If you belong to that group of people who feel nauseated just from hearing the combination of the words "move" and "body" or "sports" and "healthy," it's time you took into consideration the impact a lifestyle without physical activity will have on your health when you grow older. And it's not about beauty or having enviable muscles or abs like Hollywood stars. What's it all about is health. Nowadays it's a bit harder to find a balance in life, since our lifestyle has changed radically over the past few years. If you want proof, I suggest doing a little test. Focus on the people you work with or spend time with all day, and consider the way they pass the time and how much they move. I've done it several times, and the results were surprising. Unfortunately, they're rather negative too.

Despite the state-of-the-art technologies and devices we have today, which make getting in touch with other people without having to take a single step easier than ever, and despite the modern cars our ancestors only dreamed about, it's still possible to do something for your body and your health regularly.  

It's not just me; a great number of experts think that the current situation is disturbing. According to the World Health Organization and the data they provided in 2004, more than 70 per cent of adults in Canada suffer from being overweight. And that's the point. Being overweight and obesity are the most frequent causes of non-communicable diseases. That's quite a strong argument in favour of exercise.   

“It's easy to stay in good shape when you're living in the countryside, but what can you do in a huge city like Toronto?”
Honestly, if I were paid every time I've heard this, I'd be very rich indeed.  

In the following lines, I'm going to prove that this is not true. Actually, there is a wide selection of activities you can choose from in Toronto, and here the three most popular.

Biking & Running

I've put together two activities here, because I regard them as very closely related, and many people who like biking run regularly too, and vice versa. As for biking in Toronto, there are lots of nice bike routes you can explore. The Lower Don Recreation Trail, Martin Goodman Trail, Taylor Creek, and Sunnybrook Park are just a few examples. Downtown, however, the traffic situation is not always very ideal. Many streets are congested and dangerous. But the situation is slowly improving, even in theses part of Toronto, and cyclists have a somewhat stronger voice.

So can you think about an activity that's less demanding in terms of equipment and venue? Of course, you can buy a pair of professional running shoes or a professional bicycle, but you can go out and move your body without them too. And if you spent just half an hour biking or running every day, it's still better than not moving at all.


Swimming is a great choice! It is the king of healthy sports, and physicians recommend it to their patients quite often because it stimulates muscles, improves your backbone and body stability, and it's relaxing too. To me, it's an out-of-this-world experience when I plunge into a pool and the water that surrounds me dampens all the sounds on the surface. But I admit that it's far from relaxing when a pool is overcrowded and you can barely move, yet there are dozens of swimming pools in Toronto, so it's not so difficult to find a time when one or two of them are more or less empty. So do not hesitate, and put on your swimsuit at least a few times per month!


Golf has become a fairly popular activity over the past decade, and I think that's its popularity would increase even more were it not for stereotypes and prejudice. The most common is that golf is a game for the rich only. That's actually true only if you want to play with premium golf clubs. But if you just want to play to relax, there are budget golf sets that cost between $200 and $400 available in every bigger department store. Golf may not be the most demanding physical activity, but it still stretches many muscles and it's a great way of relaxing or socializing. Besides, there are dozens of Toronto golf courses suitable both for beginners and experienced players.