Online fitness coaching for people in the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin area

How the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin area trains, per the CDC’s metro survey

In 2023, an estimated 40.2% of adults in the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin area reported muscle-strengthening exercises two or more times a week (CDC SMART BRFSS, 95% CI 38.3 to 42.2). In 2024, an estimated 22.1% reported no physical activity or exercise in the past month (CDC SMART BRFSS, 95% CI 21.0 to 23.2). Metro samples are smaller than the state survey’s, so read the range in brackets more than the single number.

Daily life in the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin area, by the numbers

From the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, published value and margin of error together: about 17.7% of workers who live here work from home (90% margin of error plus or minus 0.2); the median age is 38.6 years (90% margin of error plus or minus 0.1); 91.9% of households have a broadband subscription (90% margin of error plus or minus 0.1). Metro-area figures: your own city may differ.

Training around a long commute in the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin area

Commuters who live here average 30.3 minutes to work (90% margin of error plus or minus 0.1), per the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

A long commute shapes the week here more than the weather does, so the plan is built around it first.

Climate in the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin area

At the CHICAGO MIDWAY AP 3SW station (USC00111577, 13.5 km from Chicago's Census internal point), the 1991–2020 normals are a July high of 85.2 F, a January low of 19.5 F, 20.9 days a year at or above 90 F, and 40.88 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.

How does training survive a Chicago winter?

By not depending on the outdoors from about December to March. The station figures above put January lows in the teens, and the dark evenings matter as much as the cold: the walk after work stops happening in November for most people. So the plan moves the daily movement floor indoors or to lunchtime, keeps the strength sessions where they are, and treats the first snow as a scheduled change rather than a reason to stop. Winter is also the easiest season to make progress in the gym, because nothing outside is competing for the time. Spring brings the outdoor work back.

I commute downtown. Where does training fit?

Around the commute, not after it. With a mean commute over half an hour, an evening session after the train or the drive is the one most likely to lose. If you have work-from-home days, and the figure above says a good share of workers here do, the harder sessions go on those days. If you go in every day, one session moves before work, near the office or at home, one goes to the weekend, and a short session covers the rest. Two sessions in a bad week still count. The weekly call is where we move them when the office schedule changes.

City pages in the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin area

• Naperville
• Elgin

Other metro areas

• Denver area
• Atlanta area
• Charlotte area

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