Indoor vs Outdoor Exercise
Who needs walls?
OzSquad’s top 10 reasons to ditch the gym and exercise outdoors…
(You heard it from Manly’s most social bootcamp first)
1. Outdoor exercise is EVEN better for your mental health than going to the gym.
We all know that exercise releases endorphins in the body which create that ‘feel good’ post-session high. BUT studies have shown that outdoor exercise has a 50% greater positive effect than going to a gym. That’s a lot people! At our bootcamp in Manly we believe the main reason to exercise should be to feel better (note, not look!) and therefore will choose the outdoor mental high over a half-high at the gym every time.
2. Get your Vitamin D and fresh air fix
It is likely that for a good proportion of the week you are going to be inside breathing recycled air and not feeling the sunlight on your eyelids (everyone loves the feeling of the sun on their eyelids right?). Make your day not just about being inside in an office or a gym and get some outside goodness in between being in the air con or stuffy office all day. Even better, do it first thing in the morning to energise yourself before the day ahead when UV levels are low.
3. The smell
“Aah that fresh gym smell” said no-one ever. Sweaty feet, mmm mmmm. Sure, we get sweaty feet at our outdoor Manly bootcamp but luckily the sweet feet smell is taken far, far away on the salty ocean breeze.
4. The germs
Gyms can be a festering breeding ground for germs. Next time someone gets you to lie down on the wet grass for your sit ups at an outdoor training session, just be thankful they aren’t handing you a germ laden exercise mat!
5. The gym etiquette
Outdoors there’s no fighting for space or equipment. There’s no looking a bit silly whilst you try to work out how to use that complicated bit of kit with pulleys and weights in the corner of the gym. Most outdoor exercise classes by their very nature use bodyweight exercises and very simple equipment – which btw, are bloody beneficial anyway. No fancy pants kit to get tangled up in, no learning the gym rules.
6. Heat and humidity exposure
As much as we moan about looking like we’ve had a shower by the end of the warm up, working out in the heat improves the body’s ability to regulate temperature and gets the heart pumping which in turn improves performance. Better bang for your sweaty fitness buck.
7. No clock watching
If you leave your watch at home, outdoors there is literally no clock to watch and you have no option but to carry on doing what your group exercise instructor tells you to do until the time is up. There’s less chance to get bored too. Ok, we know that not everyone gets dolphins and the occasional whale to watch whilst they exercise (yep we do in Manly! #sorrynotsorry) but you can at least take in the scenery and people watch whilst you exercise instead of looking at yourself in the mirrors or at the same bloke that is always on the cross trainer in the corner of the gym every Tuesday morning.
8. Salute the sun
Seeing the sun come up sets the tone for the day and hopefully reminds us not to sweat the small stuff. Exercising early in the day also comes with well known benefits ranging from boosting metabolism, being more productive and keeping exercising consistently in your routine.
Combine both and get up with (or just before!) the sun and get your exercise done as the sun lights up the day ahead.
9. Because #lovemanly
So this one is only relevant to our local readers, but if we are paying some of the world’s highest rental prices to live in Manly, then we should bloody well make the most of it! Living in this unique corner of the world, we are blessed with sand, ocean, trails, national park, wildlife and on the whole shiny, happy people – it would be rude not to get outdoors and amongst it at every opportunity!
10. Because OzSquad does it outdoors!
Manly’s most social bootcamp can only be found outdoors – reason enough to try exercising without walls. Book your free trial, ditch the gym and join us beachside for ocean views and sunrises with your outdoor training session. Let me know when you’re coming and we’ll order the dolphins in too. 😉
