Have you have really wondered when you rolled over at 4:30 a.m. if getting up and going to the gym was really worth it? Is that favorite treadmill worth the struggle? I mean, you are up before anyone one else (except the paperboy), and home before the sun actually rises …all to attain what may hopefully be a “hard body.” Truth be told, a gym membership is a teeny, tiny tip of the ENTIRE piece of the fitness lifestyle.
Leigh Weingus, a senior relationships editor at mindbodygreen points out in her article “Why you should take your workout outside” that the scientific evidence is there to state we need MORE to meet our fitness needs than just our 45 minutes of cardio a day/week to be fit. We also need something to nourish our soul, too. It can make you happier and healthier. The article also points out that you are less likely to get injured and your social life will skyrocket! (The family pooch isn’t the ONLY one who makes new friends at the dog park!) Along with Leigh, I am going to throw my 5 reasons for outdoor fitness and play:
1. I am a fervent believer that fresh air is sooo therapeutic to our health. There certainly is plenty of evidence pointing to this. When your Mom told you to go outside and don’t come in until she called you for dinner when you were a kid, it wasn’t JUST because your were driving her crazy. It helps us think clearer, encourages a healthier appetite and sleep better.
2. Outdoor fitness is so convenient. For most things you only need your shoes! And, frankly, you don’t need those if you are doing yoga, tai chi or something like that. But for the most part, running shoes and appropriate clothing work everywhere!
3. It give others permission to join in something social. Gone are the days of the “front porch sittin'” time, but if your neighbors see you out and about, they are more likely to visit a minute or maybe even join you! How fun is that!?
4. You become more aware of your surroundings. Even if you recreate away from your immediate living area, it will make you aware of what is around you. And that is a good thing. Knowing your surroundings, be it neighborhood, work zone or a business trip jog around a new city, it does our senses good to know what else is in our urban and suburban worlds. Different people, different travel patterns, different geography….different every day….even if it’s the same every day. Our world is in perpetual change; either evolving or morphing into something different. Noticing these otherwise nondescript things we take for granted, green grass, flowers, trees roads, buildings,people……their presence awakens our senses that are otherwise dulled by mere commuter monotony.
5. Outside is FREE!!! You don’t need to pay for it! Other that the equipment you would use for a particular sport, outside is FREE! You don’t have to breath others’ germs, wipe down equipment when done, turn off the lights, hide keys, blah, blah, blah….I can go on and on. Just throwing on shoes and heading out the door in the morning ( or evening) when you need to get exercise in. The daily grind is so much easier when it is easy to do. And when you are done, getting right back into the swing of what the rest of your day consists of is so much easier.
Now, I know there are millions of gym goers that wouldn’t think of NOT having a membership. Some $19 billion is spent on gym memberships annually by Americans. However, just because you have a gym membership doesn’t mean you use it OR it is making you fitter! I just think we sell ourselves short by not getting outdoors to exercise and take it all in. I know there are days, weeks, months during the year, depending on where your live, the conditions are too extreme for outdoor activity. But I am going to guess, you have learned to adapt and overcome the elements just to be living there. There are LOTS of reasons WHY TO belong to a gym. I understand. And I have had memberships in the past. Gotta say…..they weren’t my favorite things. More often times than not I chose the great outdoors! Running, biking, walking, tennis, hiking, yoga…ahhhh.. I love the outdoors. It get rid of the cobwebs!
I have decided to have an outdoor fitness plan. I walk, run, bike and practice yoga outside I LOVE it. I feel balanced and connected to the rest of the world and not through any other medium but by breathing the fresh air and challenging this experienced body of mine to something new every day! The only FREE gym! If it’s for FREE, it’s for ME and YOU!