January 24, 2015 · , ,

How to Stay in Shape in Buenos Aires Part 1: Outdoor Edition

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Everybody who visits Buenos Aires is aware of all its good steaks, tasty empanadas, silky helados (ice-cream) and melt-in-the-mouth rabas (fried calamari), and so do I! I have been living in this city for 3 years so far and since I don’t (and will never!) have the intention to miss all the good food and drinks I have to come up with a plan to keep my weight in a healthy state. After having started looking, I was amazed at how accessible they are and the quantity of activities you can easily find all over Buenos Aires to keep you in shape.

So, the first and most typical activity to do is RUNNING. Simply put on your running shoes and exercise outfit, and off you go. Buenos Aires has a lot to offer for people who just want to have a run. There are the Bosques de Palermo and the Recoleta area which have their running tracks, then there’s the Reserva Ecológica (Ecological reserve) in Costanera Sur (close to San Telmo), and also the many parks and plazas around town in an urban landscape where you will not only have fun jogging but also experience the city in a different way.

In case you do not have a running partner but would love to have some company while working out, you will probably find some meet up running clubs that suit your needs on the webpage of the Club de Corredores. A lot of half marathons and marathons, especially in the summer months, take place all around the city. If you run in the Palermo parks, you will no doubt see a lot of promotion for these kinds of running activities. Another way to have fun and explore the city running is the Urban Running Tours. A professional trainer and experienced runner will meet up with you at your preferred time and will guide you through the city streets running, telling you interesting facts of the sites as you pass them by. They run different tours focusing on different parts of the city every day and they can plan tours according to your needs as well. See their website for more information.

If you are a person who loves to be on two wheels, there are also a lot of possibilities to BIKE in Buenos Aires. The city has put in a lot of effort in the past few years encouraging cycling and converting Buenos Aires into a bike-friendly city. While there’s still room for improvement and you should definitely take notes from our Tips on Biking Safely in Buenos Aires, the city has really come a long way to provide us with many bike lanes with traffic lights, conveniently intertwine throughout the city and all the major parks for leisure biking.

Part of the effort from the Buenos Aires city government is running the Public Bicycle Sharing Program, which is now also available to tourists. (Go here for registration instructions for tourists). Even though this public bike service is free of charge, they do have their limitations as they are not available all the time and have a maximum of 1 hour per rental.  As cycling becomes a more prominent activity, so do bike rental businesses which offer more flexibility on when and where you want to have a ride. Many of the popular city bike tour companies, like Biking Buenos Aires and La Bicicleta Naranja, offer different city tours as well as bike rentals. There are also companies focus on rental service only like Che Bikes which has longer term rental than others. For those who want to buy a bike, you can easily purchase a new (usually expensive) one at any bike shops you find in town, or try these websites to find a bargain on an used one: Mercadolibre.com.ar (our local ebay-like site), Craigslist or these Facebook groups: “intercambio de bicicletas” and “compra/venta/canje argentina fixed gear”.

If challenging your body to the limit is your thing (including being screamed at while doing this), then there is Bootcamp Buenos Aires for you. You can check out their different schedules and meeting points on their website here, and also sign up there. You will meet up with other people and your instructor will hunt you through the Palermo woods or the Recoleta neighborhood and try to give you the worst time of your life – ENJOY!

Last but not least, we of course can’t put to waste all the beautiful outdoor green space in Buenos Aires without some outdoor YOGA. You can find yoga lessons take place in the Bosques de Palermo (on a nice sunny day) and in different parks in the city on the weekends and they are free to participate. Follow this link to see the schedule and organizers of the free outdoor yoga classes that are currently available during these summer months. For the rest of the year, join “Yoga Gratis en Buenos Aires” Facebook group to keep updated.

Don’t forget to also check out our Part 2: Indoor Edition on How to Stay in Shape in Buenos Aires.

Happy Working out!

 

 

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