So, it’s six p.m., and you’re at the gym — again. You step onto the deck of the treadmill and tap a few buttons. Whir … beep … the motor springs to life and the belt begins to turn. Your mind drifts. Maybe it’s to someone wearing spandex a couple of rows in front of you, or maybe it’s the realization that Britney Spears’ song “Oops! … I Did It Again” doesn’t improve with the one hundredth listen. The monitor in front of your belly tracks your heart rate and the calories you’re burning. Slowly, you sink into a trance, waiting for those thirty minutes to end so you can get home and eat something.
Welcome to the world of fitness in the twenty-first century. But does an active lifestyle have to be so mechanical and indoor?
The answer is no, it doesn’t. There was a time when staying indoors and living a fit and active life were contradictions. For some people, that’s still true.