Getting Fit in NYC

A few days ago I traveled to New York City for work and a little fun. I have to say that if there's a single city in the United States that lends itself to a fit lifestyle, it has to be New York. Sure, you can ride the subway or take a taxi just about anywhere, but only if you have an unlimited supply of cash. For those of us who aren't made of money and won't drive in New York traffic the only remaining choice is to walk ... and walk ... and keep on walking.

In fact, while I haven't pulled out a street map to calculate the total distance I walked over my two days in New York, I feel confident that an estimate of six miles would be less than the actual distance covered on my two feet. Surprisingly, after returning home I hardly considered the amount of walking I did. If I had walked six miles a year ago when I tipped the scales at more than 300 pounds then I probably would have complained about my sore feet, sore legs, and sore back for at least two weeks.

As it turns out, my fit lifestyle helped me endure the brisk walking (and occasional running to avoid traffic) in New York with absolutely no pain and plenty of energy to spare. While I certainly felt like I was getting some exercise with all that walking, I never felt pain or discomfort from what I now consider to be "normal" physical activity.

I still want to lose more weight, as does Mrs., but this week I was reminded that there's more to "getting fit" than just weight loss. The ability to walk and run for miles in an urban jungle without feeling like I want to fall down and die is something that's probably more important than my waistline.