Fall is a fabulous time of year for exercising outdoors.
Not only is the weather perfect (not too hot, not too cold) but there’s wonderful colors to take a look at as well – all those russet reds, browns and golden yellows. And if you’re lucky enough to be able to get out into the countryside there’s birds, squirrels and other wildlife to take a look at.
Motivation-wise you should be feeling pretty good too. You’ve just had a wonderful summer vacation and it’s kinda exciting entering a new season. Well, we certainly think so here at Overland Park Boot Camp. The winter doldrums haven’t had time to set in yet and there’s still plenty of time to get in shape for all those festive parties and get-togethers.
So, let’s delay no longer.
What form of easy exercise can you take up outdoors? Well, even just going for a walk is getting your heart pumping and your lungs working out.
Cycling is an excellent way of getting around. You don’t have to push as hard as you would at a spin class so take a look around you at the same time or go with a partner and chat while you get those legs pushing the pedals.
But you don’t always have to be going somewhere to get the benefits of outdoor exercise. Take gardening for instance. All that leaf raking is excellent for toning the arms while bending over to pick up dead shrubbery to burn in a bonfire sure gets the stomach muscles working. In fact, the magazine Men’s Health actually did a Yardwork Workout to calculate how many calories each activity burned up. And we’re gonna share it with you right here:
- Mowing the lawn – using a traditional ‘push’ mower rather than a petrol version burns up 408 calories per hour in your average size American. It’s also good for the calves and cardio
- Raking the leaves – burns up around 292 calories for an hour’s labor. Delight in your super shoulders
- Chopping firewood – this is tough work so don’t expect to get more than 30 minutes worth done at a time. You’ll be 247 calories lighter if you do though
- Weeding the garden – all that bending over and digging sure burns up the calories, 160 calories for 30 minutes. Not bad and you’ll be in the good books too
And added bonus of exercising outdoors – with or without the Overland Park team – is that nature is also good for helping us wind down at night. Our bodies love all that fresh air and sunshine. The vitamin D we get from the sun’s rays is essential for the health of our bones – and just standing outside for 15 minutes gives us enough of a daily dose.
Best of all though in our book here at Overland Park Boot Camp is that the combination of fresh air and exercise means we’re guaranteed to sleep like a babe.
- Get Fit this Fall
