After three mornings in a row of waking up before 4:30 a.m., I jumped at the chance to sleep in a little bit today. Since I didn’t have to meet with my first client until 7:30 a.m., I slept as long as I could before my alarm woke me up at 6:45 a.m.
With minimal time available for dilly-dallying, I ate a ridiculously fast breakfast of cottage cheese and almonds before hurrying off to the gym and eating a peach in the car.
The client I trained first today is actually the first client who signed up to train with me after I started working at the gym. She was about to cancel her gym membership and now she has come so far. It’s so great to hear her talk about her progress, both on the scale and off with such enthusiasm. She has made some great progress and I am so proud of her dedication and strength.
Once our training session was done, I completed my own quick 20 minute cardio session before my next client arrived.
Most Active Cities in the United States
During my brief cardio workout today, I flipped through the pages of Men’s Health magazine and stumbled upon a short article about the most active and least active cities in the United States. They ranked popular cities from one to 100 in order from the most physically active to the least active.
Most Active:
1. Portland, OR
2. Boise, ID
3. Salt Lake City, UT
4. Minneapolis, MN
5. St. Paul, MN
6. Denver, CO
7. Seattle, WA
8. Madison, WI
9. Oakland, CA
10. Aurora, CO
Least Active:
91. Little Rock, AR
92. Corpus Christi, TX
93. New Orleans, LA
94. Memphis, TN
95. Lexington, KY
96. Birmingham, AL
97. Columbia, SC
98. Nashville, TN
99. Charleston, WV
100. Jackson, MS
You can see the full list here.
I find rankings like this oddly interesting and take them with a grain of salt, but the article got me thinking about the places I’ve lived and how active they seemed to me.
Orlando, which ranks 76th on the Men’s Health list, always felt like a very active place. When I lived there, I always saw people out running, walking, swimming and biking. There were running races or triathlons nearly every weekend. Our gym was always hoppin’. The path around Lake Eola in downtown Orlando was always packed with joggers and people walking their dogs. (Remember the hula hoop lady!?)
Our new hometown of Ocala feels like the polar opposite. Of course there are active people in Marion County, but I don’t see nearly as many people running or biking around town. There are running clubs and races, but much less, though I suppose that is to be expected when the town is significantly smaller. When I talk about this with other Ocala residents, the general feeling seems to be that Ocala is very laid back and there isn’t a huge emphasis on exercise (or healthy eating) within the community. An article I read yesterday stated that 32 percent of Marion County residents are obese (compared with 25 percent nationally) and 28 percent of Marion County residents do not exercise (compared with 21 percent nationally). I would love to one day live in a very active city, close to the mountains. My dream!
Question of the Morning
- Do you consider the city or town you live in an active place?
- Did your hometown make the list for most active or least active city in the United States? Do you agree with its ranking?
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Woo Hoo St. Paul, MN! That’s where I live, and we (Husband, Dog & I) regularly head into Minneapolis to walk the lakes. The Twin Cities are such an active and fun place to live from the dog parks (three w/in a short drive of our house), farmers markets, bike/walking trails, lakes, fun outdoor events… Now if only it wasn’t winter half the year.
I live there too!
Ditto! One of the many reasons why I love MN!
Whoever added birmingham, al as least active clearly didnt think twice. I see ppl working out and running left to right. We have the Birmingham Track Club which helps coordinate the Mercedes Marathon and The Vulcan 10k which are two of the most popular races down here. But whatevs, I think we are pretty active.
I would love to live in colorado one day. I would hike allll the time. Trail running for the win.
I live in San Diego right now and I’m very surprised it’s not on the top 10, everyone is super active here and always outside.
I live in a huge college town in the south. A lot of students are really into how they look, but there are plenty who aren’t. As for the non student population in this city I think there are a lot of people who aren’t very active.
Minneapolis/St. Paul represent!! I live in the heart of Minneapolis, and people here are SO active. There is a chain of lakes in the city, and if you run around them, you can knock of 10-17 miles easy. All year round (even in the snowy, cold, awful winter) people are running, biking, kayaking, canoeing, walking dogs, paddleboarding, etc. It’s definitely a great place for a marathoner like me!
