As we’ve adapted to working out in our living rooms in the past two years, the convenience of jumping from matt to shower has led more of us to choose the at-home option when it comes to exercising.
However, taking your routine outdoors provides benefits beyond fresh air and vitamin D. According to research, exercising in nature can help boost both physical and mental wellbeing.
Beyond the fresh air and getting a nice tan, here are five perks of working out in the wild that doesn’t come with your gym membership.
It helps build a routine
For those who have difficulty building consistency, committing to outdoor workouts can help instil a sense of routine. Creating a sense of occasion around specific times of the week where you take yourself outdoors can be an extremely effective way to drive motivation.
Strengthen mental health
Sunlight is known to boost serotonin, our happy hormone. Covid and working from home have forced many of us to spend more time indoors, severely knocking down our intake of natural Vitamin D. A lack of sun exposure has been associated with an increased risk of depression and anxiety. Going outdoors is an easy fix- reports have found that just ten minutes outdoors, whether it’s sunny or not, is an effective way to boost our mood.
Mini digital detox
A lot of home workouts require that we stay plugged in. Guided online classes or tuning into Netflix while on the treadmill do not allow our minds to relax and unwind fully. It can also be hard to put our phones down and resist checking messages and emails when we’re plugged in.
Being outdoors takes us away from these digital distractions and allows us to better focus on the task at hand. Studies have shown time spent on our phones gives us a false sense of our ability to multi-task, which dials down our concentration and productivity.
It makes you work harder
Indoor training that stresses repetition can be straining on joints and muscles. And unlike working in a climate-controlled space, no two workouts are the same when in the elements. Varying temperatures, weather and environment post as obstacles that will make your body work just that much harder, translating into more calories burnt.
Improve vision
Our view range tends to be quite limited when we’re indoors, and spending time away from screens and looking into the distance can help relax our lens and extraocular muscles. In addition, a 2017 study published in JAMA Ophthalmol found that exposure to ultraviolet B from natural sunlight was associated with reduced myopia.