San Diego is synonymous with healthy living and outdoor activity. But don’t just take our word for it. Men’s Fitness Magazine regularly lists San Diego among its top 10 fittest cities. Golf Magazine ranks Torrey Pines at No. 17 in its top 100 courses and Barona Creek Golf Club rates No. 4 golf course in California status from Golfweek Magazine. The Rock ‘N Roll Marathon started five years ago and was an instant success. SingleTap, a company with offices here, developed software for the Star Trac Pro Elite treadmill that lets users beam workout data to their PDA. The AARP brought its National Event Life@50+: A Celebration of You here in September. The gathering included a triathlon for those 50 and older. And for jogging on the sand, well, Coronado is ranked among the top 10 U.S. beaches by the Travel Channel.

The accolades go on.

But why? What is it about fitness and San Diegans? Those in the fitness industry say it started with a climate conducive to outdoor activity and has continued to evolve. Today the region is at the forefront of a trend where both mind and body have become the focus of health programs. The number of day spas locally has doubled in the past two years. Personalized workouts, personal trainers, massage and spa treatments are being touted as an important part of, if not essential, a healthy lifestyle.

“San Diegans are probably some of the most fit people in the nation,” says Judi Sheppard Missett, Jazzercise founder, president and CEO. “First, Southern California itself is sort of the center for health and fitness and body beautiful. And second, because of the weather, people are doing things. They are outside.”

Missett founded her company here 34 years ago and has been exporting the San Diego experience since. Jazzercise had its most successful year in 2002 and Missett says 2003 already is looking better. “We are making more money, we have more students and we have more instructors,” she says. Not only is the program seeing an incredible influx of new people, Missett says past participants are returning.

Missett credits the media for the fitness craze and believes it’s here to stay. Armed with more information than ever about the benefits of exercise and healthy living, people are making fitness a habit and taking better care of their health. People are working out, going to clubs, taking classes, running, biking, swimming, hiking and kayaking. “We are so lucky to live in an area that offers that year round,” Missett says.

Laura Higgins, senior fitness director at the YMCA, says “San Diego is getting fitter by the minute.” The Y has a new program that not only gets members headed down the exercise path, it aims to keep them there. “The eight month exercise program offers people lots of support to get them to be lifetime exercisers,” she says. Higgins is pleased to say the club enrollment trend is upward. She is surprised by the number of clubs in San Diego and how many people are dedicated to attending.

Brian Sciutto, general manger of Purefitness Westside Athletic Club, says San Diegans definitely are fit, but it may be hard to quantify how much more fit than other cities because you don’t see as many people inside the health clubs. “More exercise is done outside,” he says. Sciutto relocated here from Los Angeles two years ago and says he knew San Diego was supposed to be one of the fittest cities, but he was stunned with what he saw. “The trend in L.A. is to go to a health club,” he says. “San Diego is so much more into outside sports.” As weight resistance training gains in popularity, he is seeing more club memberships. Yet with what the weather offers, he doesn’t expect it to reach the levels fitness businesses see elsewhere.

Yoga is among the hottest fitness trends, Sciutto says. “In the past it had a stigma of being just for stretching. There are so many kinds that it can be more intense than cardio kickboxing.” The exercise has earned recognition as a great stress beater for professionals. “San Diego is growing as a city,” Sciutto says. “As bigger companies come here, cost of living goes up, stress of being successful and providing for a family increases.”

Health clubs and spas continue to evolve to meet the public’s needs. “The world of spas has changed greatly since Sept. 11,” says Sean Handler, spa director at La Costa Resort and Spa. “Spas used to be viewed as for royalty. Today spas are about healing and happiness. Massage has been proven to help lower stress levels and improve general health.”

About half of the clientele at La Costa is local. Up for the day, visitors and members treat themselves to a day of relaxation and rejuvenation. Everything from massage to tennis and golf to a rigorous workout is available. If golf proves less than relaxing, new to the resort is sports-specific training services sanctioned by the U.S. Golf Fitness Association. “This is a fitness program that helps the golf game,” Handler says. “We’re trying to make working out not work.”

Spa getaways are relaxing, but can grab too large a chunk of time from a hurry-up lifestyle. In response, spa escapes that take only as long as a lunch break are gaining in popularity. Katherine Stuart is getting ready to open Spa Tiki. The Downtown spa will offer a tropical resort-like setting for guests looking to escape the business pace. “I get at least five e-mails a day asking if we have openings,” Stuart says of her prospective business which is scheduled to open this month. “Because of our location across from the Convention Center, we’ve gotten a number of calls wanting to book out the whole facility. I’m very excited and very encouraged.”

Stuart says her business provides stress management for people who don’t have the time to relax. “They all need a place to go and unwind when they can’t go somewhere for a week,” she says. “They can come here for two hours and get the same feel as being in Tahiti.” Private rooms offer massage and body treatments while manicures and pedicures are given in tropical cabanas.

Whether it is walking on the beach, hiking a mountain, hitting a ball down a lush fairway or signing up for the next workout class, San Diegans seem destined to remain among the nation’s fittest and healthiest citizens.