I’m surprised that NYC isn’t in the top 10 for the most active cities! It feels like everyone walks around there or bikes all the time. I think my town is sort of active, you’ll see some people running or biking at the beach, but it definitely could be more!
That’s definitely my dream too, to live somewhere really active! I feel like California would be such a good place for that! How could you not take advantage of the outdoors?!
Boston is not in the top 10 but i consider it to be a very active city. The only other city i’ve lived in – NYC- didnt even seem as active as boston. We have so many runners in this town i’m shocked it didnt make the list!
I think Fort Worth would rank as some where in the middle. I personally know lots of people that stay active and go to the gym. There are also lots of trails around, but people aren’t able to walk to their job or the grocery store. I would love to live jn a town that has easy walking access to everything!
I go to college in Madison, WI, and it is incredibly active. I’m not surprised it made the list! There are so many paths for people to walk, run, or bike; sailing and other activities to do on the lakes; and it is just very pedestrian friendly. I don’t even have a car up here, but I’m still able to accomplish pretty much anything I need to do. I’m not a big city girl, but I’d love to live in a very active, but quiet, town in the future.
I used to work for Men’s Health and actually helped out with the “Metrogrades” feature, which does these monthly city rankings based on different topics. They actually take TONS of data into account (Think huge spreadsheets with lots of statistics) so the results end up being fairly accurate!
I grew up in Seattle and now live near Minneapolis, and agree that they are both VERY active cities. I’ve really enjoyed both areas and feel spoiled to get to live in regions of the country that are so focused on health and fitness.
I’m from MPLS as well!
I’d consider my town a pretty active one, well my town didn’t make it since I live in Canada, but I’m pretty sure a large majority here workout.
It’s always nice to know that people are getting more active in general.
I moved from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Atlanta a little over a year ago and was shocked–SHOCKED–at how much more difficult it is to be active down here! Geography certainly makes a difference, but a city’s culture and mindset play a big part too. Atlanta is such a spreak out, driving-centric city that it’s not very safe or easy for bikers and runners except in very specific areas. I miss the beautiful lakes, rivers, trails and parks of my Twin Cities! I definitely took those for granted!
I do find it interesting that the 10 least active cities are all in the south (especially since I can attest to the Texas heat and humidity doing nothing for my own desire to be outside). Every community has active and less active people, but it also looks like some environments are better suited for getting people out the door. I’ll start running again in October when the temps are comfortable, but for now, I’ll take the blast of a cold A/C during Body Pump 😉
I noticed that, too!
Madison, WI, is very active – there are always people biking, running, walking, etc. And it’s a 4-season town so we all get out there in the middle of winter, too!
I live in Madison as well! I feel so lucky to live in such an active and healthy city!
Hey Nicole- I’m in Madtown too 🙂
I just moved from #97 to #8 and there’s a very noticeable difference. But there’s a lot to take into account- work hours, weather, safety, prevalence of sidewalks and bike lanes, cost and accessibility of gyms, cultural definition of health..
In the South, my neighbors always used the weather as their excuse- it’s too hot (80+) or too cold (50s, c’mon!). Up in Madison people bike commute year-round and I did my entire marathon training in the snow. It’s tough, but when you’re surrounded by fit people, you’re more likely to be fit yourself. Health (good or bad) is contagious 🙂
I definitely do not live in an active city but I would love to live in one, too! Not only would you find more friends to connect with on a fitness level, but you would find so many class opportunities and jobs which are fitness related! I would love to live in an area with buildings solely based upon Pilates or Yoga or Spin. It would be awesome!
I think that the activity level of my town depends a lot of the season. People are much less active during the winter months when it is cold and snowy :(.
I notice the more active states are in the north in general and the least active in the south. Maybe too not to exercise in the South and the North has to in order to keep warm?
Interesting list. I find it pretty telling that the top 10 are in (what I consider) cooler climates compared to the bottom 10 which are in humid climates. Being from Florida, I loathe being outside during the summer unless I’m at the lake/beach/pool, yet I love being outside during those few crisp, cool days we have 3 times a year. I definitely think that climate has a huge impact on the activity level of a city.
