Fitness Influencer Sara Hunt Shares Her Favorite Ways To Enjoy Summer In Chicago
This post is in partnership with Toyota.
Whether it's the lazy afternoons spent laying out on the beach, or nights spent sipping cocktails at your local rooftop hangout, there are so many reasons to love and look forward to summer. It's a time for respite, fun in the sun, and adventure. But as any Chicagoan can tell you, there's something particularly special about "Summertime Chi." The vibes in the Windy City are on 100 when the temperatures rise, and the city literally comes alive in the most magical way.
Chicago-based personal trainer and fitness influencer Sara Hunt knows this all too well. The Grand Rapids, Michigan native came to Chicago for college in 2008. After falling in love with Chicago, she decided to stay and put down roots in the bustling city. And the summers spent in Chicago really underscore her love for the Chi each year. "My favorite thing about Chicago is 'summertime Chi,'" she tells xoNecole. "There's just so many festivals and things to do. There's a plethora of really good food, whether it's healthy or not-so-healthy food. Summertime in Chicago is unmatched [compared to] other places, with the amount of [activities] that are available to you."
Just like the Toyota Corolla Cross, Sara is always on the move. She's a mom with a busy career who maintains an active presence in the gym. Throughout all of life's demands, Sara is diligent about showing up for herself. It was her motivation to make fitness a lifestyle in the first place. But that discipline has carried her through in so many ways. "I used to put everybody else before me. Now, I put myself in a category that I would put other people in," she tells xoNecole. "I'll even put it in my calendar that I need to book a massage or go and get my nails done. Because if I don't do that, then sometimes my own personal things will go under, be left behind."
She sees her fitness journey through the same lens: a way of giving back to herself that isn't motivated by external sources. "Before getting serious about my fitness journey, I was starting and stopping. I wasn't really doing it for myself. I had a boyfriend at the time and it felt like I was trying to look good for him. And then when I started [working out] for me, that's when I started to love it."
See Sara's Chicago city guide below:
Swallow Cliff Stairs, 8999 W 123rd Street Palos Park, IL 60464
"There is a place in Palos Hills, a suburb of Chicago, called Swallow Cliffs, and there are these massive stairs. Sarah. It's very daunting to look at. People look at it and think, 'I don't know if I'll be able to survive.' But all the extreme fitness people will drive from the city to go here. One round is up and down, and then you have to walk around [to go again].10 rounds for me takes about an hour. So there's that."
Cryobar, 1205 W Webster Ave, Suite 1 Chicago, Il 60614
"I love going here to get cryotherapy done. It's the equivalent of taking an ice bath. There are a lot of benefits to getting cryotherapy. For instance, if you did a really intense workout and your muscles are really sore, doing cryotherapy helps out with that soreness so that you can continue working out the next day and not be in pain."
Lou Malnati's, 439 N Wells Street, Chicago, IL 60654
"I think Chicago has the best pizza, and I can agree with other Chicagoans that deep dish pizza is overrated. We like tavern-style pizza, and we have the best. Don't get me wrong, we have great deep-dish pizza too, but that's a touristy thing. There's a place called Lou Malnati's, and they're my favorite place to get pizza. I personally like veggie pizza."
Mesler Chicago, 1411 East 53rd Street | Chicago, IL 60615
"One of my neighborhoods to hang out in Chicago is Hyde Park. I personally feel like that's an area where it is pretty diverse and it's also safe. There's a lounge in there that I like to go to sometimes called Mesler. It has a nice little upscale vibe to it. The drinks are great and it's the perfect place to take someone who is visiting from out of town."
Lake Shore Drive
"Everyone's favorite place for a drive in Chicago is Lake Shore Drive. It's the perfect place to just clear your mind, see the city, and look at the skyline. And if you go when the sun is setting, it's the most beautiful time to drive down because you'll see the sun setting on Lake Michigan which is breathtaking. And then you see the skyline. I think Chicago has one of the best skylines, but of course, I'm a little biased."
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Why We'll Probably Never Hear Lupita Nyong'o Share Her Relationship With The World
Lupita Nyong'o is sharing a transparent look into her life after a recent breakup.
In a cover story for NET-A-PORTER, the A Quiet Place: Day One star shed light on the significant heartbreak she experienced following the end of her relationship with ex-boyfriend and TV host, Selema Masekela.
As a public figure, Nyong'o, 39, sought to divulge the news of the breakup in hopes of presenting a more authentic perspective on the pain that follows a separation.
"I was living in a lot of pain and heartbreak," she told the publication. "I looked at the environment of my social media and thought I don’t want to be a part of this illusion that everything is always coming up roses. Surely there is a lesson for me to learn in this, and I just want to be real about it."
The Black Panther star went on to explain that her choice to be transparent with her fans about her breakup came from the certainty she felt after ending the relationship. “In my mind, when I shared my relationship status with the world, it was because I felt sure about it,” she said.
While she didn’t know how the news would land with her fans, she found relief in knowing she wasn’t alone in her experience.
“I knew how it could be interpreted; I knew it would have a life of its own,” she reflects. “But then I started to see the comments and people were being so loving and supportive. The ones that moved me the most were other people sharing their pain and their heartbreak.”
Nyong'o and Masekela went Instagram official in December 2022, publicly announcing their relationship in a couple's video. In October 2023, Nyong'o took to her personal Instagram account to share the news of her breakup in her caption, writing, "At this moment, it is necessary for me to share a personal truth and publicly dissociate myself from someone I can no longer trust.”
She continued the vulnerable note, "I find myself in a season of heartbreak because of a love suddenly and devastatingly extinguished by deception. I am tempted to run into the shadows and hide, only to return to the light when I have regained my strength enough for me to say, 'Whatever, my life is better this way.' But I am reminded that the magnitude of the pain I am feeling is equal to the measure of my capacity for love."
These days, Nyong'o tells NET-A-PORTER that she is prioritizing profound self-discovery that extends beyond her career. She notes having a deliberate and unhurried approach to understanding herself.
She also alludes to keeping her relationships private moving forward after noting it was "very, very sage" of her not to talk about her private life professionally in the days before her last relationship. "I'm going back to those days by the way," Nyong'o shares of her reinstated boundaries around her personal life.
Earlier this month, Nyong'o made headlines alongside her new boyfriend actor Joshua Jackson. Nyong'o and Jackson went through public splits from their respective SOs in October 2023, with the latter splitting from his long-time partner Jodie Turner-Smith following her divorce filing from the Dawson's Creek alum.
The pair have been spotted together as early as December 2023, but nothing screamed "couple" quite as loudly as their recent getaway to Mexico for Nyong'o's 41st birthday featuring passionate displays of affection.
"Our purpose in life is to love. And so you have to get back in it," she tells the outlet, seemingly alluding to her budding new romance.
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Featured image by Taylor Hill/Getty Images