Top 5 Outdoor Workouts for Great Results!

Outdoor Workouts are Healthy AND Green!

Almost any form of exercise is good for you. But outdoor workouts are even better!

According to Psychology Today, exercising in The Great Outdoors makes you:

• happier,
• less fatigued,
• less angry, and
• more tranquil and relaxed.

Interestingly, it also bestows a more lasting energy boost compared to indoor exercise.

Of course you can run or walk outside – they’re easy, require no special equipment, green, and can be practiced alone or with friends or in a group.

Related:  Why walking benefits us so much

But there’s so much else you can do. Plus, not all exercises are the same.

To harness all of the total body benefits that exercising outside can deliver, here’s a great round-up of the top recommendations for outdoor workouts:

Outdoor Workouts #1: Tennis

Prevention magazine suggests tennis for an outdoor workout. Here’s why:

• You burn between 450 and 550 calories per hour playing tennis
• Playing tennis exercises all the major muscle groups from your head to your toes
• Tennis is an inexpensive sport available to everyone of all ages
• You enjoy the benefits of socializing as well!

You can always find someone at your skill level by checking with local tennis organizations.

Outdoor Workouts #2: Hill Sprints

Men’s Fitness recommends hill sprints as an excellent outdoor workout to:

• Shred body fat
• Burn calories
• Improve your level of conditioning
• Develop lean muscle mass.

 This metabolic workout uses body weight exercise principles to strengthen your entire body.

You can expect to burn between 200 and 250 calories in just 2.5 minutes of hill sprinting – wow!

(Expert Tip: this is a secret tactic that professional athletes use to burn significant amounts of fat and drop body weight in a very short period of time.)

Outdoor Workouts #3: Jogging in Sand

The Women’s Health website lists jogging in sand as the perfect outdoor exercise.

The increased resistance delivers a 1.6X higher calorie burn than simply jogging on a path.

(Plus, if you run in bare feet, sand goes to work on your feet and toes, removing dry, dead skin). 🙂

While you are at the beach, throw in a couple of games of beach volleyball to burn even more calories.

#4: Body Weight Training

Body weight training is perfectly suited for a great outdoor workout.

You use the weight of your body as resistance, building lean muscle mass while burning fat and calories.

You only need the weight of your own body, but you can also accentuate your workout with monkey bars, benches, chin up and pull up bars and other park equipment.

#5 – Yoga and Pilates in the park

We all have a favorite park or outdoor environment where we like to go to relax.

Pilates and yoga are excellent for relieving stress while also building muscle. They also support your core and therefore your lower back.

When performed outdoors in the sun, you benefit from fresh air and all of the wonderful sights, smells and sounds that Nature has to offer.

Outdoor Workouts are Green

Exercising outdoors brings you closer to nature, and eliminates the need for air conditioning and special equipment.

Outdoor workouts require little or no resources, and so the carbon footprint of these exercises is very low.

And They Work!

Exercising outdoors has been directly linked to an improved self-image, fewer feelings of stress, anxiety and depression and a higher calorie burn than working out indoors.

Get outside today, practicing the above outdoor exercise plans to grab those benefits for yourself!

What type of outdoor exercise is your favourite? Let me know in the Comments below.

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