Ways to take your favorite fitness outdoors

Doing your workout at a gym is the 21st century way to stay fit. And sure, running on that treadmill can lead to some terrific fitness results, but running in the same place every day might get a little redundant. The same goes for weight training and other forms of cardio. When you’re tired of your gym environment, take time out to enjoy your workout in the actual environment. Mother Nature offers an array of fitness options.

Yoga in the park

Hey, yoga fiends! Don’t be resigned to doing your yoga routine in front of a dance studio mirror for the rest of your life. With a yoga mat and some flexibility, (get it?!) you can take your yoga routine to the park. In fact, some yogis offer classes in the park. Check your local yoga studio for information. If not, take your poses to the park with a friend. It’s a great way to snag some sun and have a ton of fit fun with your girlfriends.

Hike away from the treadmill

Before treadmills, people actually walked to places, rather than just staying in one place. Sarcasm aside, getting out for a hike is a great way to get the same exercise you’d get on a treadmill, just without the meathead experience. See waterfalls, wildlife, trees and greenery on a hike. Get away from the machines and look up trails with your specifications on websites like Trails.com and GORP.com. They’re both terrific resources for finding gorgeous hiking trails by region and difficulty level.

Bike to work

American culture dictates that we should be driving everywhere at all times, but with the cost of gas going nowhere but up, bicycles seem like the easy way around the hefty environmental and monetary cost of driving. If you live near work, hop on a bike. Bikes are easy-to-maintain forms of transportation that double as exercise. Maybe if you spend enough energy getting there, you can skip the post-work workout all together. Even if you don’t have a destination, biking to your local park or grocery store just to get out is a great way to get some exercise and unwind at the same time.

Weight training on the trail

It’s not quite the same as lifting a barbell, but adding weighted straps and bands to your ankles and wrists as you run can help you get both a cardio and weight-training workout. Strap them on and take a run through your favorite trail. You can get double the exercise in the same amount of time, plus you’ll get to experience the great outdoors.

Read more

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