Keep Fit: 10 East End Fitness Resolutions for 2015
New Year’s gets all the hype for inspiring change in your life. Resolve to maintain a healthy lifestyle year-round with the below tips and fitness resolutions.
Get freezin’ for a reason: Start your year off with an exhilarating dip in the Atlantic. Main Beach in East Hampton will host the village’s annual Polar Bear Plunge on New Year’s Day, benefitting local food pantries. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m. and the plunge kicks off at 1 p.m.
Enjoy a month of wellness deals: You’ve resolved to be fit in 2015, and the Hamptons makes it easy to stay on the straight and narrow. Hamptons Wellness Week is now Hamptons Wellness Month throughout January. Purchase a $45 bracelet and enjoy free classes at a number of local fitness studios, as well as 50 percent off various spas and salons. Visit hamptonswellnessweek.com for additional info.
Get outside more: The shortest day of the year is behind us, but the East End will still be blanketed in darkness through the winter. Whether it’s a brisk walk during lunch or longer activity like cross country skiing at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge on the weekend (skis are available free for members), getting a dose of Vitamin D will help fight winter blues.
Check out a winter beach workout: Jimmy Minardi hosts his popular Main Beach workouts year-round. Yes, that’s right, you’re invited to run through the sand even when it’s mixed with snow. Visit minarditraining.com for more info.
Climb the Montauk Lighthouse: There are 137 steps to the top. Get in a workout and enjoy the beauty of the view from the top. Currently closed, the tower will re-open in the spring.
Bike: The East End is a great biking community. If you’re up for a day’s adventure, bike between the villages and hamlets instead of driving. If the trip there leaves you wiped, select Long Island Rail Road trains allow bikes on board, allowing for an easy trip back.
Enjoy a new yoga studio: Working yogis rejoice! Many studios now have a schedule that accommodates the 9–5. Offering surfset, yoga, Pilates and meditation, newly opened Well Within is located just outside East Hampton Village. Also in East Hampton, POE Yoga has hot vinyasa, Minardi Surfer Yoga and indo/board yoga classes, and it’s now open year-round.
Work out in the morning: Though there’s nothing wrong with working out in the evening, exercising in the morning will help you to set a healthy tone for the day. Plus, you’ll be able to say “yes” to spontaneous post-work plans.
Sign up for a race: There’s nothing better to motivate yourself to become more fit than setting a timetable. The East End plays host to a number of road races throughout the year. Among the highest profile are the Shelter Island Run (10K) in June, Southampton’s Ellen’s Run (5K) in August and the Hamptons Marathon and Half in East Hampton in September. Pick a race far enough in the future to allow yourself to properly train, and get to work!
Try something new: This year, I’m resolving to challenge myself every day. Whether it’s related to physical fitness or not, setting inspired goals is key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Cheers to a happy and healthy 2015!