Benefits and Drawbacks of Fresh Air Fitness
Hey, you! Yes, you wondering whether to lift weights or take a jog! We need to talk about where to put those trainers – indoors, or out? It’s a debate as old as the treadmill: is it better to go to the gym or to go outside? Let’s settle it.
The Great Outdoors: It’s Not Just About the View
Pros of Getting Out:
Scenic Motivation:
Eye Candy: It might be a cliché, but working out in a beautiful place can be a huge boost in motivation. Think of running along a riverside, cycling down a wooded pathway or downward-dog facing a pond. These places don’t just make you happy – they also encourage you to exercise longer and harder than you would by staring at the four walls of the gym.
Updating Views: With changing seasons comes changing views for your workout. From the hues of turning autumn leaves to the crunch of first snowfall, a burst of spring flowers or sunny summer day — there’s a different feel that can reinvigorate your exercise routine and keep you motivated all year round.
Natural Dose of D:
Sunshine Benefits: Running outside isn’t just good for your spirit; it’s good for your body! Someone tagged ‘the sunshine vitamin’ as vitamin D for good reason. It helps you absorb calcium, therefore, the stronger your bones will be, and it boosts your immune system. Sunlight is a welcomed benefit to your outdoor workout, especially during seasons where the sun hardly shows its face at all.
Mood Booster: As well as causing your pupils to constrict, the right doses of sunlight can increase the level of serotonin, a brain chemical that helps give you an extra lift or stave off the blues. It also helps to improve mood, alleviate anxiety, and even boost your sense of self-worth.
Cost-Effective Fitness:
No Membership Required: Maybe the best thing about outdoor exercise is that it doesn’t cost a cent. Public parks, trails and even a city sidewalk offer endless opportunities for exercise that doesn’t cost you a dime – perfect for anyone on a budget, and for anyone who recoils at the commitment of those restrictive gym contracts.
Community Workouts: Many communities have free workout classes or groups that meet in park or public spaces. You can find ways to meet new people, learn new exercises and receive the organized activity that you might be seeking all for free. From park runs to outdoor yoga classes, there is usually an offering that you can try.
Unstructured Play:
Creating Your Own Creative Workouts: Outdoors, away from the gym setting, you have the opportunity to get creative. No time for planned workouts? Use park benches to do dips, incline push-ups, or even do some hill sprints to get your heart pumping. This kind of play requires you to think on your feet and, in turn, can make your workouts feel less like drudgery and more like an adventure.
Added bonus: outdoor workouts can be less intimidating for family or friends who might be hesitant to join you inside a gym space. Kids can play within view as you get in your laps, or little ones might bring bikes and balls to join in on the fun. Either way, it exposes them to modelling healthy behaviours and spending time together.
Sensory stimulation: you can get sensory stimulation that you simply can’t get inside – the smell of the rain, the birdsong, the breeze on your face. All of this can boost the psychological benefits of exercise, making you feel more a part of your environment and less like you are ‘just outside’.
Cons of Outdoor Training:
Bad weather: The commonest complaint about training outdoors in the UK? If I have to spell it out, I give up. One minute sunshine, the next minute a soaking rat. Weather is deliciously unpredictable, which can prevent you from being active unless you’re determined to brave the elements.
Safety: Depending on the time and your route, personal safety becomes a consideration, especially if you are running early in the morning or later in the evening. The uneven ground can also make injuries possible, such as sprains or falls.
The Gym: More Than Just Lifting Tins
Pros of Indoor Training:
Consistency and Control: The biggest benefit of gym training? You’re in the driver’s seat. Although the UK has a mild climate and active outdoors community, winter storms, holiday seasons, and other disruptive events can make outdoor time precious and seasonal. However, the gym is always there, warm and dry, on demand. For ongoing training to reach performance peaks or rehabilitation from injury, a consistent training environment can be essential.
So Much Choice: There’s such a range of equipment from free weights to spin bikes. And classes! Mix it up to your little heart’s content! You could switch it up every day and never get bored.
Community and Support: For some, gyms are a great way to meet like-minded souls. Nothing like a fitness class or seeing others around you put in the same effort to encourage and support you.
Cons of Indoor Training:
Cost: Going to a gym can be expensive and (especially if you’re paying to go) you are likely to pay a membership fee, and to have to get there and back (especially important if you are skint).
Crowds And Queues: Does my backside look big in those leggings? Gyms get crowded, and waiting for access to popular kit can be a real backside pain.
So, What’s the Verdict?
There are pros and cons to outdoor and indoor training. If you are looking for variety and for something you don’t have to travel to, then a gym would work better. However, for landscape and extra fresh air, the gym pales in comparison to outdoor exercise.
Why not make them a hybrid? A bit of both can make for the perfect recipe to keep you on your toes, not to mention your bike, while maintaining a functional and enjoyable fitness regime – after all, as the saying goes, a change IS as good as a rest. And who doesn’t want the best of both worlds?
Whether you end up working up a sweat under the sky or between four walls, just remember this one thing: as long as you’re keeping some kind of record (to prove to your pillock of a GP that you’re taking your meds properly), and at least trying to laugh a bit while you’re at it, then for god’s sake don’t stop.
I am a personal trainer based in the North UK
