Outdoor Fitness is The Best of Wellness
The summer season is over, but that doesn’t mean we can’t continue our fitness activities outside. Few things, like the great outdoors, enhance our mind, body, and spirit. Whether you live in a city, rural area, small town, or suburb, finding reasons to leave the house or office becomes paramount once the weather becomes more enjoyable.
There is still time to have fitness activities outdoors to take advantage of its many benefits. For example, outdoors helps us with longer, more sustainable workouts that ultimately burn more calories and lower blood pressure.
Open-air activities also improve our moods and make us happier. They enhance our mental focus and expose our skin to healthy sunlight, increasing our natural vitamins and self-confidence.
Here are 8 fitness activities that are typically more effective and fun outdoors than inside a gym.
Walking
Wlaking is the most standard exercise known. It requires no equipment, has a low impact on the joints, and is easy and free. Walking burns calories, fights body fat, helps lower blood pressure, improves blood circulation throughout the body, and is suitable for your heart.
Other benefits include better sleep, slowing mental decline, improving cognition, increasing joint mobility and bone strength, and enhancing moods. In addition, walking outside is more enjoyable than being on a treadmill or indoor track when considering sightseeing, people-watching, and appreciating nature.
Fitness Boot Camp
Boot camp workouts are trendy for a good reason. This exercise burns calories, increases strength, and improves endurance, balance, and agility. Boot camps like Operation Triple T lead popular boot camp sessions daily in South Florida.
Operation Triple T says the proper boot camp session should improve physical and mental health. Indeed, a quick look at their website shows that members have confirmed that they feel more focused and driven after completing sessions and have a stronger sense of community. But, most importantly, they see results.
Bike Riding
Cycling is a near-perfect outdoor exercise. It is low-pact, fun for all ages, builds endurance, burns calories, is a practical form of transportation, and is excellent for the environment, especially when an entire community is involved, as you may find in Asia, Africa, Europe, and many other parts of the world.
Inline skating (Rollerblading)
Skating improves balance and stability while your body is in motion by synergistically engaging the core, back extensor, glute, hip, and leg muscles. In addition, inline skating impressively provides aerobic exercise by vigorously working the cardiovascular system and anaerobic benefits through muscle strengthening and toning.
Horseback Riding
Horseback riding is one of my favorite pastimes on this list. Riding horses has many health benefits; you don’t have to be a competitor or rancher to reap the rewards. If you have little experience, consider hiring an instructor. Some benefits include increasing total body muscle toning and core strength, coordination, mental health, and socialization.
Outdoor Calisthenics
Calisthenics is also known as bodyweight training, is strength training. Using the resistance provided only by the weight of your own body brings exponential benefits such as mental and physical well-being. Calisthenics has existed for thousands of years and is still considered one of the best functional and natural strengthening forms.
Many fitness enthusiasts enjoy calisthenics more than other forms of exercise because it requires very little equipment, if any. As a result, injuries are rare (and less severe when they occur), no gym membership is needed, and movements can be performed anywhere.
Outdoor Plyometrics
Plyometrics is what I like to call the sibling of calisthenics. Plyometric exercises use very little equipment and incorporate power aerobics like jumping, skipping, sprinting, and various activities borrowed from calisthenics to increase speed, endurance, and strength. Plyometrics helps build and tone the entire body, rapidly burns calories, and improves balance and stability, among other benefits.
Plyometrics is believed to have been developed in Asia in the 20th century. However, like calisthenics, it has been around for millennia. Popular exercise routines incorporating plyometric movements are boot camp, CrossFit, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), gymnastic ring exercises, and other sports training.
Gymnastic Rings
Gym rings are not only for school and Olympic athletes—not anymore. Today, many websites, YouTube videos, athletic equipment stores, and personal trainers offer gymnastic rings, a form of exercise programming for the average person.
Gymnastic ring training effectively neuromuscular coordination and upper body strength muscle gains. Other benefits include stabilization, proprioception, and training transference.
Before starting any new health and fitness program or taking supplements, it’s crucial to consult with your healthcare professional. They can provide personalized advice based on your medical history and current health status, ensuring your new regimen is safe and effective. This step helps prevent potential health risks and ensures that any changes you make are beneficial and sustainable in the long run. Your healthcare professional is your best resource for making informed decisions about your health and wellness journey.
