If you have been dreaming about leaving the gym for a long time, but you are afraid that exercising outside will be less effective - read on. Here we’ll give you some top tips on how to prepare a meaningful spring training plan.
What will you gain by exercising in the open space?
New motivation - even the best-arranged training gets boring quickly. Changing up your exercises is a good way to break stagnation, but an even better way is to completely change your environment. Exercising outdoors, you can explore places you haven't been to before, check out all the local sports and recreational activities.
Better well-being – probably, like most people, you spend a large part of the day in an enclosed space. And although you are quite comfortable at home, in the office, at the gym, you still need contact with fresh air. It is not without reason that doctors and therapists repeat ad nauseam: go outside, go for a walk, go to the forest etc. There must be something to it.
Improve your fitness – trail running is more difficult than running on a treadmill, especially if you are moving on uneven ground and struggling against headwinds.
Stimulation of all senses - this may not be the main goal of strength and endurance training, but exercising outdoors requires better coordination, more careful observation of the environment and quick reactions. Varying your stimuli will certainly rejuvenate your body.
Outdoor training also needs to have a plan.
"I'm going to run a bit, do some exercises, stretch." Does this look like your training plan look like before going outside? This is no plan. Yes, spontaneity and creativity are a good approach, but each training must have a specific goal. Start by choosing the place of your exercises and during a few-minute warm-up combined with dynamic stretching, plan what exactly you are going to do - what exercises, how many series and how many reps etc. and then stick to this plan until the end.
Use everything around.
Your training room can be a park, a neighborhood backyard, or another public space. Instead of machines, use all possible stable objects.
Benches - perfect for training push-ups or dips. A bench without a backrest can be jumped over (with both feet or in the version with support on the hands), you can also jump on it (remember to wipe the seat afterwards). One bench can become a place for at least three different exercises for different muscle groups.
Stairs - running up, running down, jumping up with both feet and one leg. Perfect fitness exercises
Handrails - depending on their height, you can practice push-ups or other parts of the body after installing the resistance band (shoulder muscles, buttocks)
Trees - they are perfect for practicing endurance, speed, and coordination during a fast slalom between several trees. They can also become good points in interval running. This is done during a light continuous run, during which we intersperse sprint sections, e.g., between specific trees.
Walls of buildings - stable support when making an isometric "chair", which can be a nice break in an intense workout.
And in between these natural obstacles, plan different types of endurance and strength exercises - running, jogging, walking, lunges, jumping, squats. You will soon find out that you haven't done such an intensive training for a long time.
Take stuff with you.
If running around the neighborhood is part of your workout, it's hard to plan on taking a lot of exercise equipment with you. But these three little things will come in handy:
Resistance bands - three bands with different degrees of resistance mounted on any bar, beater, even a road sign will allow you to do some additional exercises for the muscles of your arms, shoulders, back or buttocks. And when running, you can have them tied around your waist.
Gloves - they are not necessary, but they will come in handy when you use any bar or thick branch to pull yourself up or hang. They are not as comfortable as gym bars, and can also be wet and slippery, so hand protection will come in handy.
Water bottle - it's worth taking it with you if you plan to train longer than half an hour.