Exercise and physical activity have many benefits. Physical fitness is an instrumental part of your health, from helping protect you from diseases like cardiac disease to resulting in better sleep and a boost in energy. However, it’s not just exercising that can help you. Where you exercise can also affect the outcome. Research has shown that outdoor fitness results in “additional physiological and mental health benefits.” This article will discuss the many reasons it’s a great idea to focus on outdoor exercise.
Benefits of Outdoor Fitness
While all exercise is great, it’s especially beneficial to exercise outdoors. Whether it’s the sunlight and fresh air, the mental health benefits, or a more challenging workout, there are multiple reasons why you should take your fitness routine outdoors. We’ve discussed the major ones below.
1. More Enjoyable With Less Fatigue
One of the major benefits of outdoor fitness is how enjoyable it is. Because you’re in nature, you don’t just enjoy the workout more – research has shown that you’ll likely feel more energized and less fatigued. Furthermore, being outdoors motivates individuals more and allows them to engage in more physical activity than they would have otherwise.
Additionally, it doesn’t feel like a chore because outdoor fitness is more enjoyable. Those stressed about working out benefit from outdoor fitness because they feel less tension. They are also better able to handle physical fitness and reap the resulting health benefits.
2. Boost in Mood and Antidepressant Effects
Physical exercise is a great mood booster since it results in the production of endorphins, which reduce pain and improve your mood. Outdoor fitness further improves this because sunshine increases serotonin production. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that affects your mood. Additionally, sunlight and outdoor exercise help with symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
3. A More Challenging Workout
Additionally, outdoor fitness makes for a more challenging workout. Instead of flat, indoor space, you’re in nature and are exercising on outdoor terrain. Because of this, your body is further challenged, and the workout is more effective.
4. Exposure to Sunlight and Fresh Air
It’s not just fresh air that you benefit from when exercising outdoors. You also get exposure to sunlight and boost your levels of Vitamin D. Research has suggested that exercising outdoors may even boost health by improving your immune response. With outdoor fitness, breathing in phytoncides from plants can improve immune response.
5. Lower Risk of Injury
When people hear that outdoor exercise can lower their risk of injury, they’re immediately skeptical. However, this holds true because exercising indoors results in repetitive motions that can lead to overusing muscles. This isn’t the case with outdoor fitness. Because of the changing terrain and the use of different muscles, overuse injuries are unlikely. Additionally, working out different muscles helps strengthen connective tissue, leading to a lower risk of injuries.
Coopers Troopers Bootcamp offers outdoor boot camp workouts that both challenge and encourage you to meet your fitness goals. All of this is done outside, where you’ll be surrounded by other like-minded folks, nature, and fresh air. Take your fitness journey seriously and reach out to us at 07846419536.