The weather may not be as cooperative in the fall and winter, but there is still ample opportunity to take your workout outdoors. Taking your workout outdoors not only boosts your mood, it burns more calories (think hills, wind, uneven terrain.)
Here are 8 ideas for adding more fresh air to your workout:
1. Make working out an adventure. State parks and metro parks have an abundance of hiking trails set amidst beautiful scenery that changes with each season. If you like to run, take advantage of the varying terrain to improve your agility and kinesthetic awareness..
2. Go back to school. Most junior highs and high schools have tracks that are accessible to the public. Quarter-mile tracks make it easy to track your distance and they are also “give” more than concrete and cement, lessening the impact on leg joints.
3. Head for the hills. Hills, especially sledding hills, can really turn on the burn. Running hill repeats, side skipping, and walking backward uphill works every leg muscle and challenges your cardiovascular system as well.
4. Play like a kid. When was the last time you did the monkey bars? It’s hard! Wear a pair of weight lifting gloves (available at most all-purpose stores, such as Wal-Mart or Target) to protect your hands and give the monkey bars a try. Challenge yourself to try pull-ups and chin-ups too.
5. Play with your kids. You’ll earn your smoothie after an afternoon game of tag, kickball, flag football or catch with your kids. As an added bonus, children who have active parents typically grow up to be active adults, so you’ll be setting a good example.
6. Take your equipment with you. If you have small hand weights, weighted balls, resistance tubing and/or a jump rope, consider taking it with you to the park. Park benches can double as weight benches, railings can be used as an anchor for resistance tubing.
7. Learn something new. Tennis, basketball, swimming, cycling, kayaking, horse back riding and rock climbing are just a few activities you can try.
8. Sites and Cityscapes. Take your elastic tubing and tie it around you waste, then head to the nearest set of stairs (think Rocky in Balboa here). Go for a jog, run up the stairs, use the railing as an anchor for your tubing, then knock out a set of squats. If there is a hill nearby, try walking lunges up the hill. No railing in sight? Use a tree, or even a parking meter. Be creative – that is half the fun!
Filed under: Cardiovascular Training, Exercise Program Design, Gear, Motivation, Outdoor Fitness, Weight Training on November 7th, 2008 | No Comments »