Though we’re staying at a fancy hotel here in Tel Aviv, the gym is extra. And really, what’s the point when there are free outdoor gyms on the boardwalk? I’d call them “adult playgrounds,” because that’s what they look like, but you’d get entirely the wrong idea.

Every morning I run on the boardwalk by the Mediterranean. On my “weight-lifting” days I join the random strangers (young and elderly, athletic and not) at one of these gym areas and do pull-ups, push-ups, dips, and that exemplar of classic beach calisthenics, body-weight squats. It’s a perfect way to burn off the sumptuous Israeli breakfast, and there’s enough inspiration around to keep one motivated…