Also, I work at Shands in Gainesville so I’m pretty familiar with Ocala/Marion Co. I would think that the demographics of Marion Co (older retirees) have a big impact on any kind of activity/fitness stats for the area.
I’m from Seattle and I’m not surprised that we made the list! There are always a ton of walkers, runners, and bicyclists in the city during rain or shine!
I would love to visit Seattle!
I live in Canada- so we’re of course not on the ranking. But a google search showed my city is actually the most active in Canada, as of 2010.
I find that my city (Edmonton) is VERY active during the summer months. From about May-October, you see people out running, biking and doing all sorts of activities. Also at that time all the hot yoga studios seem much emptier. From November-April, it’s too cold to really be outside, so you never see anyone exercising, but I find hot yoga is always packed!
I definitely consider my city an active place, but it really depends on what part of it you live in. Right now I’m really lucky to live close to our river valley, which is full of awesome trails for runners, walkers, and bikers, but back when I lived with my parents, I barely ever saw anyone outside.
P-Town Represent!! I live south of Portland, near Corvallis (home of OSU) and there are unlimited active opportunities. Us Oregonians run/hike/bike rain or shine and besides the precipitation, the climate is pretty temperate and so it is easy to do so.
Utah is great for outdoor enthusiasts and we have our fair share of active people but I would have never guessed that it would be in the top 3. I guess this place is more active than I thought!
I live pretty close to the twin cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) and was really proud to see them on the list! 🙂
I just wrote a post on this exact same article! http://dailycupofkate.com/2013/05/20/motivational-monday/
I live in Madison and people are SO active here, I love it! So many bikers, runners, and walkers everywhere. We have a great trail and bike lane system here which I think helps. My fiancé is from the Twin Cities are and I can definitely tell that’s an active city as well.
I have family in Corpus Christi, TX and Charleston, WV… what’s weird is that the people I know from those towns are incredibly active. My cousins in Texas work hard on their farm all daggum day, haha. I wonder if they take that into consideration?
I live about 45 minutes away from Columbia, SC and I have to agree with that one. Not a lot of moving going on outside of the “fit” circles of friends that pop up randomly. 😉
I live just south of San Francisco and I feel like it is crazy active!! People are always out running, biking, mtn biking, hiking, surfing etc. I’m really surprised its on the list!
My hometown, Columbia, SC, made the least active list. Now I’m living in Rwanda, and let me tell you, the sight of the sole American running through the village makes a lot of jaws drop!
I live in #97 Columbia, SC. I beg to differ a bit. There are a ton of great running parks that are marked and lit at night. I go to the downtown YMCA every day after work and it’s always packed. There are 3 or 4 running groups all over town and it seems like there’s a race every weekend. However, I can see that it’s not very bike/walking friendly because it’s so hilly. I love Columbia, especially during football season 🙂
YAY for Salt Lake City! I think about half my office bikes to work and there are a ton of people here who run. One thing I wonder about is if the high rate of stay at home moms impacts the score. Here in SLC you see parents running with their strollers ALL DAY LONG! The gyms are always busy too.
I’m from Charleston, WV…#99…lol…at least we made the list!! =)
Woo hoo! SLC made #3! I can totally see that… There’s tons of active things to do around here all year long. Hiking, cycling, running, boating in the summer months, and skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing in the winter!
I saw a similar list the other day and it ranked Minneapolis/St Paul at the top. I do notice that most of the top cities always seem to be there, they just rotate spots. I, too, have dreams of living in a highly-active city one day. I live in the Chicago suburbs and while people are active, it isn’t always the same since I feel like we are so car-bound. There aren’t many bike paths/lanes, trails, etc. The ones we do have, you have to drive to. I’d love to see our communities become more active in any way.
Moving from NYC to more of a country lifestyle, I miss the activity that living in a city required. I had to walk everywhere and it was easy to do so in NYC. Many cool summer nights, instead of riding the subway, I could walk the hour walk home and take in the scenery. Here in the country, I need to drive everywhere. However, on the flip side, there is so much hiking and trails at my disposal. I guess it was a bit of a trade.
