Have you gotten tired of the gym? Is it more challenging to stick to your exercise routine? Is boredom affecting your ability to reach your goals? In this article certified fitness trainer and health coach Gabriel Patterson discusses why variety is crucial to success and gives three compelling reasons why adding outdoor exercise to your fitness regime can provide new excitement to your fitness regime.
1. Improved Mood and Mental Health
Exercising outdoors offers health benefits that are not available in indoor gyms (especially indoor exercise involving looking at a screen). Studies show that outdoor exercise improves overall mood at significantly higher levels than indoor activity. Sunlight and the accompanying enhanced production of Vitamin D is directly related to stress reduction, alleviation of depression, and elimination of anger. Exercising in the outdoor environment also enhances self-esteem and promotes a greater feeling of satisfaction accomplishment when fitness goals are reached.
You don’t need to run a marathon or dozens of sprints to get the benefit of outdoor exercise. Simple walking or yard work provides the same environmental benefits as more intense exercise. If you need a boost in mood or energy at work, take a short walk outside. Outdoor activities like camping, hiking, horseback riding, and other sports also lead to expanded social opportunities.
2. Connection With the Environment and Your Community
Work, social activities, and home life can keep us inside a building, car, or train virtually all day and night. Humans benefit from direct interaction with the environment, and exercising outdoors is a fantastic way to maintain your appreciation for the wonders of nature. Moving around outdoors also exposes you to your community in new ways. You will meet other people interested in the same kinds of exercise you enjoy.
You will almost certainly get the opportunity to meet your neighbors or just enjoy waving and saying hello to other people while out and about. Outdoor exercise is an ideal way to disconnect from screens, social media, and other distractions from your actual physical environment. Enjoying the beauty of the outdoors is a wonderful break from the monotony of pre-packaged living and is a perfect way to deepen your appreciation for our natural environment.
3. Outdoor Workouts Are Usually More Effective
Outdoor workouts usually last longer than regular indoor routines. Your mind has much more exciting stimulus than typically found indoors looking at screens or blank walls, and your enhanced mental energy directly translates to extended physical endurance. Outdoor exercise usually burns more calories than similar sessions inside the gym as a result.
Treadmills and step machines have a few available adjustments, but if you get tired or bored, it is easy to step off. When moving around outdoors, there are all sorts of variations available to keep things interesting. Take a side route or cross a slope or obstacle you haven’t seen before. Also, when you are a couple of miles or so into your trip, you can’t step off of the ride (although you will find that you don’t want to anyway).
About Gabriel Patterson
Gabriel Patterson is a Winnipeg native and certified fitness trainer and health coach who advocates a balanced and healthy lifestyle for his clients. As a lifelong athlete, Gabriel developed a deep interest in physiology and advanced training as a competitive swimmer. He has taken his experience as a personal trainer into the business world as the founder of Patterson Training. Gabriel’s passion for an active and productive lifestyle has led him to his mission of supporting and educating his clients as they discover new health and fitness routines. He emphasizes a nutrient-dense diet for his clients as they recover from sports injuries or seek solid fitness foundations and provides complete nutritional planning and coaching as part of his training services. Gabriel has a strong reputation with his clients due to his positive and supportive attitude and his common sense and transparent approach to coaching and guiding every client as an individual.
