How to Stay Fit when you’re Living in the City

How to Stay Fit when you’re Living in the City

24 March 2017

If you live in a city it’s not always easy to delve into Mother Nature to get your fitness fix, but there is still ample opportunity to work out both indoors and outdoors, depending on which you prefer (or how the weather is behaving).

These tips will help you make the most out of your city all year round when it comes to keeping fit. 

 

Make the park your urban gym

City parks are often the number one choice for joggers and walkers because they’re free of traffic and noise and often provide better quality trails than normal streets. Plus, thanks to more trees, there’s less pollution so you can feel as though you are in fact surrounded by nature. Parks that have playgrounds can be good for you to practise skills such as pull-ups, step-ups and box jumps. There are many park workout guides available online that you can modify to suit the parks in your city for when it’s hard to justify working out indoors if the sun is shining bright outside. 

 

Run where you live

For variety, try jogging or power walking near to where you live or in another residential part of the city that gives you a chance to explore while you work out. Like parks, residential areas usually have less traffic, so they’re a safer option and quieter if you want to spend your jog clearing your head. Exercising outdoors also allows you to gain vital vitamin D for your skin and it is good for mental health; certain research shows that those who keep fit outdoors have increased energy, decreased tension and less stress overall. Plus, sometimes the resistance from the wind if you’re cycling or running can make you burn more calories.

 

Find a class you can stick to

Whether you’re looking for a class indoors or outdoors, cities are often full of different and unique fitness options that you can fit into your schedule. If you find the gym a bore, why not try a fitness class such as yoga, spinning, Zumba or aerobics. Another hugely popular option in cities are boot camps especially in London,  as these allow you to be part of a support network, as well as giving you the opportunity to meet like-minded people that are all working toward the same goal. Plus, they can be a fun way to challenge yourself and have been proven to provide rapid and sustainable weight loss.

 

Exercises that you can do at home

It’s easy to stay fit without even leaving your house if you know the right exercises. Get a hold of some basic exercise equipment such as a jump rope, weights and an exercise ball, and you’ll be able to acquaint yourself with exercises such as skipping and planking as well as at home pilates or yoga. There are hundreds of workout routines online for beginners to experts, so if it isn’t the best weather for the park, you can still keep up with your fitness commitments and work toward gaining that reward at the end of the week.