River North Personal Trainers, at Home or at Work

The Merchandise Mart is full of offices and showrooms, and if you work there or nearby, a trainer can come to your office as easily as to your apartment. If your days start early, a 30-minute session before work in an office gym or a cleared conference room gets it done before the first meeting. A 45- or 60-minute session at lunch works too, where your employer allows it. You can also split the week, with one session at the office and one at home, and the equipment comes along both times.

Much of River North's housing is in high-rise towers, with a handful of galleries still scattered among them. That gives you more than one place to train, and you don't have to pick just one. Use the building's fitness center for heavier work when management allows outside trainers, stay in your unit on mornings you'd rather not leave, and take it up to the rooftop deck on a calm day if your building has one. We've also run resident fitness programs in buildings such as Exhibit on Superior, Parc Huron and EnV.

The North Branch runs along the west side of River North, and Ward Park's riverside promenade has benches and shade trees that suit walking lunges, incline push-ups and a cool-down stretch by the water. On the east side, Washington Square Park is a smaller green square with a garden, good for mobility work. Across the main branch, the Chicago Riverwalk gives you a waterfront path for tempo walks between strength sets. In warm months your trainer can take any session outside, then bring it back in when the weather turns.