Fits on the Road: Fitness in Tampa

By: LL
As I posted here, I have been at a work conference in Tampa for the last few days, which means incorporating my fitness routine into my busy work schedule, while away from home and all of my regular fitness goodies. But, like a true road warrior, I was able to make it work - 3 days of fitness on only one fitness outfit! (Yeah, it is probably pretty smelly now).

This conference was held at the Tampa Convention Center, which is located right downtown on the bay - just across from St. Petersburg and Sarasota. Beautiful area, but lots of traffic. I stayed at the Embassy Suites next to the convention center. This hotel had a nice enough fitness center, which I used the second morning that I was there. The center only had two treadmills, two elliptical machines, one chair-style stationary bike, and some free weights and medicine balls. Whereas each of the machines had a TV, there was not a hook up for your headphones, so everyone was competing with each other for volume, and everything was crammed into a tiny space. Glad that I got to the free weights and mats before everyone else so that I could stake claim on an area.

{Very cramped space}

{Minimal free weights, but the window outside helped with the space issues}

The first day that I was in town, it was a beautiful morning and I didn't have to be at the conference until an hour later than the other days. So, I spoke to my concierge and inquired about a good route to run outside. I wish that I would have brought my camera! The route was approximately 4.5 miles and was out around the bay, into the Channelside Neighborhood, passed the Tampa Aquarium and into Ybor City (the historic Cuban town). It was a great run, and since I was out before 7:00 am, it was still cool.

The last morning that I was in Tampa, it was raining in the morning, and I didn't want to brave the tiny gym again, so I popped my Corepower Yoga Sculpt DVD into my computer, pushed aside my "sitting room" furniture and set up shop with what I could find (bathroom towel and hotel bottles of water for weights). I am glad that I threw this DVD into my bag at the last minute. I recommend that to anyone traveling, pack a good standby fitness DVD, which is perfect in case the hotel doesn't have a good gym facility or, like me, the weather is not conducive to running outside.

{Hey, sometimes you have to make do with what you have}

Fitness on the road in Tampa - I'd give it a 6 out of 10. The run is what saved this area! And, of course, there were a couple of hours of relaxation poolside, where I tried to give these pasty legs some color!

On a side note: if you have a few hours before flying out, check out International Plaza (exit 40A off of I-275 S) - lots of great shopping!! I definitely made a stop at H&M and Loft before catching my flight.