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Do you want to learn some outdoor exercise ideas so you can be a healthier person? When you exercise outside, it can be freeing. Think about how confined you can feel in a place like a gym, and it makes sense that working out outside is a nice thing to try out.If you want to learn a few exercises you can do outside, read on below.
Best Outdoor Exercise Ideas
1.Walking
Walking is the most basic form of exercise and it’s very effective. Instead of driving to the store, for instance, you can walk there and back to get some exercise. Or, you can plan to walk just to be outside and can go somewhere nearby and back. Either way, you want to find a place to walk where you feel comfortable like in a park or to a place that is outside of the city a little bit. Walking on the side of a road can be stressful if there are a lot of cars so you may want to avoid that if possible.
2.Hiking
You can go hiking if you have any trails near you. When you go on a hike, make sure you follow the trail that is already there and that you don’t veer off the beaten path too much, so you don’t get lost. It can sometimes also be dangerous to go off of a path because there may be things like cliffs that you could fall off of. Most of the time, a trail is best to follow and if you’re not sure about what’s outside of the trail you shouldn’t try to go outside of it.
3.Outdoor Workouts
Another of the great outdoor exercise ideas you can get here is to do your regular workouts outside. If you lift weights, for instance, you can bring your bench into your yard and do the weightlifting outside. If you don’t feel comfortable with your neighbors seeing you do your workouts, you can always go into your backyard if you have one or find a space that is secluded to set up your workout equipment. If all else fails, you can always find a place outside of the city a little bit that is secluded where you can drive to and then work out outside.
4.Crossfit Outdoor Workouts
Crossfit is another type of training that perfectly works for outdoor physical activities. Many of the CrossFit routines can be executed with the use of body weight and do not require any type of equipment to perform the exercises.
5.Kayaking
When you want to work out outside, you can try kayaking. This is a great way to work on your upper body strength because you’ll be doing a lot of paddling when you go kayaking. If you don’t have the right equipment for this, there may be a local place where you can rent the equipment for a day or two if you wish to. When you go out to kayak, make sure you pick a place that isn’t too dangerous like rapids where there are a lot of rocks in the way.
6.Biking
If you have a bike, you can try biking around your city. A lot of cities are bicycle friendly and have lanes where you can ride down the road in. But, if your city is not that friendly when it comes to bicycles, you may want to find a place like a mountain biking path that is outside of the city a little ways. Either way, you can bike and get a lot of your energy out. This keeps your lower body healthy due to all the peddling that you have to do.
7.Running
Running is a great way to exercise and get your body active. You can run through your neighborhood and then back to your home or you can go to a gym to run on a treadmill. There are also marathons you can train for and then go through that will get you quite a bit of exercise. If you’re planning to run a lot, make sure that you’re in good shape to do so. You may want to run the idea by your doctor in case you have issues like high blood pressure that you need medication for before you start running.
8.Rock Climbing
Rock climbing is a lot of fun for a lot of people. You basically just have to find a place indoors that has rock climbing walls or a natural rock formation nearby that people use for climbing. Either way, you’re going to want to make sure you are safe when you are climbing up high rock faces. You’re going to want to have some kind of safety line set up in case you start to fall. It may be wise to train with someone that knows a lot about rock climbing before you try do it on your own.
9.Tennis
Tennis is something that you can play if you have a court near you. Some gyms may also have a tennis court in them. When you play tennis, you’re going to be running around a lot and will be using your upper body. So, this is a great workout for people that want to work on their upper body strength and their cardio. When you play tennis, you’re going to need someone to play with, or you’re going to need to find a place that has a machine that serves balls to you that you can hit back.
10.Basketball
Basketball is a game that a lot of people love to play. You don’t even need someone with you to play a game if you just want to shoot some basketball on your own. There are games you can play with two people like “horse,” where you spell out the word horse every time you miss a goal. Then, the person that spells horse is the loser after they spell it out. There may even be teams in your area that you can join. You’re going to want to practice no matter what you’re playing when you play basketball so you can work on your shots and things like rebounding.
11.Swimming
Swimming is a great way to exercise and there are a lot of places to go swimming outside. Even if there isn’t a place nearby that has a pool, you may be able to find an outdoor location like a lake that you can swim in. Whatever you decide to do, don’t go swimming if you are not sure about the area like near a dock where there could be some undertow to compete with. If you end up in a current, you could get pulled under the water so you want to swim in designated areas only.
Exercise plans for the outdoors in books or on video can be a great way to get into good shape. When you’re going to work out with a plan in mind that you learn from a resource like a book or DVD, you’re going to want to look up reviews on it first to make sure it’s actually an effective way to exercise. Sometimes, there are trend exercises that come out that aren’t that good and that people end up not liking after they try them out. Reviews will keep you from wasting money on outdoor exercise ideas that just don’t work.
Benefits of Outdoor Exercise
Numerous studies comparing the benefits of outdoor exercises and indoor workouts have revealed that exercises performed in natural outdoor environment offer benefits for mental well-being and are associated with a significant increase in energy and a decrease in stress, depression, confusion, and anger.The study participants experienced greater enjoyment and satisfaction than those who exercised indoors.On the other hand, those who exercise in this way are more likely to return to the activity.
None of the studies measured the effects of outdoor physical activity on overall well-being and health compared to indoor exercise or the impact of natural environments when performing these exercise regimens. As a result, it is thought that the benefits related to this type of activity have probably been associated with the mind-body connection.Obviously, more detailed research is needed to better understand the relationship between mental and physical health and outdoor activities.
Disadvantages of Exercising Outdoors
Despite its benefits, outdoor exercise also has its weaknesses because if the exercises are performed in a highly polluted environment, you might find yourself inhaling fumes and toxic gases found in the atmosphere and the effect could be reversed and affect your health.It is also important to remember that in the fall you have to take extreme care, such as wearing suitable breathable clothing and keep hydrated because in cold weather, although it does not look like it, you also lose a lot of fluid.In hot weather, use plenty of sunscreens, choose light clothes and drink plenty of water.If you live in a large city, you should try to practice the exercise routines in parks or garden areas avoiding the busy streets and especially during rush hours when the air is more polluted.
Outdoor Group Exercises
Another factor to consider is the effect of outdoor exercises performed collectively with groups of people.Social integration is known to have very beneficial effects on your health, increasing life expectancy and improving your mental state.Group exercises help people feel more motivated.Look for local physical training classes, such as yoga, tai chi or aerobics, that are performed outdoors in parks and local recreational areas.
These outdoor exercise ideas can be used by anyone that wants to be healthier. There are a lot of things you can do to work out outside, as you can now see. You want to make sure that you are working out on a regular basis if you’re going to be as healthy as possible. Make sure you take and use the advice you were given here so you can feel and look your best!