I’d rank NYC as extremely active. Not sure about where I live – my friends are very active but I’m not sure about a majority of the town.
I live in DC and we are listed as 25th. I think that sounds about right. We are definitely an active bunch but there are a TON of people here. It is crazy densely populated so I don’t know how it would be able to be higher.
YAY Madison!!! #8!! 🙂
You should move here to Boise! I’ve been here for over 10 years now and absolutely love it! We’ve got mountains, rivers, lakes, & much more. Bonus – #2 on the list woohoo!
Something kinda weird about the list: Most of the active cities are in the north and the inactive cities are in the south. I thought it would have been the opposite since southern cities have outdoor workout weather all year round!
Los Angeles is very split down the middle. People are either super into fitness and only eat juice and do pilates every day or they eat tons of burritos and hike once a year. I haven’t found very many fellow middle-grounders.
I love these lists! My dad is the CEO of the Indianapolis YMCAs and his big initiative is to get Indy on the healthiest cities lists! Its been awesome to see him try to make our city a healthier place to live
Yes! SLC finally beat out Denver! Take that! We love our mountain sports and lakes in Utah. Maybe the crowds make people less inclinde to go to gyms or hike and such. I avoid crowded gyms and trails like the plague.
I live in Portland! It’s a wonderful place to do any and every active activity. I go hiking in the Columbia river gorge a lot and cross country ski near Mt. Hood. I agree that climate plays a role in how active a population is, but people in the PNW definitleyrise above all of the rainy days that we have. Humidity is the worst, though.
I’m in Little Rock, and I’m surprised at how high our number is (91). We have a number of in city nature trails, walking/running bridges, and believe it or not, a mountain to climb, and these places are usually packed with people! Biking and running is also super popular here and people are frequently out and about. The city has taken steps to promote activity and hopefully one day our number will be lower. 🙂 I did notice that the top 10 least active are all Southern states.
I lived in Nashville for over 2 years and while I remained active with all the parks, preserves, trails, mountains, rivers, sidewalks etc near by, I can see why it made the least active list. Downtown was mainly tourists and never really promoted its outdoor activities. At least, not that I was aware of. I live in Columbus now and have only been there for less than a week and I have met so many active people that have been more than willing to tell me about how active this city is. I cant wait to really explore this place!!
Come live near me! SLC #3rd! Right by the mountains too 😉 It’s gorgeous here!
I find that list super interesting! I can’t help but notice the least active cities seem to be centered around the southeast (aka hot and humid), and the most active cities are in the northwest or west, where the climate is a lot drier and more temperate. Fascinating! I too would love to live out west near the mountains one day. I’ll have to settle for the “baby” mountains in the northeast for now! haha
I live in Montana and we didn’t make the list-but not suprising since we don’t have the population that the other cities/states do. I think its a very active state-we have the mountains and the plains and plenty of activities for all seasons. And we don’t have the heat that the south does–I went to grad school in TX and would avoid going outside during the summer and in Montana summer is amazing! You should pack up your hubby and Sadie and come check it out! 🙂
I agree! I have a lot of family in Montana and I love getting to ski and hike whenever I go visit, then I cry when I have to come back to Texas and our 100 degree weather.
Yay Portland! #1!! I wasn’t active until I moved here. It’s a great city, what with our very own ginormous park–Forest Park has over 70 mile of hiking trails, you definitely feel like you’ve left the city–and tons of gyms and activities for everyone. I’m surprised we’re number one because of the rain, but we definitely rally. I did the entire couch-to-5k during the rainy season and quickly learned to enjoy running in the rain. It cools you off!
St. Louis is usually close to the bottom – grrr!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully that will change one day. I love traveling to active cities!!
SO funny! My husband and I are really active, and we come from places close to cities in the top 10! I grew up near Oakland, he grew up near Portland, and we now live close to Salt Lake. Sounds about right to me, but I wonder how they decided which cities were the most active? 🙂