New Girl in Town

I’ve been in Vancouver for a little over four months now, and I’ve noticed some significant differences in fitness culture between provinces. In Ontario, You are considered ‘fit’ and active if you have a gym membership and go fairly regularly. Unless you’re an avid athlete, most Ontarian’s physical activity is conducted within gym facilities.  I hypothesize that this is largely due to the variable climate in Ontario and that for consistency sake, the gym is fairly climate controlled.  In Ontario, exercise is often seen as a chore, as something people dread and therefore find it difficult to include in their daily routine.

In British Columbia, activity is a way of life.  I’ve only been here for a few months, so this may not be fact, but purely observational.  The average B.C. resident is considerably more active than the average Ontarian. So first of all, give yourselve’s a pat on the back! Even though some of you feel you’re struggling with daily exercise, you are still MUCH more fit and healthy than Ontario!

B.C. residents incorporate fun physical activities into their lives, so it doesn’t feel like a chore.  Many of my colleagues are on recreational sports teams, rock climb on weekends, bike to work and do yoga on lunch breaks.  If you asked any of them if they dreaded these activities on a daily basis, the answer would be ‘no.’  They’ve found an activity they enjoy that allows them to be active, so these activities turn into more of a hobby than a chore. And this is my new challenge. To incorporate fun activities into my routine so I don’t ever dread exercise again.

So here is my plan to accomplish this:

1. Join a recreational sport league.

2.  Exercise with friends, to keep me motivated.

3. Try new activities that bring me out of my comfort zone.

Yesterday, I tried ziplining in Whistler. This is not something I could have ever seen myself doing, and truth be told, I was terrified.  But I did it. And now I feel like it takes a lot more to scare me off.  Hopefully I’ll be able to post some ziplining pictures for you tomorrow, but as of today, I’m enjoying my last day of vacation by walking to Granville Island and swimming at the beach.