Outdoor Workouts

I would like us to delve into this topic by first talking about the benefits of working out outdoors. Studies have shown that outdoor workouts, in natural environments have tremendous positive effects on our self-esteem and mood. This is especially so for people suffering any form of mental illness like depression or anxiety. 

Some of the other benefits of working out outdoors include

1. You’ll workout longer.
   It appears as though time moves at half-speed when you’re running on the treadmill. Legs already tired, thighs heavy and your heart’s already racing but you’ve only been on the treadmill for 2 minutes, seriously?

   On the contrary, outdoor workouts help you feel more awake, energized, attentive, happy, and calm as well as filling you up with a lot more positive emotions overall than indoor workouts hence, you’d want to stay longer hours working out outdoors while drawing additional energy from mother nature.

2. You’ll burn more calories
   Whenever we workout outdoors, we tend to be less focused on how tired we are or by how much our muscles ache as our brains are a lot more active and attentive to the environment while we’re working out.

   There’s probably beautiful scenery around to distract you, obstacles to avoid, and fresh air to help with your breathing as well as so many other things going on around that your mind might subconsciously be processing. This helps you to focus less on your workout and its impact on the body, making you workout for longer periods, and burning more calories in the process.

3. A different atmosphere can help recharge our mind
   Maybe it’s time to step out of that stuffy and dark gym you have in a corner of your house to the fresh air, brightly shining, nature filled outdoor setting for your workouts. This change in the workout environment alone is enough to help recharge your mind, significantly improve your mood and make you feel better about why you even need to exercise in the first place.

4. Improves your general sense of wellbeing and leaves you happier
   Being outdoors in the natural environment generally helps in reducing the body’s stress-response reactivity, improves our immune system functioning and lowers bodily inflammation. A study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, explains that the body’s physical contact with nature, like; hands on a rock, bare feet in grass, nature’s breeze on our skin etc. help us to feel more connected to the earth, and generally boosts our wellbeing.

5. It’s more enjoyable
   If for nothing else, let us soak in the fresh air and gain cleaner lungs. Fresh air helps to cleanse our lungs because it brings more oxygen to our body, thereby boosting our energy levels and mental health.Regular outdoor exercise is one sure way to get more oxygen into your system, improve your mood and make your workout time a much more enjoyable experience.  Besides, aren’t you bored of having to perform the same exercise routine every day? Trust me, once it’s outdoors, everyday feels different.

6. It’s Free
   Outdoor workouts are usually free of charge. Exercise parks, sports tracks and fields, stairs and other exercise locations outdoors provide you with new training places to diversify your workout and these locations are usually open to all, free of charge.

7. Be a lot more creative with your routine
   Break the routine! Take advantage of the unfamiliar workout environment to test your creativity with items, objects, slabs, walls, slopes or anything else you see around you. Take your workout to another level by trying out something new every now and then. Make your workout routine unique, more effective and refreshing!

Outdoor Workout Tips

Working out outdoors could just be as simple as lacing up your favorite pair of running shoes and hitting the road. It could also be in the form of a group activity involving family and friends. However you choose to go, making it an enjoyable experience for you would require some proper planning. Here are a few tips you can note down to help you when next you decide to workout outdoors.

1. Decide what exercises you’d want to perform. 
   There’s virtually nothing you can do indoors that you can’t adapt to an outdoor setting. Whether it’s a HIIT workout, No Equipment workout, Take a Mat abs workout, or any other combination you choose.

Adopt these simple exercise routines for a more effective outdoor workout.

Outdoor Exercise Ideas

• Hiking
• Cycling
• Swimming
• Running

Total-Body Outdoor Workout Circuit

• Park-Bench Dip. 
• Park-Bench Push-Up. .
• Tightrope Walk. Targets calves, quads, core. 
• Side Shuffle. Targets glutes, inner and outer thighs, quads. 
• Side Step. Targets core, obliques, glutes, upper back, shoulders.
• Step-Up. Targets quads, hamstrings, glutes. 
• Hanging Crunch. Targets abs. 
• Slalom Jump

Also, some ideas on the order with which to carry out your outdoor routines:

1. Start by training larger muscle groups like the chest and back before moving to smaller muscle groups like the triceps and biceps.
2. Train your lower body first before moving to your upper body i.e if you intend to train both within one session.
3. Carry out strength training before cardiovascular exercise i.e if you intend to train both within one session.

Setting up an outdoor workout routine

A complete outdoor workout session might look like what you have below:

1. 5-minute gradual jog to warm up.
2. 5-minute jog at any pace (you decide the pace before you start)
3. 20 squats.
4. Another 5-minute jog at your desired pace.
5. 15 pushups.
6. Another 5-minute jog
7. 10 walking lunges (10 per leg)
8. 5-minute walk to cool down.
9. Measure out a sprint path of around 20-30 metres long and dash out. 
10. Take some time off and get chatty with a friend or some friends. Enjoy the sunshine, try to walk for at least another 30 minutes and if you can convince your friend, you can make it a brisk power walk, that’s even better.
11. Now is the time for a JUMP! I like to jump the stairs at the park or what I call “jumping frogs’. At this point, just listen to your body and do whatever feels right for you. For me, I usually like to smash out laps around the park in the freestyle stroke until I’m reasonably puffed. Then I top it all up with jumping frogs. Feel free to just walk up and down a staircase, working on your breathing and enjoying a podcast while you’re at it.

Make sure to train safely, you don’t want to compromise on your form. The last thing you want to start worrying about is an injury problem.

Last but not least, it’s time for some well deserved 20-25 minutes deep stretches or foam rolling exercise to get your circulation flowing and your muscles relaxed. I call it Recover and Reconnect.

Take out some time to stretch, to recover and rest our muscles as this is a very important part of the whole drill. I personally love to play some chilled music in the background while doing this, with my scented candles lighted while I’m making a conscious effort to truly experience that mind-body connection. 

Remember

• You are not your shape!
• You move in order to feel alive!
• Moving more doesn’t always mean burning off more!
• Embrace enjoyable movement! 

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Disclaimer: Please note that while I am a health coach  by profession, I am not YOUR doctor. This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice nor does it establish any kind of medical relationship between you and me. I will not be held liable or responsible for any damage resulting from or related to your use of this information.