Sunday, October 24, 2010

On Your Mark: READY, GET fit , for FREE!

Cruel summer in Dubai is almost over, the  intense  heat (which can reach up to 48C, drops a little less 36C at night) is a curse. When I arrived in May, summer is just warming up  and instantly my first FB weather impression status was "Summer in Dubai is a bitch". The good thing is, apartments, malls, restaurants, transportation (train,taxi,bus) has a very reliable  A/C system. It's like stepping out from your air conditioned apartment to air conditioned taxi to air conditioned mall to air conditioned gym! People swarm to malls to 'cool things up' while others work on their tans and hit the beaches. For me, I just stay indoors and confined to the gym for a little exercise. Oh how I miss running outdoor back in Manila, specifically in Ultra where a lot of runners with different goals hit the rubber track between 6-10pm. My bf then (now my husband) used to run after work to get our daily dose of fitness. I  developed the love for running when I joined my first 5k Milo marathon,soaked up in rain, I  finished it in 45 minutes, without much effort just run-walk-run thing.
I have made a huge excuse of not doing the same here, cause it's really hot, you will feel like as if there is a huge oven hovering all over your body when you're out on the street. But since, summer is waving goodbye we should be back on TRACK and enjoy outdoor running! What is exciting , we can enjoy being fit for FREE. Here are my modest suggestions  to getting FIT, for FREE.

  • Amenities at your door step - Never miss the most obvious which you obviously paid for - the gym! In our building, Desert Group I make use of the gym almost 80% of the week.Since I am not working yet, I spend time in the morning and always walked in an empty gym. The pool is of good use too at night to try my swimming strokes which my husband taught me. Being a poor swimmer makes me work my ass really hard. These two are good combination, gym then swim after. Another option in your building is exercising in the stairs, which my husband is fond of doing. He was a more experienced mountaineer, back in the Philippines this is one of his personal training to be fit and ready for a major climb. Here, he taught  me to carry some weights , about 3kg each in my hand and take the stairs from rooftop(9F) to 3rd floor. The only downside it's dark down there specially at night, better get a friend to join you so you can take turns in switching on the light( light only goes on a minute) in each level..
  • Jogging at Parks - This is one of the things I appreciate in Dubai. The government spend millions to make this emirate greener and attractive by building family friendly theme parks. There are several places where you can spend time with friends and family over picnic bbq or playing your favorite sports. I have tried Safa Park for jogging, it is a 3.5km jogging track just outside the park so that means you can run all you want. This is so far the best I've tried. It is not boring, the side track is adorned by huge trees and the other side by the parks green ornaments where the sound of crickets simply is  music to my ears.  You get to join frequent runners as well and the sense of competition to keep running  ticks you. Inside the park is a 64 hectare land where 80% is covered with grassy lawns. There is a little forest and some hills, lakes and recreational facilities including wooden kiosks and BBQ area for family picnics.
    Another area is The Walk - Jumeirah Beach Residence.This is the only and the first outdoor retail by the sea and located along  the last remaining natural beaches in Dubai. The Walk, swarmed with over a hundred retail outlets, cafes, restaurants is a very suitable place to jog.
  • Join Mall Walking - The program is called Mall Walkers, a fitness community program launched by Mall of the Emirates in 2006.This is a  free fitness program in collaboration with Stride for Life happening five mornings a week (Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) at 8:30 a.m. The only thing to do is to register at the customer service desk on the ground floor of MOE, parking area A-F next to the East food court. Just get up early and make sure you have proper running/walking shoes. The only thing to avoid is the creamy cappuccino and  sweet buns  which you will be tempted to gobble down in the cafe after the walk.:)
  • Window Shopping - It will not be called window shopping if you ended up buying (aha!).Moving here in Dubai,  I find out I am really a bad shopper, the longer I stay in the mall the worse my spending habit has become. Case in point, I bought five pairs of shoes in just 3 hours! I will not stop 'going around' until my body and legs hurt. So, my advice is to just leave behind you cards and cash, well just bring a few cash to cover  for your transportation.Make sure you have eaten at home to avoid dining out. A bottle of water and a comfortable shoe is all you need! 
 So, what about you,where do you go for your dose of fitness?
   
     

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