How to stay fit in Mérida
If working out is important to you, there are a lot of options in Mérida. No matter what, you are sure to get plenty of exercise during the semester walking everywhere, climbing pyramids, and exploring new places, but if that’s not enough for you, here are some other things you can get involved in!
Estadio Salvador Alvarado:
This stadium is located next to MEGA. There is a track that’s almost 1K around it and inside, a regular 400m track. There are always posters for upcoming races also if that interests you. The stadium has many other features as well including tennis courts, basketball courts, soccer fields, weight machines, and a cardio room with various cross training machines.
There are also Zumba classes at the stadium. This semester, classes were on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. It costed ten pesos and generally lasts about an hour. The Salsa class at the Central College house is also a great option for exercise during the week whether you’re signed up for the class or not.
Gyms:
There are also gyms that you can buy memberships for. On Calle 20 there’s a gym called Gold’s Gym, about a 15-20 minute walk from the Central House, where you can take boxing classes. These sessions are 1-2 hours long and the membership is 600 pesos a month. Another gym is the W gym on the Paseo Montejo across the street from Office Depot and 7/11, north of Circuito Colonias. It has a weight room, pool, cardio room, and various classes like dance, zumba, cycling, etc. You buy a card with a certain number of entrances on it; anyone can use the card, so a family or group of friends could share one. The prices are 30 entrances for 990 pesos, 15 for 790, and 25 for 690. It is open from 6-11 every day.
There is also a gym for Pilates. It is located on Calle 13 no. 123 entre 24 y 26, Colonia México. These pilates clases are unique because they use machines. The hours are Monday-Friday: 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Biking:
Every Sunday in the morning the road from the Paseo Montejo to the Centro is closed off to traffic. There are bikes for rent for 10 pesos per hour and you can spend the morning riding bikes. Also on Wednesdays, you can rent a bike on the Paseo Montejo and join a mass of about 500 people and ride to a different park every week. This bike ride would be much longer, probably about 2 hours.
Tip: Heading to a beach to play sand volleyball or soccer is a great idea!