Gym desert

Posted - Feb. 13, 2009 - 7:32 p.m.

My RedEye cover story last week dealt with gym deserts, which are areas that don't have a gym or a fitness center. The concept comes from food deserts, which are areas without grocery options.

To find these gym deserts, I researched and then plotted 179 gyms on a Chicago map. There were several gym deserts located on the South and West Sides.

I chose to go to Washington Heights on the South Side to talk to residents there about how they work out. Most of the residents I chatted with said they had to drive for 35 or more minutes to go to a gym, while others didn't even want to make the effort so they set up home gyms or relied on workout tapes. Luckily, though, the Chicago Park District has recognized several of these gym deserts and they plan to set up fitness centers there this year.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the North Side, Loop and Near West Side are teeming with gyms. Residents I talked to from those areas said gyms were so abundant that some of them had two gym memberships. But these residents also felt pressure to look when they work out or work out to look good.

Do you live in a gym desert or a gym oasis?