here next month but that's about it. Also I looked for running groups but couldn't find any. I found a group called Black Girls Run but I realized they are located in Atlanta--bummer! I even looked for those mommy and me classes but no luck there either.
I have been thinking about trying out Orangetheory, that's probably our newest fitness place here. It looks awesome and challenging. Anybody know anyone who does it or has done it?
Since I haven't connected with anyone or a group of people, I workout---lift weights and do HIIT--alone...at home, in my community's gym or I run in the neighborhood. I just try and stay motivated to meet my goals.1 -
I live in Scottsdale Arizona. Yep it is hot here, 120 degrees on a good summer day, but it is a dry heat, except in July, August and September when the monsoons hit.
I live near a mountain where you can go hiking, and there is a great mountain bike path there also. At least that is what I've heard, I've never been because first I was busy raising my kids and then I was to fat and it of shape. I plan to get a bike and start riding with my husband and a friend this winter when we have our paradise weather. Every one is out in the winter.
I am a school teacher, the teachers I socialize with are very supportive.
There are so many gyms really close, but I find that I do better working out at home, with weights or a video. When I had gym memberships I would spend my time feeling guilty I want going, or I would go and just piddle around on all the stuff.1 -
I live near Boston. We have wooded conservation trails nearby. I walk/hike our dogs there and sometimes I ditch them to work on my trail running. I used to have a sweet 6-mile loop but I'm working with 2-3 slow miles right now post-baby. Who is 23 months old. Who wrecked my fitness. (Bad mentality I know, but pelvic pain? Unstable SI joints? I'm frustrated!).
I have three gyms nearby and I'm trying to transition from the cheap one I loved for years, to a nicer one with amenities. I'm not comfortable at either right now, to be honest. I had to stop going to Group Ex, which I love, because of my injuries. I'm mostly doing shorter resistance/interval workouts in my basement when I'm not walking or jogging. When I get up the confidence I'd like to take my strength routine to the gym floor. I'm so self-conscious...
Luckily I have a corner of the basement with weights and some Pilates equipment and I scored off Craigslist. My little guy can play nearby while I do alot of my home workouts. It's so easy to work out from home! But easy to slack too. I miss having a gym schedule.1 -
I live in Denver, Colorado. It's great because we're close to the mountains and there are tons of outdoor activities (as long as the weather cooperates). It's a pretty walkable city so I'm able to walk a lot when I make time for it. Denver is a pretty "fit" city which is good and bad. It's motivating in the sense that you want to be like everyone else but it can also make you feel bad if you're not as fit as other people.
There are a lot of gyms in the area. I'm very lucky that my work has a gym in the building and they give us a stipend each month to put towards a gym membership. I sometimes workout at the gym at work but mostly work out to a gym closer to my house. I workout with a personal trainer in a small group setting once a week which helps with some of the motivation to get to the gym. I also love doing yoga and my gym has an amazing yoga program so that helps me get there too. I find the working out piece the easy part of this for me. It's the diet piece that I really struggle with.1 -
I live in San Francisco, so hi @Somze, we're neighbors
Where I work, we now have a gym in the building so sometimes I'll go there. I primarily work at the YMCA near my apartment, but luckily, I can go to any gym within the city limits without paying more. I'm glad I have the option to go to the Y near my work if I want to
You can get a decent workout here since there's hills and since I don't have a car, I take public transportation and walk quite a bit. I'll aim to get a walk in at work during a break or at lunch. As an office manager of an office with 120 people, I walk around quite a bit. Though I used to walk a lot more at my previous job where I managed an office of 30 people. But we were a much more social company and we went on walks in the afternoon. It was so nice.
Even though my fiancé doesn't workout, he will go on walks with me. He used to live in Silicon Valley and drove everywhere, but now living here, he can walk to get lunch or to go to the store if he wants. But I think it's adjustment where I'm so used to walking around. We've gone on a walk around the neighborhood or at the beach which we live close to. We have lots of parks around here.
