Holy cow, today is passing by in a flash! I worked through the morning and most of the afternoon but enjoyed one longer-than-usual break during the work day.
During my break, I managed to squeeze in my own workout (I did the same TRX workout I shared on the blog this morning) and rushed out to Earth Origins for lunch with a coworker once I was done.
I opted for the salad bar and topped a bed of leafy greens with tuna salad, chicken salad, shrimp and mango salad, beets, peppers and cucumbers.
It was a great mid-day meal!
America’s Fittest Cities
During lunch, conversation turned to my coworker’s sister who recently moved to Colorado. When my friend mentioned that her sister moved to Boulder, I remembered a press release I received from The Active Times a month or so ago that said Boulder is the fittest city in the United States.
Of course I had to pull up my email to refresh my memory when she asked about the other “fittest cities” in America.
Here are the top ten fittest cities, according to The Active Times:
- Boulder, Colorado
- Provo-Orem, Utah
- Santa Ana-Anaheim, California
- Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Fort Collins, Colorado
- Cambridge, Massachusetts
- San Jose, California
- San Francisco, California
- Logan, Utah
- Denver, Colorado
(To see the measuring criteria and the full list of the top 25 fittest cities, check out the full article on TheActiveTimes.com.)
After viewing the top ten, it seems like California, Utah and Colorado are quite the active places to live! Sadly not one Florida city cracked the top 25.
And just in case you find this stuff oddly interesting like I do, here are some more articles about the fittest small cities and the least fit cities:
- America’s 10 Fittest Small Cities
- America’s 10 Least Fit Cities (<—Shocker… most are in the south)
Questions of the Afternoon
- Did your city or hometown claim a spot on one of the above lists?
- Do you consider your current city or town an active or “fit” place to live?
Ocala did not appear on any of the above lists. I would definitely not consider it an active place to live. Orlando, on the other hand, was quite active! I miss it a lot!
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YEAH COLORADO!! Bringing it home for the win…but seriously, people are so fit, active and healthy here. I LOVE how working out is the cultural norm for everyday life.
woo Lawrence, KS made the top 25 list! I went to college there 🙂
Cool article! I don’t think my town is very fit!
I have lived in Boston, Washington, DC, Boulder, CO and now Denver, CO and I have to say the level of fitness in Colorado is incredible. All of my friends regularly run marathons, compete in triathlons, hike, bike, rock climb, etc. It is seriously inspiring!!!
Woohoo! Orange County (Santa Ana-Anaheim) CA made the list! Although I haven’t been to many states, I can only imagine that Southern CA is one of the fittest: incredible weather, parks, beaches, hiking trails that it’s hard not to keep fit
Yes! I grew up right near Santa Ana/Anaheim!! Anaheim and Disneyland are only about 15-20 minutes from my parents’ house. 🙂
Yay Denver!!! Shoot I’ve been so inspired by everyone here working out all the time, I signed up for my first half marathon here in the state 😀
I live right outside Denver! With all the sunshine that Colorado gets its easy to see why we are so active. So many choices!
I lived in Lawrence when I was a kid, nice to see they made the list!
Haha! There is no way my home would ever make that list. We only have 200 people in town!! I am happy to see that at least one Montana city made the list. To bad they are 11 hours away from us.
I wouldn’t consider us an active place to live. Those of us that are fit choose to make it part of our lives, even though we don’t have the amazing facilities that other cities may have.
ugh. Evansville, IN..number 8 on the top ten least fit. Do you watch Parks and Rec? I swear “Pawnee” is based on Evansville. I moved here from Chicago 6 years ago, though..and even in that time, the town seems to really be trying to reverse its reputation for lack of fitness. There have been so many races and events to promote health and wellness initiative. Slowly but surely…
Thanks for sharing the Active Times articles, I’m visiting Colorado for the first time this summer and can’t wait!
I grew up in Boulder, and live in Fort Collins now… You can hardly go anywhere in either city without seeing someone exercising, it’s awesome!
Awesome lunch!!! I am mightily jealous!
I’m in #8! San Francisco is definitely very fit! Every time I run outside I always pass tons of runners/bikers/walkers out. It’s great motivation!
I live in Golden, CO and LOVE how active everyone is!!! Me and my husband climb mountains and rock climb almost every weekend and off day in the summer!
I wonder if the humidity plays any role in the fact that southern states are considered the “least fit” – something interesting to think about. Also, Orlando misses you too! 🙂
YAY Colorado!!! Live in Denver, work in Boulder, and went to school in Fort Collins! Guess that is why an active lifestyle has always been a part of my life! Love this beautiful state!!
I live in Huntington, WV. It is THE most unhealthy place in the US and I work as the Marketing director at a fitness facility. Needless to say I have my work cut out for me.
I hope that my efforts and the efforts of my coworkers can help bring about change in our community.
I don’t know that my city would qualify for a “fittest” award, but I must say that at least it’s fitness friendly. We have lots of running/bike paths throughout the city, which is pretty great!
I live in Boulder, and I can say that it is amazing to be surrounded by so many healthy-minded people! And it doesn’t hurt that the University of Colorado-Boulder just built a beautiful new rec center! And with being so close to the mountains, who doesn’t love hiking? So glad my state has so many healthy cities!
