Have you ever taken a walk in the rays of the sun and felt a cool clean breeze on your face? This is one example of movement outdoors and when you take an exercise routine outside, some impressive health advantages can occur.
Consider the benefits of exercising outdoors and how incorporating one or more workouts into this environment could significantly improve your quality of life. From challenging your mind with ever-changing terrain to gaining fresh air, socialization, and an important connection to nature, this workout environment should definitely be taken advantage of.
According to a study by researchers from the Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan which was published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness “Performing outdoor sports and physical activities may bear social, psychological and physiological benefits. Preventive effects are similarly documented in youth and seniors towards several morbid conditions: vitamin D deficiency, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis and myopia” (1).
At AFT coaching we handpick the best outdoor exercise for you. We don’t just show you a routine, we help expertly craft and incorporate that routine into your busy life. If you have never considered exercising outdoors or want to improve your outdoor game, AFT knows how to help you hit the ground running, literally.
Greenspace Exposure
Bringing your workout into an exterior, non-gym environment often means finding a greenspace like a park, field, or nature path that can accommodate various activity routines. Being in this natural environment has been shown to enhance a variety of health benefits. When put to the test, researchers were able to compare indoor and outdoor exercise to determine if there are any physical as well as mental health advantages.
A study titled, ‘The health benefits of the great outdoors: A systematic review and meta-analysis of greenspace exposure and health outcomes’ (2) by researchers from the Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, United Kingdom, found that “greenspace exposure is associated with wide ranging health benefits, with meta-analyses results showing statistically significant associations with” (2):
Heart rate
Reduced diastolic blood pressure
Salivary cortisol (too much cortisol is associated with high stress health compromises)
Incidence of type II diabetes and stroke
All-cause and cardiovascular mortality
Health-denoting associations with pregnancy outcomes
Heart rate variability (HRV)
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) “good” cholesterol
Self-reported health
Neurological outcomes
Respiratory mortality
Increased sleep duration
Some research even shows how simply seeing a green landscape can affect optimal health. One study titled, ‘Adaptive Effects of Seeing Green Environment on Psychophysiological Parameters When Walking or Running’ by researchers from the Sport Science Program at Qatar University, stated “...exposure to green, relative to other colors, slowed down heart rate in walking and increased perceived exertion after 15 min of running...” (3).
Overall, it is our natural instinct to be outdoors and greenspace exposure can certainly improve your health. Even just one outdoor exercise routine can make a world of difference.
Out-of-the-Box Outdoor Routines
You can create an outdoor exercise routine that consists of the many easy choices to integrate such as running, biking, or even yoga. However, sometimes it is best to mix up your routine with some out-of-the-box workouts you can stagger into an unexpected session. It will make your workout an ever-changing routine that challenges your body in different ways.
Some recommended out-of-the-box exercises include:
Rock climbing
Boxing or martial arts
Tai Chi or Qi Gong (slow martial arts balancing routines)
Park bench regimen (incline/decline push-ups and dips)
Hanging crunches (hang from a tree branch or monkey bars and bring knees to your chest)
Slalom rock jump (place six small rocks in a zigzag pattern about one and a half feet apart and keeping your feet together, hop to the outside of each rock then repeat on the way back)
Circuit routine - Choose a good path where you can stop and work out every hundred feet or so. Pick five to ten exercises (push-ups, sit-ups, squat-jumps, Jumping Jacks, etc). Run to each “station” and perform each exercise three times.
Rowing - If you can get on the water, rowing a canoe or kayak is an amazing workout.
Once you choose your workouts (we can help provide ideas) you can navigate exercising outdoors with the advice and assistance of an AFT coach. These are professional experts trained in the mechanics of anatomy and physiology (not just someone who took a month course and became a “trainer”). With this kind of coaching, you can catapult your outdoor routine to the next level, making it that much more fun, safe, and challenging for optimal results.
Simply Walking
Physical activity routines such as high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or a strength-building isometric workout are some excellent outdoor exercise applications. However, if these don’t fit into your wheelhouse at this time, a mindful walk is a good way to get started. Every day (twice per day if possible) walk at a good pace for at least twenty to thirty minutes. Doing this has shown to yield swift health improvements.
According to the Mayo Clinic (4), regular brisk walking can help you:
Increase energy levels
Reduce stress and tension
Improve muscle endurance
Strengthen the immune system
Improve cardiovascular fitness
Strengthen your bones and muscles
Improve your balance and coordination
Maintain a healthy weight and lose body fat
Improve your mood, cognition, memory, and sleep
Prevent or manage various conditions, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer, and type 2 diabetes
It feels good to walk at a swift pace and it is a great way to kick off your outdoor exercise. Try for a morning walk before work and then another evening walk after dinner. Once you feel ready, you can step up to the next level. Even if you simply choose to start with walking, an AFT coach will be with you every step of the way and can help take you to that next level when you are ready.
Find the Best Approach
Taking your workout into the park or even the streets should be fun. Videoconferencing with an AFT coach can help navigate an individualized outdoor exercise program which is essential for experiencing the results you deserve. This unique support gives you an opportunity to save time that would otherwise be spent searching for what works and instead utilizes coaching expertise that puts you in the driver’s seat from the very start. It will also help eliminate discouragement, which is one of the main culprits of throwing one off their good-intentioned exercise game.
An AFT coach will work with you to:
Review your goals
Discuss workout history
Go over the preferred schedule
Agree on what type of approach works best for you
Through a series of phases determined by you, AFT coaching combines implementing a plan with support and expertise. These benefits of exercising outdoors show the importance of linking with nature for improving your mental and physical well-being.
A study titled, ‘The great outdoors: how a green exercise environment can benefit all,’ published in Extreme Physiology & Medicine stated “The synergistic combination of exercise and exposure to nature and thus the ‘great outdoors’ could be used as a powerful tool to help fight the growing incidence of both physical inactivity and non-communicable disease” (5).
Let AFT coaching take you to the next level of outdoor exercise. Our internal quality control measures ensure that when an AFT coach interacts with our customers they meet our rigorous standards. This gives you a bespoke personal training experience that surpasses the industry standard and enables you to catapult to the goals you never thought you could attain, until now.
Our parent company, AF Training Solutions, was founded in 2008. Since then, we’ve grown into one of the largest personal training and coaching organizations in the country. Currently, we operate the fitness departments for about 100 health clubs across the United States. As an organization, we have always had two main areas of focus; the customer experience and company culture. Over the years, we have invested heavily in people, process, and technology to ensure that our customer experience is second to none.
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Sources:
1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30650943/
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6562165/
3. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00252/full
4. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/walking/art-20046261
5. https://extremephysiolmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/2046-7648-2-3