I will say the Bay Area is a pretty active part of California with lots of parks, ocean, etc. You see lots of people walking their dogs, running, people doing yoga or other workouts in the park, etc. We also have a lots of gyms and studios of anything you can think of. I'm lucky the Y has a lot of classes to choose from and things to try. Plus, now having a trainer is pretty affordable through the Y. I've been happy so far and I'm 4 sessions in. In addition to training 1x a week with her, I'll go to Zumba on Mondays and do my best to make TRX on Thursdays. Getting to cycling on Sunday mornings is a little harder. Other class options we have is Body Pump, HIIT, BOSU Blast, Nia and the usual yoga, pilates, swim classes. I'm so glad I can try different types of workouts and never get bored.
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@SmithsonianEmpress I have a suggestion for a topic one week - a thread on another group gave me the idea.
What is one "problem" area on your body AND what is one area of your body you love?
I think a lot of times it can be easy to get caught up in all the things we would like to fix, so giving some self-love is a good thing too!1 -
@Megan91384 @mebelfanti You should check out this standing desk - https://www.varidesk.com/products/standing-desk-pro-plus?o=Size:48+inch;Color:Black&utm_campaign=shopping-49906&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=Cj0KCQjwruPNBRCKARIsAEYNXIi6vuH3NgV0xbQCpga5r0zzQlC_NAHgw62GklzQTP_A8QnxtfHbU48aAiq7EALw_wcB
Your HR may buy it for you. You burn a lot more calories, just working on your computer while standing.1 -
brianneangell08 wrote: »@SmithsonianEmpress I have a suggestion for a topic one week - a thread on another group gave me the idea.
What is one "problem" area on your body AND what is one area of your body you love?
I think a lot of times it can be easy to get caught up in all the things we would like to fix, so giving some self-love is a good thing too!
Post it my dear! 0 -
@Megan91384 @mebelfanti You should check out this standing desk - https://www.varidesk.com/products/standing-desk-pro-plus?o=Size:48+inch;Color:Black&utm_campaign=shopping-49906&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=Cj0KCQjwruPNBRCKARIsAEYNXIi6vuH3NgV0xbQCpga5r0zzQlC_NAHgw62GklzQTP_A8QnxtfHbU48aAiq7EALw_wcB
Your HR may buy it for you. You burn a lot more calories, just working on your computer while standing.
That looks awesome, definitely asking HR about this! Thanks so much for the link!1 -
wellnesschaser wrote: »I live near Boston. We have wooded conservation trails nearby. I walk/hike our dogs there and sometimes I ditch them to work on my trail running. I used to have a sweet 6-mile loop but I'm working with 2-3 slow miles right now post-baby. Who is 23 months old. Who wrecked my fitness. (Bad mentality I know, but pelvic pain? Unstable SI joints? I'm frustrated!).
I have three gyms nearby and I'm trying to transition from the cheap one I loved for years, to a nicer one with amenities. I'm not comfortable at either right now, to be honest. I had to stop going to Group Ex, which I love, because of my injuries. I'm mostly doing shorter resistance/interval workouts in my basement when I'm not walking or jogging. When I get up the confidence I'd like to take my strength routine to the gym floor. I'm so self-conscious...
Luckily I have a corner of the basement with weights and some Pilates equipment and I scored off Craigslist. My little guy can play nearby while I do alot of my home workouts. It's so easy to work out from home! But easy to slack too. I miss having a gym schedule.
Boy those little people can mess us up physically can't they...geesh! It's nice you have a trail near you...wish I did. I was comfortable with my cheap gym (Planet Fitness) until I realized I could workout at home and basically had to if I wanted working out to be realistic. Schedules for me are ALWAYS better. Fitting it in at different times of the day throughout the week seems chaotic to me but it gets done so I guess that's what's important. You'd enjoy strength training at the gym. It's empowering to see others in a place where you want to be physically OR to see those trying to get to where you are 1 -
brianneangell08 wrote: »Good morning! I like in Akron, Ohio - aka home of Lebron James. While some areas of Akron are notoriously sketchy, the neighborhood where I live (Highland Square) is great! Lots of young, active people in their early 20s and 30s. My apartment is within walking distance to restaurants, bars, a health food store, a movie theater, and a drugstore. My gym is unfortunately a 15 min drive, but that's still not bad!
No one at my job (in another town) is active. We have tried to implement a wellness program, but I think I'm the only enthusiastic one - everyone else is just in it for the reduced medical insurance rates.
My husband and I both go to the gym together and try to help keep each other accountable with our diets as well. We can't afford a personal trainer though.
