If you're struggling to hit your goals at the gym or at-home workouts, you may need a change of scenery and a (literal) breath of fresh air. Getting in more exercise outdoors comes with scores of health benefits, from mood to enhanced healing. Learn more about why you should head outside, what to expect, and what the studies say.
1) Improves Your Mental Health
If you feel better when you spend time outdoors, it's not just your imagination. Studies show that being outdoors and in green spaces lowers your risk for depression and can restore your focus and attention. Combine the great outdoors with the endorphins you already produce while working out, and you'll end up feeling incredible.
2) Cost-Effective
Unlike a costly gym membership, being outdoors is free and helps support a variety of workouts, from jogging to strength training, biking, horseback riding, rock climbing, and other activities. You need almost nothing but comfortable clothes, a water bottle, and a supportive pair of shoes to get started.
Or enhance your time outdoors with one of our convenient foldable travel mats and premium fabric resistance bands to amplify your results without spending a bundle. We help you reinvent your workout with colorful designs that are eco-friendly and durable enough to help you meet your fitness and health goals.
3) Reduces Stress
Spending time outdoors and working out both share similar benefits. They both help lower your blood pressure and reduce cortisol, the stress-related hormone that can also lead to a bloated belly. If you're experiencing too much stress in your life, add yoga to your outdoor workout routine to help you center yourself and learn to relax.
4) Gives Your Vitamin D a Natural Boost
Spending time in the sunshine is one of the best ways to get more Vitamin D to help support your health. Vitamin D is critical for building up your bone health, plays a role in insulin production, strengthens your immune function, and could aid in preventing chronic diseases.
5) Helps Your Body Heal
There's plenty of evidence that shows being outdoors helps decrease pain and improves your oxygen and Vitamin D, giving your body more opportunities to heal. Getting in more exercise also gives your immunity a boost. Studies show that working out also accelerates wound healing by as much as 25%.
6) Provides a Social Outlet
There's always someone at the gym to chat with, but chances are you're focused on navigating the treadmill, weights, or other equipment. Some people also struggle with anxiety while working out in front of a crowd and need more space to get into their zone.
Changing up your workout routine and exercising outdoors could offer the best of both worlds. You get fresh air, work out, and can turn it into an opportunity to socialize. Meet up with a friend for a walk, join a hiking meet-up, or take a yoga class outdoors with an intimate group.
7) Improves Your Sleep
If you struggle with insomnia or fall asleep quickly, it may be time to reset your body's internal clock. Being outdoors could help improve your body's natural circadian rhythms that help you sleep more soundly. Circadian rhythms relate to the physical, mental, and behavioral changes that ebb and flow during a 24 hour period.
Getting in a good workout with nature around you can also help you fall asleep easier and is only enhanced by reduced stress and the ability to relax. Research links exercise to a decrease in insomnia and complaints about being able to fall asleep. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, the effects of aerobic exercise and sleep appear similar to taking sleeping pills.
Next Steps
Ready to reclaim your time outdoors and improve your health and well-being? Browse our entire selection of the best floor discs for women, cooling towels, exercise mats, foldable travel mats, resistance bands, and more to empower yourself to succeed.
