Benefits of Training Outdoors
Are you wondering whether to sign up for a gym or take your exercise outside? Considering if outdoor training is better than a gym workout? Outdoor activity offers you countless benefits across many different aspects of your life. Explore the advantages of training outdoors and discover why exercising outdoors is an outstanding choice for your health.
Physical Health
Exercising outdoors offers many unique advantages to your physical health, including the following.
- Vitamin D: Want to get some vitamins with your workout? Since your body synthesizes vitamin D when the sun hits your skin, training outdoors in the sunshine can help you get more of this fat-soluble vitamin! Vitamin D is particularly beneficial to your immune system and bones.
- Oxygen: Exercising outside lets you enjoy every deep lungful of fresh air. You get more fresh air, surrounded by trees and plants. The outdoors also smells better than a sweaty indoor space for this very reason.
- A naturally resistant workout: While indoor exercise equipment offers various levels and settings, it also has you repeat motions in a specific sequence. Outside, your body must stand up to different levels of wind, temperatures and potentially varied terrains, which naturally provides your muscle groups with more challenges to get every part of your body working.
- A good workout: A workout outdoors does not have to be any less rigorous. A fitness circuit at a park or outdoor area can still provide full strength training and cardiovascular work, and you can modify your routine to be as intense or gentle as you need.
- Immune strength: As you exercise, the increased blood circulation lets immune cells travel better through the body, helping you fight off diseases and stay healthier.
While exercising already aims to increase your physical health, taking your workouts outdoors can offer additional advantages. As you build heart health and muscle strength, you can also boost your immune system and challenge your body by exercising outside.
Mental Health
While any form of exercise can boost your mental health, exercising outdoors further increases these perks. Consider these benefits of training outdoors for your mental well-being.
- Increases serotonin and norepinephrine: Seratonin functions as the body’s natural mood stabilizer, lessening anxiety and depression symptoms. The brain produces norepinephrine in the area that controls emotions and reactions to stress, allowing this chemical to help you cope with stress. Working out in the great outdoors can release more of these neurotransmitters to increase your mental health.
- Releases endorphins: When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins, which can improve your mood and trigger feelings of happiness. The presence of endorphins can help decrease depression and anxiety, boosting your mental health. Being outdoors surrounded by greenery and fresh air can additionally increase endorphins’ effect.
- Decreases effects of seasonal affective disorder: In the winter, many people develop a form of depression due to colder weather and shorter days. Exercising outside can help alleviate SAD symptoms by increasing exposure to natural sunlight, greenery and nature.
- Eliminates loneliness: Because there is limitless room outside, you can invite family or friends to exercise with you, adding a social aspect. Combating isolation can help decrease the effects of mental illnesses.
Help strengthen your mental health by exercising outdoors. Whether you want to manage your stress or reduce symptoms of specific disorders, outdoor fitness can help you accomplish these goals.
A New Workout Environment
Many people prefer to exercise in specific locations, like gyms or on workout equipment in their home. However, changing your scenery and trying something new can offer many unique advantages.
- A changing landscape: How long can you spend watching the person in front of you in spin class? One of the significant benefits you can experience by heading outdoors is that you’ll feel less like a hamster on a wheel. Outside, you can see the changing landscape, notice the weather and welcome each season throughout the year. You can even head to different outdoor spots to mix up your workout and keep things exciting and fresh.
- Room to move: Have you ever been to the gym in January and waited forever for the next machine to open up? The outdoors has lots of real estate where you can exercise, so you’ll have plenty of space for your workouts.
- Cost savings: You don’t have to pay for classes or exercise equipment to enjoy an outdoor workout. Look for public parks with fitness circuits, and enjoy recreational spaces and walking trails, often with minimal or no fees.
- New challenges: Exercising outdoors is physically and mentally challenging because the terrain can change every day due to factors like weather conditions and the presence of other people.
- Accessible: Exercising outdoors allows you to go where you please without any restrictions. Many people can step outside their homes and begin their fitness routine without having to wait for availability in classes, traveling to gyms or paying fees to use equipment.
As you plan your next exercise session, consider moving it outdoors to discover how changing your scenery can benefit your routines and fitness.
Ready to Enjoy the Benefits of Outdoor Physical Activity?
If you want to help your community reap the benefits of outdoor fitness, equipment is essential. Choosing the right fitness equipment helps you create a welcoming, inclusive and durable fitness area in your park, school or any other outdoor space. PlayPower Canada can help you customize your fitness area for your specific needs.
When you work with PlayPower Canada, you’ll get professional advice and support to help you get the exact fitness space you want. We carefully test our equipment to ensure it comes from the most trusted brands in the business, so you get fitness equipment that meets or exceeds all safety standards and will last for years, making it a wise long-term investment. Contact PlayPower Canada to discuss our wide array of fitness equipment and fitness circuit solutions today!