So awesome you guys workout together! Be each others' personal trainer
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I live in San Francisco, so hi @Somze, we're neighbors
Where I work, we now have a gym in the building so sometimes I'll go there. I primarily work at the YMCA near my apartment, but luckily, I can go to any gym within the city limits without paying more. I'm glad I have the option to go to the Y near my work if I want to
You can get a decent workout here since there's hills and since I don't have a car, I take public transportation and walk quite a bit. I'll aim to get a walk in at work during a break or at lunch. As an office manager of an office with 120 people, I walk around quite a bit. Though I used to walk a lot more at my previous job where I managed an office of 30 people. But we were a much more social company and we went on walks in the afternoon. It was so nice.
Even though my fiancé doesn't workout, he will go on walks with me. He used to live in Silicon Valley and drove everywhere, but now living here, he can walk to get lunch or to go to the store if he wants. But I think it's adjustment where I'm so used to walking around. We've gone on a walk around the neighborhood or at the beach which we live close to. We have lots of parks around here.
I will say the Bay Area is a pretty active part of California with lots of parks, ocean, etc. You see lots of people walking their dogs, running, people doing yoga or other workouts in the park, etc. We also have a lots of gyms and studios of anything you can think of. I'm lucky the Y has a lot of classes to choose from and things to try. Plus, now having a trainer is pretty affordable through the Y. I've been happy so far and I'm 4 sessions in. In addition to training 1x a week with her, I'll go to Zumba on Mondays and do my best to make TRX on Thursdays. Getting to cycling on Sunday mornings is a little harder. Other class options we have is Body Pump, HIIT, BOSU Blast, Nia and the usual yoga, pilates, swim classes. I'm so glad I can try different types of workouts and never get bored.
You guys really have a variety of workout options there. Nice! I keep hearing about TRX. I'm going to see if we have something like that near me.0 -
SmithsonianEmpress wrote: »brianneangell08 wrote: »My husband and I both go to the gym together and try to help keep each other accountable with our diets as well. We can't afford a personal trainer though.
So awesome you guys workout together! Be each others' personal trainer
We both struggle with motivation, so it really helps be keep each other accountable instead of just trying to keep ourselves accountable.1 -
Hello from Northern Michigan, fondly called "The Tip of the Mitt". I live on 25 acres literally in the middle of the woods. We enjoy a lot of outdoor activities such as hiking, swimming, atv riding, camping, snowshoeing etc. Plus we kind of homestead so gardening and a LOT of cutting/stacking firewood.
I work in a little town about 25 minutes, in good weather, from home. It's right on Lake Huron so when the weather is good I'll walk the bike path on my lunch hour. Sometimes my coworker will walk with me but usually it's just me.
We like to do fun obstacle runs like the Warrior Dash. Haven't done any 5ks but I'd like to eventually. The problem is I would have to drive at least an hour to get to most of them.
My husband and I motivate each other, been married for almost 31 years. He's lost 25 lbs and had his cholesterol/blood pressure meds cut significantly. That was his ultimate goal but he knows he has to stay the course if he doesn't want to go back on the meds. I'm down 37 lbs and already feel so much better in my skin. I do wish he'd cook sometimes but he's just not good at it. LOL
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shangrilamama wrote: »Hello from Northern Michigan, fondly called "The Tip of the Mitt". I live on 25 acres literally in the middle of the woods. We enjoy a lot of outdoor activities such as hiking, swimming, atv riding, camping, snowshoeing etc. Plus we kind of homestead so gardening and a LOT of cutting/stacking firewood.
I work in a little town about 25 minutes, in good weather, from home. It's right on Lake Huron so when the weather is good I'll walk the bike path on my lunch hour. Sometimes my coworker will walk with me but usually it's just me.
We like to do fun obstacle runs like the Warrior Dash. Haven't done any 5ks but I'd like to eventually. The problem is I would have to drive at least an hour to get to most of them.
My husband and I motivate each other, been married for almost 31 years. He's lost 25 lbs and had his cholesterol/blood pressure meds cut significantly. That was his ultimate goal but he knows he has to stay the course if he doesn't want to go back on the meds. I'm down 37 lbs and already feel so much better in my skin. I do wish he'd cook sometimes but he's just not good at it. LOL
Lol. That's funny about your husbands cook. Wowzer!!! Your home and land and activities sound AWESOME! I'm a little jealous
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