Doing exercise outdoors has many benefits for our health. Having direct contact with fresh air and sunlight can prove wonders for your physical and mental health. According to some research, getting outside in fresh air and sun every day can cure cancer. Amazing, isn’t it?
No doubt that your gym has some advanced types of machinery which help you achieve your fitness goals in a shorter time. But outdoor exercises, be it a brisk walk or run, will have long term effects on your body and mind.
In this article, we will tell you all the reasons why you should ditch your gym and go outdoors for your exercise routines more often. So, let’s get started!
The 9 Amazing Benefits of Outdoor exercise
Here is the list of amazing and helpful benefits of outdoor exercises:
1- Outdoor Exercises are Easy on your Pocket!
Mother nature is free for everyone. You can do outdoor exercises without spending a single penny. All you need for your outdoor exercises is a park or a running track. Some of your community parks also have special exercise areas if you want to do something more than running or walking. While in the gym, you have to pay heavy membership fees, which can sometimes be hard on your pocket.
So exercising outdoors can help you save some bucks, besides having tons of benefits for your health.
2- Benefits of exercise and sunshine all together
Sunlight is essential for health. You will agree with us that spending some time under the sun in beautiful weather can instantly cheer up our mood. It is because our body releases hormones called “endorphins” when it is exposed to sunlight.
Also, sunlight is an excellent source of vitamin D, which is an essential vitamin for maintaining your bones’ health Vitamin D helps in the absorption of calcium into the bones and makes them strong.
So, go outside and soak some sun. But do not forget to apply your sunscreen before heading out because it will protect you from the sun’s harmful rays.
3- Exercise in Fresh Air
Fresh air, without any doubt, is the best featureof outdoor exercises. You feel more fresh and active when you do exercise in fresh and pure air. Breathing in the fresh air can improve your brain functioning, boost your energy, speed up the healing processes in your body, and detoxify your body.
A park’s air with many trees is so much pure and fresh than your gym’s air. Your gym might have an air purifier, but it can never be as good as the fresh air.
4- Helpful for your depression
Outdoor exercises are beneficial for you if you have depression. Going out for exercise or a walk releases two important hormones. First one, Serotonin, also known as the happy hormone, provides you with the feeling of well-being and happiness. The second one is endorphin, a hormone that helps you in feeling good.
So, if you are suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD), depression, or anxiety, try incorporating an outdoor walk in your daily routine; it will help you in feeling good and fighting your depression.
5- Outdoor Exercises are a Source of Motivation
It is proven that people who do outdoor exercises are more likely to stick with their exercise routinethan those who go to gyms. People are more consistent with morning or evening walks because they are comfortable and do not feel like more of an everyday chore.
So, if you are worried about not getting hooked to your exercise regime, try doing some outdoor exercises. You might get stick to your outdoor exercise regimen.
6- Excercise turned into a hangout
Everything seems fun with friends and family. You can plan workouts or walks with your family and friends at any time of the day as per your convenience. Unlike the gyms which have fixed timings. It will also motivate and help you sticking and performing your exercises better when you are with your loved ones. It also provides you with the opportunity of interacting and meeting new people.
So if you are planning to meet your friends or your family members, just plan for a fun walk that will be good for you and your nearest and dearest’s health.
7- Outdoor Exercises Challenge your body
Outdoors exercise can help you in challenging your body without being hard on it. As your mind is more active in the fresh air, you will try to be more creative with your routine. For instance, if you have run 2 kilometres on a day, your mind will motivate you to run for an extra kilometre on the next day.
It will provide you with a sense of accomplishment and motivate you to do more. In contrast to the gym, where you keep running miles and miles on a treadmill belt without thinking.
So, if you like to challenge your body and want to do something good and hard, mother nature has various options for you. For example, you can go for a hike one day, and the next day you can bike ride on some slope.
8- Cure to many diseases
Outdoor exercises like brisk walking and running can help in curing a lot of diseases like;
- Hypertension
- Diabetes
- Cancer
- Cardiovascular diseases
- Strokes
- Lower the level of harmful cholesterol in your body.
So, besides,making you healthy and fit, outdoor exercises have a lot of advantages that will help you in the long run.
9- Burn more calories
As in an outdoor environment, you have to face mother nature forces like wind, cold, hot, and gravity. You have to work much harder than the work you did in your regular gym and will burn more calories.
Wrapping up
In these times of the hustle and bustle, outdoor exercise can provide you with peace of mind. A peaceful walk at the time and place of your choice, alone or with your friend can give you more happiness than you think. Outdoors exercise can allow you to do to exercise at your own pace.
So, if you plan to shape your body or just want to have a healthy lifestyle. Give a try to outdoor exercise.You will be amazed after trying all the exercises for the first time and feel a visible change in your body.
