Online fitness coaching for people in the Birmingham area
The Birmingham metro spreads out from the city across the hills and valleys of north-central Alabama, with more than sixty days a year at or above 90 F, a lot of rain and about a quarter of adults reporting no exercise. Diogo is based in South Florida and coaches online. Birmingham is on Central time, an hour behind me, so your evening call is my later evening, which works.
How the Birmingham area trains, per the CDC’s metro survey
In 2023, an estimated 36.8% of adults in the Birmingham area reported muscle-strengthening exercises two or more times a week (CDC SMART BRFSS, 95% CI 32.9 to 40.7). In 2024, an estimated 26.0% reported no physical activity or exercise in the past month (CDC SMART BRFSS, 95% CI 23.0 to 29.0). Metro samples are smaller than the state survey’s, so read the range in brackets more than the single number.
Daily life in the Birmingham area, by the numbers
From the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, published value and margin of error together: about 11.5% of workers who live here work from home (90% margin of error plus or minus 0.4); commuters average 27.0 minutes to work (90% margin of error plus or minus 0.3); the median age is 38.9 years (90% margin of error plus or minus 0.2); 90.3% of households have a broadband subscription (90% margin of error plus or minus 0.4). Metro-area figures: your own city may differ.
Training through the heat in the Birmingham area
At the BIRMINGHAM AP station (USW00013876, 6.4 km from Birmingham's Census internal point), the 1991–2020 normal July high is 91 F, with 65 days a year at or above 90 F on average, an average January low of 34.9 F, and 56.62 inches of rain a year.
How coaching works from a distance
Diogo is based in South Florida and coaches online. Your workouts live in the Trainerize app, you weigh in twice a week, you send progress photos every two weeks, and we talk on a weekly call scheduled around your time zone. Between calls, you can message me with questions.
About a quarter of adults here report no exercise. What does the first month look like?
Short, simple and hard to fail. The survey figures above say about a quarter of adults in the metro reported no physical activity in the past month, and under four in ten lift twice a week. So the first month is built for someone starting from zero: week one is two sessions of five movements and a daily walk with a floor you can hit on a bad day; week two adds a set; week three adds weight on the movements that felt easy; week four is the first real check-in on how it is going. Nothing in the first month should leave you too sore to come back.
How does the plan handle the heat and the rain?
It moves the outdoor work and keeps a fallback for wet days. With more than sixty days a year at or above 90 F and a lot of rain, the afternoon walk or run is the session most likely to be lost to heat or heavy rain. So outdoor work goes to early morning or after dark in the hot months, lifting stays indoors all year, and a rained-out day swaps the walk for a short session at home. The cooler months are when outdoor training can go back to whatever time suits you, and the weekly call moves the plan when the season turns.
Other metro areas
Up a level: Alabama · How one-to-one online coaching works · How to start lifting weights · A 30-minute workout that still counts · Apply for coaching
Sources
- CDC, Division of Population Health — Behavioral Risk Factors: Selected Metropolitan Area Risk Trends (SMART) MMSA Prevalence Data, 2011 to present (j32a-sa6u). _TOTINDA: BRFSS SMART 2024; _PASTRNG: BRFSS SMART 2023. source
- U.S. Census Bureau (data.census.gov table API) — American Community Survey 5-year 2020-2024 (ACSDP5Y2024.DP02/DP03, ACSDT5Y2024.B01002). DP03 (0024PE/PM): ACS 2020-2024 5-year, published value and 90% MOE; DP02 (0154PE/PM): ACS 2020-2024 5-year, published value and 90% MOE; B01002 (001E/M): ACS 2020-2024 5-year, published value and 90% MOE; DP03 (0025E/M): ACS 2020-2024 5-year, published value and 90% MOE. source
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information — U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020), v1.0.1, DOI 10.25921/wck8-er13. noaa-jul-high: 1991-2020 normals; station USW00013876, years of record July TMAX 28, January TMIN 28, 90 F days 28, precipitation 30; noaa-jan-low: 1991-2020 normals; station USW00013876, years of record July TMAX 28, January TMIN 28, 90 F days 28, precipitation 30. source
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information — U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Annual/Seasonal Climate Normals (1991-2020), DOI 10.25921/4ek7-fk11. noaa-days-90: 1991-2020 normals; station USW00013876, years of record July TMAX 28, January TMIN 28, 90 F days 28, precipitation 30; noaa-precip: 1991-2020 normals; station USW00013876, years of record July TMAX 28, January TMIN 28, 90 F days 28, precipitation 30. source
- Source: CDC. Materials developed by CDC; the data are available on the agency website (data.cdc.gov) at no charge. Use of this material does not imply endorsement by CDC, ATSDR, HHS or the United States Government of Diogo Fitness or its services. Reference to specific commercial products, manufacturers, companies, or trademarks does not constitute its endorsement or recommendation by the U.S. Government, Department of Health and Human Services, or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- This product uses Census Bureau data but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau. ACS figures are 2020-2024 5-year published estimates and margins of error retrieved from data.census.gov, the Census Bureau's own server (keyless table endpoint).
- Palecki, M., Durre, I., Applequist, S., Arguez, A., Lawrimore, J. (2021). U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020), https://doi.org/10.25921/wck8-er13, and U.S. Annual/Seasonal Climate Normals (1991-2020), https://doi.org/10.25921/4ek7-fk11. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Normals are 30-year station averages and apply less well with distance from the station.