August 29, 2021 - Rudi Witkowsky's time as the second Zagreb Digital Nomad Ambassador is coming to an end. The South African reflects on the Croatian capital as a fitness destination for digital nomads.
In Rudy's own words...
I worked remotely in Zagreb online as a business consulting expert and online fitness professional.
After a long day of working on client projects and providing/filming online workouts I too need a break from work and would seek my own personal therapy through finding different locations to work out and healthy eateries to eat from.
Fitness studios:
Orlando Fit
I signed up to Orlando fit for roughly 380 Kuna per month and 50 Kuna once off joining fee. I was super impressed by facilities and service at Orlando. It was more of a luxury training facility. It consisted of a sauna, functional and yoga fitness area, boxing ring, Pilates studio, crossfit arena and the state of the art fitness machines and fully loaded weight/strength and cardio section. Not mention excellent Wi-Fi.
The quality of the machines was excellent, and each machine consisted of a sanitizing solution for your use. Everyone was fit and took their health seriously. It is located right next to the Canopy Hilton Hotel so there was no reason not to break away for a quick sweat if you worked from the co-work space.
The gym has showering and drying facilities together with locker rooms.
After a workout you can always grab a protein shake or coffee on the go where you can select a single serving with many different flavors to choose from. They also have vegan options.
They have 3 working desks which I used a few times to work from.
Truly a gym that is of a world class standard. I loved it and had everything that you need and more.
Adidas fitness studio in Zagreb:
A boutique fitness studio in the heart of Zagreb. The fitness studio is situated above the adidas clothing store. It offers personal training, Pilates, Spinning and many group functional workout classes such as ab attack, full body body pump. If you love group training this is definitely for you. The facility is all white and black with amazing natural light and energetic trainers that is sure to get you burning a sweat. I had the honour of Leading a spinning class at the facility and sound quality and energy in the room is incredible.
They also have a book room area and area for your kids to play at. The book room area and training facility is the perfect combination to keeping your mental health in a good state.
It a very relaxed training facility and offers one on one coaching if need be.
The facility consists of weights, resistance bands, T- rex bands, bosu balls, yoga mats and spinning bikes. I would definitely recommend this training facility if you love to be social at gym and love the idea of group training. The facility is close to BIZKoshnika co working space and is perfect for a quick sweat session.
Jarun Lake
I loved Jarun Lake. It is perfect for all outdoor enthusiasts. It is perfect to break away from the city life and workout within nature. Jarun consist of walking, running and cycling track around a lake. It is about a 6km loop and perfect if you prefer running, cycling or even just going for a nice walk.
Other options include roller blading and skating. That looked like a lot of fun.
If you are more of a water baby, you can swim laps within the lake or canoe from one side to the other.
Other sporting options available at Jarun consist of beach volleyball, beach hand ball and football.
After a quality workout you can grab some lunch or a good coffee at one of many near by cafes.
I loved Jarun and personally went for a run around the lake.
Green parks
Within the city you will find many green parks- it is unbelievable as it is right in the center of the city and feels like another world. It is great to relax your mind and take a break from the concrete jungle. I would do workouts in the park.
No equipment is needed. Just set aside 20 minutes and do a body weight workout within the park:
Suggestion:
Squats - 1 minute
Bear crawl - 1 minute
Jumping jacks - 1 minute
Push ups – 1 minute
Ab crunches – 1 minutes
Repeat the above set 4 times. Rest for 1 minute of your 1 round of 10 minutes.
Explore Zagreb:
Another option is to explore the beautiful Zagreb and run through the city. I did this and was the perfect way to see the city. Or you can run a few laps around the horseshoe which is absolutely beautiful.
Indoor and outdoor pools:
Zagreb also has many indoor and outdoor pool facilities if you love the water and swimming. I personally never had the time to try this out, but if I had more time I would definitely do this. Swimming is one of the best exercises you can do with minimal impact on your joints and body. Perfect if you suffering from an injury or merely want to prevent injury.
Healthy eateries:
Dolac farmers market:
This was one of my favorites: This organic farmers food market in the center of the city has all your fresh veggies and fruits. It was one of my personal favourites as many a time I picked up fresh veggies for cooking. This is a local market and consists of organic produce freshly picked. The market closes at 3pm so be sure to get your fresh goods before.
I loved the fresh berries and was ideal for snacking during summer while on the go. The market is well priced.
You can also find fresh and quality cuts of different meats and cheeses.
Roots café:
Zagreb has a few healthy eateries to choose from. I personally loved Roots Café which has many healthy green smoothies and smoothie bowls. They are more vegan focused which is amazing to see. They even go as far as providing noodle straws (bio degradable straws) and offer quality protein smoothies I loved the perfect purple bowl and green tropical smoothie.
Melt Brunch bar
Another spot that I loved which offers healthy meals is Melt. They offer many vegan and healthy alternatives with a trendy vibe. Great place to grab a healthy smoothie and work from.
Good food:
I spent a lot of time at Good food. They have many health salad bowls that you can choose form with fresh ingredients. You also have the option of choosing your own ingredients and making your own fresh salad. Absolutely loved it for a quick healthy meal post workout.
Healthy stores:
Bio&bio is an amazing healthy store where you can find all natural vegan options, vitamins and healthy snacks on the go. It is the perfect wellness store which caters to all your health needs.
Studenac market: I few stores offered freshly squeezed orange juice which was amazing and perfect refreshment during a hot summer’s day.
More and more people in Zagreb are focused on their health and wellness especially since the pandemic and it is amazing to see. More and more restaurants offer healthy alternatives and more sporting facilities are popping up. As a digital nomad you should not have a probably staying fit and healthy in Zagreb although the smell of the bakeries can try to lure you in the wrong direction. Wink* Wink* I got caught off guard a few times lol.
I was impressed to see that they have a Herbalife Nutrition store in Zagreb for all your supplement needs I am a Herbalife distributor and was impressed by the store so if you need your protein supplements should me a message and you can pick them up at the health store.
I hope that you found this article useful. If you are not sure of what home workouts to do and do not have any equipment feel free to sign up to my home online body weight workouts via my app ( pre recorded and live). Only $10 USD per month for unlimited access with the first 7 days free.
www.sudor.fit/about/rudiwitkowsky
For more news and features on digital nomads in Croatia, check out the dedicated TCN section.
