The image above was taken about 500 m from my front door on a typical daily stroll. Theisendammen really is a lovely little dam, especially on such a quiet day. But it doesn’t feel quite so little when you’re swimming a couple of lengths on a long Norwegian summer’s day!

When winter comes around, it gets transformed into a large, natural ice-skating rink. We usually get a precious couple of weeks at the start of winter when there’s no snow yet and the surface is one continuous slab of perfectly smooth black ice. That said, I’m certainly not complaining about the skating paths that are created after the snow arrives:

As winter comes into its own, the cross-country skiing season kicks off, and we’re treated to 120 km of well-prepared ski tracks. After a solid snowfall, I can clip on my skis right outside my front door. Otherwise, it’s about a 2-minute walk. After 10 km and a solid 300 m elevation gain, it’s fun to take a well-deserved break at a cabin with a view like this:

These lakes and mountains are also fun to explore in the summertime. If you’re lucky, you can even encounter some wildlife!

For the more serious hikers, two hours will get you to sights like these:

You can even get there by cross-country ski (although it’s much more effort than staying on the nicely prepared tracks). But in the end, the view is always worth it (so is the off-piste descent).

In the more mundane day-to-day, cycling or rollerblades with ski poles gets me to where I need to be. Whenever we’re not in a global pandemic, the 200 m elevation from the office back home sure gets the lungs pumping, but it’s the perfect mental wind-down after the workday (and the long shower after this ascent creates another little daily highlight).

The weekly groceries are 200 m away (about 60 bicep curls with well-weighted grocery bags). So is the pharmacy, bike shop, wine outlet, and post office for picking up anything else that was ordered online.

So, have you guessed the identity of this mystery fitness tool yet?

It’s the location of your home.

With my home located in this environment, my VO2max hovers consistently around an excellent level of 60 ml/kg/min without the need to spend any willpower (or money). I walk, ride, ski, skate, rollerblade, and swim because it’s fun, revitalizing, and highly convenient. Fitness (and general wellness) just happens as a natural by-product.

I’ll readily admit there was plenty of luck involved in my move to Norway, but the decision to buy my first property in this particular location was no fluke. The few days of research I invested in finding a location with perfect access to nature, the office, and the grocery store ranks among the most lucrative in my entire research career.

Sure, we can’t all live next to a picturesque Norwegian mountain. But, since the world’s best fitness tool is such a well-kept secret, I’m sure everyone who makes the effort can live this dream.

With the rise of remote work and the continued expansion of online retailing, settling down in the perfect location is now simpler than ever before. When proximity to the office and brick-and-mortar retailers is no longer a factor, the options at your disposal expand tremendously.

So, the next time you’re thinking of moving, see if you can get the world’s best fitness tool included in the deal. As far as strategic life decisions go, it doesn’t get much better than this! 😊