For the past four years my family has spent most of July and August in the Catskills in a town called Accord, NY. We love it there and ended up buying a place here like a lot of Brooklyn transplants did during Covid. Summers are magical up there
One of the things I always look forward to is using the garage gym I have assembled together over the years. Once we head up, I restart a program called TrainFTW. It's a workout regimen organized by an ex-crossfit athlete named Matt Chan and his wife Cherie. I'd describe it as crossfit-lite. It's a mixture of full-body workouts that span weight training, Zone 2, HIIT, and some cardio-focused work, too. More than anything, the premise is to enjoy the benefits of crossfit without getting injured. By a long shot, it's my favorite type of workout.
I also mix it up and play tennis and mountain bike to get a variety of different cardio. I used to road bike more often, but mountain biking is a lot more fun and there are no cars. I love this summer setup for fitness. It's a highlight of my year.
Things in Brooklyn are definitely different. I feel like exercising is more of something I do to check the box than it is fun. I used to be part of a gym and do TrainFTW, but I found it takes up too much time and need something I can just get done in 45-50 minutes in the early morning. Normally I will switch between using the Tonal machine in our basement and riding the Peloton. On the Tonal I have 7 workouts I cycle through that I programmed myself, and on the Peloton I just do 4x4 Zone 5 training at least once a week. I will also try to play tennis once a week after work.
My issue with these workouts back in the city is I get bored of them rather quickly. Lifting weights in a basement isn't necessarily "fun" for me. Sometimes I will mix things up and get into F45 for a couple of weeks or months and that will help. But I've found it's hard to get as excited about fitness when I'm in the city. The best thing for me has simply been to mix it up to stay motivated. I hope to one day be as enthusiastic about my fitness program in the city as I am upstate.