Sports
Athletic Lunchtime
Don't waste your lunch hour in the staff room. Glenview is full of mid-day exercise adventures.
Get out and get active. Unless you have an important meeting with your boss or a client, your coworkers most likely will not notice if you return from your lunch break a bit sweaty. Keep gym shoes and deodorant or body splash in your car, and use the free hour to your body's advantage. After all, you have the rest of the day to sit at your desk.
Be Creative
Physical health is a lifelong process and if keep your body moving, and it will thank you with years of activity. Luckily, Glenview is littered with parks and lots of opportunities to be active. Put "park" in your GPS device, and chances are you can find one that's within a mile. When you're there, check out a playground; they are health clubs in disguise and can give you a dynamic workout without even realizing it. Try to find pull-up bars and balance beams or walk up slides to work your legs and core.
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The Glenview Park District maintains a more than 10,000-square-foot workout facility, Park Center Health & Fitness, 2400 Chestnut Ave. And, if you're looking for something free, an indoor eighth-mile track circles the open gym area, added Elizabeth Gogola, director of marketing for the park district. The path also includes circuit stations around the track and an indoor pool perfect for swimming laps. For $6, you can enjoy access to the aquatic facilities, including a post work out dip in the hot tub.
In the winter, Flick Park, 3600 Glenview Rd., and Johns Park, 2101 Central Rd., are home to sledding hills. In the fall, however, these hills are natural incline treadmills. Just a few treks up and down the hill will work your entire lower body: gluts, calves, quads, etc. When you're going down the hill, you will be forced to engage your core to control your speed.
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Getting to a Gym
If you're looking for some direction, check out one of a handful of gyms and personal training facilities within the city limits. Among these, Activation Fitness is open to lunchtime clients, and the team of trainers will help increase strength and performance within that hour. Even if you're only able to spend 30 minutes, it's still worth the trip.
"We work on the muscles that are weak to help improve the function of the muscle and improve range of motion," explained Steve Dam, owner of Activation Fitness.
If you'd enjoy a more independent approach, grab a yoga mat, and turn practically anywhere into temporary gym. Dam recommends squats (one or two legs), planks (front or side), lunges and pushups for a quick full-body workout. If you have a resistance band, Dam suggests you bring one along. Wrap the band around your ankles for some side squats or lunges.
"Resistance bands are safer than weights because you can control the resistance a little better," he said.
Local gyms:
Activation Fitness
1940 Lehigh Ave.
847-730-5531
activationfitness.com
Curves
9725 N. Milwaukee Ave.
847-581-9725
curves.com
GH Personal Training and School for Healthy Living Glenview
1410 Waukegan Rd.
847-220-7980
ghfitness.com
Park Center Health & Fitness
2400 Chestnut Ave.
847-657-3249
glenviewparks.org
Snap Fitness
1527 Waukegan Rd.
847-724-7627
snapfitness.com
Doing it the Old-Fashioned Way
If you'd like something that requires less imagination, try a walk. All you need for a lunchtime stroll are walking shoes. Walking improves your cardiovascular health and decreases your chances of cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and others. If you keep appropriate clothing in your car, go for a run.
Conveniently, the village has more than 8,000 acres of parks. Take advantage of them! A number of the parks feature paved walking trails that are open from dawn to dusk. If you have access to a bike or skates during lunch, try riding these paths. Skates, pads and helmets are easy to store in a car and you may even be able to convince your employer to store your bike at work. Better yet, think about biking to and from work— It's economical, environmentally responsible and healthy.
Check out:
Community Park West, 1001 Zenith Dr. (1.48 miles)
Countryside Park, Countryside Ln. (.3 miles)
Catherine W. Crowley Park, 749 Huber Ln. (.5 miles)
Flick Park, 3600 Glenview Rd. (1.5 miles)
Gallery Park, Chestnut Ave. and Patriot Blvd. (4.8 miles)
Ladendorf Park, 2541 Harrison St. (.2 miles)
Swenson Park, 901 Shermer Rd. (.5 miles)
West Fork Park, 1950 Westleigh Dr. (1.65 miles)
Willow Park, 2600 Greenwood Rd. (.7 miles)
Winkelman School, 1919 Landwehr Rd. (.4 miles)
