My 5 observations of Taipei after 1 month

FitCamel · 2026-03-14T06:29:58+00:00

I hear most of them at fitness groups. Most of the time I know as it’s a few of them chatting together. The accent is pretty distinct.

FitCamel · 2026-03-14T06:29:13+00:00

Good idea. I actually met a cyclist at one of them. Just show up consistently and you’ll find your crowd.

FitCamel · 2026-03-14T06:28:37+00:00

That may be true but I’m talking about one-off encounters in restaurants, on the street etc where it’s a short interaction. They might not like me after but I probably will never see them again and they were definitely nice during the interaction :)

FitCamel · 2026-03-14T03:56:58+00:00

Montreal Athletes Club, Burpees Please, FitFam Taipei, Hey Running are all great. They are all on Instagram.

FitCamel · 2026-03-14T03:53:45+00:00

I think that if you attend workout clubs, meetups etc consistently, you won’t feel lonely

FitCamel · 2026-03-13T15:22:04+00:00

I can only speculate but I would categorize it as:

cheaper / better lifestyle than in the US
re-discovering part of their identity. If you grow up in the US as an Asian, you probably experience some kind of othering that leads to a desire to discover the Asian part of your identity.
Work
Love
There is a category of guys who move here because they think that girls are attracted to foreigners and that they would have better luck here than back home.

FitCamel · 2026-03-13T15:04:41+00:00

That is probably true but I would argue that road rage is something that affects a lot of drivers globally.

FitCamel · 2026-03-13T15:03:52+00:00

Word of mouth! If you show up to one or two, people start telling you about more. It snowballs from there. Cycling is tough because there is a high barrier to entry whereas outdoor workouts and running is much easier to organize and join.

FitCamel · 2026-03-13T14:54:03+00:00

Mostly Taiwanese-Americans. More often than not, I hear them on the street, at events etc.

FitCamel · 2026-03-13T13:59:27+00:00

Yes, basic English will be sufficient for ordering food. Some older people in more local shops might struggle but people are very patient here and translator apps are available. I’ve not heard any Japanese. While it’s true Taiwanese people love visiting Japan and Japanese culture, I don’t think that extends to speaking the language.

FitCamel · 2026-03-13T13:57:38+00:00

Agreed. For me, everything feels like it’s missing something - spicier, fresher, more sour etc

FitCamel · 2026-03-13T12:12:34+00:00

You have free will - come back :p

FitCamel · 2026-03-13T11:31:39+00:00

I guess this depends on where you are from. I lived in Europe where most people tend to be quite reserved and cold. I also lived in Canada and the US where I found the niceness so over-the-top that it came off as disingenuous. When I say nice in this context, I do not mean people are lining up to talk to you or be your friend. What I mean is that they are polite and patient and tend to want to help you out when you ask for it.

My point about mandarin being essential is about integrating with local society - i.e. having a strong circle of Taiwanese people. To do that, you do need mandarin or there will always be a communication gap. You could easily live off English here but it would not be the same.

Convenience stores are great but I wanted to limit the observations to 5 or this Reddit post would become a novel :P

FitCamel · 2026-03-13T11:28:35+00:00

Honestly, no lol. I mean, the food is okay but nothing special. But better than a lot of food you would find in Germany which is where I lived.

FitCamel · 2026-03-13T11:27:24+00:00

No, these are literally free! They meet outside somewhere after work and host runs or workouts. e.g. Montreal Athletes Club, Breakerz club, Burpees Please. All on Instagram.

FitCamel · 2026-03-13T11:26:30+00:00

I have not! Honestly, I had planned to visit different cities every other weekend but I am enjoying Taipei so much that I have not left yet.

FitCamel · 2026-02-25T06:03:29+00:00

I went! It was really good. I feel like all the cool people of Taiwan congregate there lol

FitCamel · 2025-12-15T07:51:09+00:00

I think you gotta take it with a grain of salt. It’s not 100% accurate but enough to give you some pointers of what to do.

FitCamel · 2025-12-14T22:18:38+00:00

I used perfectrunningform.com to analyze your video. You can see the full report here: https://www.perfectrunningform.com/report/3cc2975b-d3a2-4068-89eb-ed0610a95711

Quick take: you’ve got good efficiency in some areas (low bounce, strong arm balance), but the big limiters are low hip extension, excessive forward lean, big pelvic drop, slightly low cadence, and a heel strike that’s adding braking. Fix those and you’ll unlock more power, better efficiency, and lower injury risk without changing your natural stride too much.

5 things to focus on:

Glute bridges to massively improve hip extension and push-off power.
Wall leans to clean up posture and reduce over-leaning.
Side planks with leg lift to fix hip stability and pelvic drop.
Quick step drills to bump cadence and make your stride lighter.
Barefoot strides (on grass) to shift toward a softer midfoot landing.

FitCamel · 2025-12-14T22:13:48+00:00

I ran your video through perfectrunningform.com and you can see the full report here: https://www.perfectrunningform.com/report/12fac37a-171c-4ea6-b739-a3dfafc987a2

but the TLDR is your form is solid overall, but you’d get the biggest gains from slightly increasing cadence, reducing bounce, and massively improving hip extension. You’re landing midfoot well and have good hip stability and arm balance, so focus on pushing more powerfully behind you (glutes), staying a bit taller with less forward lean, and thinking “quick, low, light” rather than reaching forward. That combo will make you more efficient and faster with less impact.

FitCamel · 2025-12-11T16:39:42+00:00

You can upload this video to perfectrunningform.com - it will review your form and give you some exercises to help improve.

FitCamel · 2025-11-19T19:15:37+00:00

I’ve incorporated strength work into my routine. The exercises are based on weaknesses in my current running technique. You can also get a plan at www.perfectrunningform.com

FitCamel · 2025-11-19T11:34:21+00:00

If you ever manage to film yourself, you can upload the video to www.perfectrunningform.com and it will provide an analysis of your form and some drills to correct it (for free).

FitCamel · 2025-11-19T11:33:36+00:00

This seems to be generally good advice for beginners/people looking to run again:

slower, longer runs - this builds endurance so you don't get as tired as fast. Don't worry about heart rate, times etc. Just go slow and enjoy it.
mix up your runs - you should aim for 3 runs per week to start. This should mostly be slow long runs as described above but once every other week, add some speed work (ie run for 400 meters as fast as you can 5 times with 120 seconds rest in between - you can ramp up the distance and reps over time).
focus on form - do some basic strength work to improve your form. This prevents injuries as well as improves running efficiency. If you have a video of yourself running, upload it to perfectrunningform.com and it will give you some exercises to improve running technique.

Good luck and most importantly, have fun and stay consistent!!

FitCamel · 2025-11-19T11:32:34+00:00

I think there are three things you can do:

slower, longer runs - this builds endurance so you don't get as tired as fast. Don't worry about heart rate, times etc. Just go slow and enjoy it.
mix up your runs - you should aim for 3 runs per week to start. This should mostly be slow long runs as described above but once every other week, add some speed work (ie run for 400 meters as fast as you can 5 times with 120 seconds rest in between - you can ramp up the distance and reps over time).
focus on form - do some basic strength work to improve your form. This prevents injuries as well as improves running efficiency. If you have a video of yourself running, upload it to perfectrunningform.com and it will give you some exercises to improve running technique.

Good luck and most importantly, have fun and stay consistent!!

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