COOL! I live in Provo, Utah, which was also ranked as having the #1 highest wellbeing in the nation! People here are generally very active and happy. 🙂 It’s a great place to live!
http://www.gallup.com/poll/167984/provo-orem-utah-leads-communities.aspx
Eff yeah, Boulder!! I absolutely love living here, but I also know that I’ll never be the fittest or the best at any sport or activity (or heck, in the top 25% at that!)
My city didn’t make the list but I suppose that’s better than it making the least fit city. I really wish there were other forms of transportation available throughout the Country, or at the very least companies should have wellness programs in place where there’s an opportunity to fit a workout during the day 🙂
Woohoo Utah! I did some growing up and I attended college in Provo-Orem. I wouldn’t think it would be in the top 10, but I’m guessing the 2 colleges in the area make a difference (overall, I think Utah is an active state). And there’s exercise to be had year round. I now live in St. George Utah, and love the weather (I can cycle in December). I would say my town is active (without the skiing, there is lots to do here, but hard in the summer when it’s 100 plus for weeks on end).
Yes ma’am! I live in San Francisco (by way of Florida of course), and it’s clear this is a fit place. Most people have very active walking lifestyles, healthy food is not just a trend but a way of life, and so many other reasons. I love living here. We should be number one! 🙂
I don’t see my hometown but I know the place I live now will NEVER be on the fittest cities that’s for sure! It is probably the most unfriendly city to runners or active people!
I live in a small area but we are super fit! I pass so many people when I am out running and walking and we always have a 5k every weekend and have a huge marathon in the fall!
Well, I moved from Denver to Cleveland a few years ago. I LOVED Denver and how active everyone was there–it was easy! Cleveland, on the other hand, needs some help, but there’s definitely a healthy and hip community here too. People who live here know that, but the rest of the world doesn’t. I hope Cleveland keeps getting healthier and healthier.
This is just the kind of random info that I love to learn haha. I wonder if there’s a list like this for Canada?…Off to waste some time googling that now 😀
i live in cambridge, ma!!!!
My city wasn’t on the list, but I’ve lived in quite a few unfit cities haha. Monroe had ONE gym so I get why they’re so unfit. I was wanting to ask you a question in reference to the shoes you reviewed. You said that they are designed to propel you forward, and not for moving side to side. I usually just wear one pair of shoes for everything… is that bad? I do a lot of different types of exercises an wasn’t sure.
Aw yeah, California made the list twice. That’s what I’m talkin’ about.
Yeah!!! Go Denver (and Colorado, in general)! I live in Denver… Train for triathlons. I’m proud to contribute to the fitness of the city. Love it.
I’m surprised Seattle, WA isn’t on the list! I live in Seattle and it seems every day I see tons of people running and biking.
I live in Boston and I say that it is a fit place to live. We love our sports and the Boston Marathon, of course!
I think it would be so much fun to make a fit-city road trip! I haven’t visited any of these cities yet, but I love that they are known for being active!
Im in Greenville SC and it’s definitely a fit area!!
I’m really shocked that Seattle didn’t make the list! There are so many fit and active people here!
I totally agree, that’s my hometown and everyone is so active there: biking, running, walking etc
The two closest cities to me both made the list! Yay CA!
It makes sense that most of the fit cities are out west–the weather is perfect and the scenery just makes you want to climb/run/bike/etc. I think my city is pretty fit, but could def improve.
Born and raised in boulder,co! I live in idaho now but would love to move back to boulder at some point. Growing up there was great there was always something fun and active and it taught me to live a healthy lifestyle.
My state didn’t reach either list! I guess that makes us somewhere in the middle 🙂
The city I live in does have running events, and the normal gyms, studios and what not but with half the season being cold and not really having any cold weather things, like mountains and what not I think that is where we suffer, but I think we are getting more active as the health wave is sticking 🙂
Durham, NC #23 fittest city ftw! We have a great food scene, a great beer scene, and (thankfully) a great running and biking scene as well! 🙂
Yay Colorado!!! I’ve lived here my whole life and I’m not surprised we have 3 cities in the top 10. I always joke with my husband that it doesn’t matter how early it is or how bad the weather is, I will never be the only person running on my favorite trail 🙂
Darn it, I’m sad to see Texas didn’t make the list! I wish I lived somewhere where being active was more of the norm.
I live in St. Cloud, MN, and I wouldn’t think of it as a very active place to live. There are plenty of people who walk, run, bike, etc., but the city itself is not conducive to lots of activity. It would be pretty difficult to walk or run from one part of the city to the next. My dream is to live somewhere where I can walk to stores and restaurants. That would be the best!
I live in Boulder and my parents live near Denver. Whenever I drive to their house, I always count the number of cyclists along the road. During the summer, I think the highest number I counted was 78! In a <30 minute drive no less!
My city is so NOT healthy. Luckily I make it work, but I wish it was a more walkable city that’s for sure!
Word up! Cambridge Mas.
Weird, I could have swore last time I saw this list DC was on it!