There are several good gyms around town.  Unfortunately, they tend to charge money.  And as a new arrival at GTS, money is something you probably don't have a lot of.  Luckily for you, there are many free exercise opportunities around town.

Swimming: Savannah is conveniently located close to the ocean, where you can swim a long way without running into the other side.  However, the ocean is full of lobsters and jellyfish and yuk, so you may want to swim closer to home.  Savannah has many convenient low-lying areas, which are perfect for swimming after any rainstorm.  Be careful swimming in flooded areas, because if by some miracle one of the storm drains works, you could be left flopping on the pavement, which can be embarrassing.  The Savannah River is a good place to swim, provided you are able to hold your breath long enough for a container ship to go over you.  The ability to dive deep enough to get below the propellers might also come in handy.

Biking:  There is no safe place to bike in Savannah .  You may notice groups of bikers on Jimmy DeLoach occasionally, and think that means biking is possible.  Think again!  Notice that they start off in groups of ten or twenty.  They're hoping that one of them might survive the trucks and make it back to tell the fate of the other nineteen.  Motorcycle riding, while not a widely accepted form of cardio exercise, is possible if you join one of the local biker gangs.  Ask Mike Potter.  He might be able to tell you which gang is right for you.

Weight Training:  Right.  Most of you are engineers, or work with engineers.

Running:  There are a lot of places to run around town.  If you're crazy, you might want to run during daylight hours.  But you may have noticed that it's like a million degrees during the day, so try running at night.  Some people like to run around the ring here at TEC.  Those are the people you see the next morning lying on the ground saying, "Whee! Stop the campus, I want to get off!"  If you want to run someplace more exciting, try these popular locations:

         Port Wentworth:  If you get out to the west of I-95, there are tons of little country roads that are great for running, as long as you don't mind everything being pitch black.  Just pick a road and start going.  It's bound to hit a road that brings you back.  Right?  If you get on a road that you think is taking you the wrong way, you may be tempted to turn off onto one of the many railroad tracks in the area.  Don't do it!  Those books about trains you had when you were a little kid were full of lies.  Yeah, it seems like you could walk along the ties, but they're not all the same distance apart.  But that's okay, because they're not the same height either.  And they're covered with weird metal parts that apparently help switch the trains around.  And it's dark.  And if you're wearing headphones you're always worrying that a train is sneaking up behind you.  And it's dark.  Not that I have any personal experience or anything.  Oh yeah - cutting through the woods to get across to the other road?  Also sounds good in theory, but you know those giant spiderwebs you see in scary movies?  Those came from the Georgia woods at night.  And you can't see them in the dark.  Until you bounce off of them, which makes the huge spiders agitated.  But not half as agitated as you are.

         Downtown:  Running around the squares and riverfront is picturesque, but you're trying to run, not take pictures.  Running around the historic district doesn't really get you much exercise, because the weight of all those years of history slows you down.  However, if you start out at the riverfront and start running south, after a while you'll see friendly locals just standing around on streetcorners.  Some of them may approach you.  Now THAT's when you get some cardio!  Keep track of your sprint times - they'll probably be personal bests.

         Railroad Track Trail by Fort Pulaski :  This is an okay place to run.  It's about three miles out to a creepy giant tree in the middle of the marsh, so you get a little rest on the first half because you dread getting there. 

There are various pieces of fitness equipment here and there along the trail.  The adrenaline rush you get from running may make you think you can use this stuff.  Don't try it!  You'll just end up hanging from some bar, or caught in some rings, waiting for someone to come rescue you.  The really great part about this run is that you get a mouthful of bugs with every breath, so you won't get hungry halfway through your run.

         Tybee Beach :  Great place to run if you're wearing really big shorts.  If you pull them out to the side, you should be able to tack into the wind and really get some speed going.