If you are a member of a gym, that’s fine, you still need to do your resistance workout at least twice a week to keep your muscles and bones healthy and strong, but I am a strong believer in outdoor activities. You can get and stay in excellent shape without a gym membership. You can get in shape while doing your workout outside and have more fun with it. It is great to do any kind of cardio-exercise in the gym, I almost never do my cardio-workout inside.
My favorite outdoor activities :
- Running out of my house to the closest park – do few sets of chin ups on a bar or tree branch, push ups, leg lifts for your abs and run back
- Swimming – in an outdoors swim club, lake, ocean
- Rowing – It is great to row on the lake for an hour in the summer and jump in the lake for a short swim after. When I was in a rowing team, I was in the best shape of my life
- Kayaking – you can buy your own kayak and a kayak rack for your car and get out on the weekend to the lake or ocean and get your great cardio-workout done and have lots of fun with it. You can do double kayaking with a fried or wife, husband or just make it a great date
- Surfing – If you live close to the ocean, become a surfer. Pick easy, safe spot and start surfing. I am a surfer and these is my favorite outdoor activity. It is a great cardio-workout and you practice your balance too.
- Playing – soccer, tennis, beach volleyball, beach soccer – you need to pick games where you run a lot, so it is intensive, while you have fun with your friends. I love beach and ocean, and it can be the best place to play volleyball or soccer.
- Hiking, or more challenging – Summiting, which means, climbing the hills in your area is a great cardio-exercise
- Biking – Bike to work if you can and connect your workout with commuting
- Walking – If you are looking for more relaxing outdoor activity, walking is fantastic mind relaxing thing to do. There is a huge difference between walking on the treadmill in the gym and walking in a beautiful park or your neighborhood
- Cross country skiing – the best endurance-exercise
Benefits of working out outside:
- Great feeling
- Fresh air
- Healthy moderate sun exposure (you really need some)
- Increased immunity system – You don’t get sick that often
- Relaxed mind
When you are out there on the beach, in the woods, in the park, don’t forget to pick up a piece of trash – plastic bag, or piece of garbage, on your way out to keep the nature beautiful.