Taking Your Workout Outside

August 05, 2010, By Karl Withakay 1 comment

You can work out in a gym with state-of-the-art equipment and pay $20 or more a month in membership fees, or you can exercise outside in the fresh air for next to nothing.

Running. You don't need a treadmill to run. You may like to run on the treadmill in an air conditioned room but when you run outside, you get a better workout. You will burn more calories while running outside because you will encounter more wind resistance and won't rely on the treadmill belt to move your legs. If you live next to the beach, you can run on sand and burn even more calories thanks to the increased resistance the sand offers.

Bleachers. I'm sure there is a school of some kind near your home. Go out and run up and down the steps of the bleachers there. If you can find some steps outdoors, you can run up and down those, too. This is an excellent way to burn calories.

Biking. Leave the car in the garage and ride your bike to work. Go biking for a whole day on your day off. You'll save money on gas, leave no carbon footprint and get a good workout in the process.

Swimming. If you live next to a river or lake, take a swim. Swimming works a large variety of muscles in your body, making it an excellent workout. It will also give you interesting things to look at under the water.

Rowing. If you live next to a lake or a river, consider investing in a rowboat. You can buy a rowing machine to put in your house and get the same benefits but you can't take that machine fishing. Rowing works a large number of muscles and is an excellent workout.

Now if you've noticed, three out of the five things I've just mentioned don't really seem like a workout to most people. Rowing around a lake in a boat is fun and you get a good workout in the process. The same applies to swimming and biking.

If you're into aerobics or boxing, there is nothing that you're doing in your living room or at a gym that you can't do in your backyard in the fresh air. Doing all of these things in the open air is good for you on so many levels.

The whole concept of working out involves moving and working your muscles. We can do all of that in a large variety of ways outside. Use your imagination. You can get yourself feeling better and looking better in just a few months by exercising outside, and it will cost you almost nothing.