TOP reasons to choose outdoor sports
Kyiv • UNN
Outdoor workouts strengthen the immune system, burn more calories, and saturate with oxygen. Choose your favorite exercises and a place so that sports bring pleasure.
The vast majority of Ukrainians spend a significant part of the day at home or in office premises. And even those who regularly play sports choose the gym for physical activity, ignoring outdoor activities even in the warm season.
UNN spoke with pilates and group program instructor Ksenia Holubenko to collect the TOP reasons to move your workout to the yard.
Advantages of outdoor training
Most people who regularly train in the gym periodically feel a lack of fresh air due to the peculiarities of the planning of some specialized sports facilities. And despite regular physical activity, people do not get all the benefits from their workouts.
According to the expert, a tangible advantage of outdoor training is not only the unity of the body with nature, but also completely physiological aspects. In particular, strengthening immunity and greater efficiency of training. The thing is that natural conditions force the body to adapt. As a result, extra calories are burned "before your eyes". Also, natural landscapes and uneven surfaces stimulate the body to engage more muscles.
Outdoor training stimulates the body's protective functions. It's also great that when we exercise outside, we have a chance to burn a little more calories than in the gym, because the body is forced to adapt to different weather conditions: sun, wind, uneven surface, temperature level, etc.
Also, outdoor training allows you to saturate the body with oxygen, which has a positive effect on the cardiovascular system and brain.
And of course, the work of the cardiovascular system and brain in the fresh air is definitely improved and we are better saturated with oxygen
Impact on mental and physical health
The main factors that affect psychological health are the increased production of the so-called "happiness hormones" by the body during outdoor training, which are the key to stable mental health.
We definitely get more positive. We produce more vitamin D, serotonin, this is the so-called happiness hormone. Endorphins, so after such a workout, we a priori come out with an improved mood
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She adds that a person can create "anchors" for themselves that will help them associate outdoor sports with something pleasant, not just exhausting. To do this, Ksenia advises choosing a beautiful location, creating a favorite playlist and perceiving such trips as a vacation in nature, and training as a background activity, not the main goal.
If a person is exercising without a trainer, you can take a mini-speaker or headphones, turn on a favorite playlist and combine business with pleasure. And then the workouts will definitely not be boring for you, you will definitely want to come again
Also, an important aspect is the simultaneous reduction of the stress hormone level during outdoor activities. In some cases, it becomes the main enemy of those who want to lose weight.
After training, and especially outdoors, we reduce the level of cortisol. This is a stress hormone that is not at all useful for us and it also retains weight. For those who want to lose weight, this is another bonus plus
Another bonus of outdoor activities is greater endurance and additional motivation. And these two aspects together significantly affect the speed of achieving sports results.
Motivation increases, I have also seen this in clients, because landscapes, the sea, green spaces, mountains - this is an additional bonus-plus that stimulates your internal resources
In addition, Ksenia noted that in some cases, playing sports, especially outdoors, can be a good opportunity to make new acquaintances and improve your mood in the circle of like-minded people.
According to her, group classes will best help with this, which will provide additional opportunities for meeting and communicating in case your loved ones are not in a hurry to share your passion for sports.
Variety of available activities
According to Ksenia, outdoor sports can be very diverse. Outdoor training is not limited to running or cycling, as some people think.
This is a very large variety of movements: running training and jumping on uneven surfaces. These are functional exercises with the weight of your own body, exercises with small equipment that is easy to take with you, pilates, fitness elastics, small discs
In addition, you can create your own training program and diversify it every day or week depending on your goals.
Today, for example, I run, tomorrow I do yoga, the day after tomorrow I do pilates, the day after the day after tomorrow I do exercises on my buttocks with an elastic band. We can do something new every day
It can also be classic running. But, as Ksenia notes, you need to be extremely careful with it.
After all, despite the popularity of this type of activity, it is not suitable for everyone. Therefore, in case of health problems, it should be replaced with brisk or Nordic walking.
Running is not suitable for very many people, especially those who have problems with their spine, with their knees. And brisk walking or Nordic walking is a top way to live a healthy lifestyle and not worsen your health
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If there are no such health restrictions, jumping rope is quite suitable as outdoor training.
Cycling is also popular and effective. Ksenia advises to create a good route with beautiful landscapes, so that your bike trip has a final goal and then motivation will improve.
If you don't have any equipment at all – you shouldn't be upset either. The expert notes that in the initial stages, you can do without it at all.
Do exercises with your own body weight and, believe me, it's oh-ho-ho how difficult and oh-ho-ho how you can work yourself out. This includes basic exercises. Mostly everyone has at least somehow encountered these exercises in their life. These are, for example, squats, lunges, if you come to the park and there are benches, you can complicate the lunges. Push-ups, planks, many variations. You can jump on the bench, you can step on the bench alternately with your legs and get off
She also recommends paying attention to the exercise machines that are installed in public parks. They can also be put into action in outdoor workouts.
In addition, there are such directions that seem to be created purely for outdoor activities. In particular, this is stretching and breathing practices, which are useful not only for the body, but also for mental health.
By the way, all psychologists advise working with the body first. Breathing exercises relieve stress, you unblock trigger points. And doing them in the open air is very cool
Pay attention to new directions in sports, for example – tabata – this is an intensive type of training that consists of a set of exercises and does not require equipment.
Despite prejudices, you can also do strength training in the fresh air, using your own body weight.
If you come to a more or less equipped area in the park, then you can use horizontal bars, parallel bars there. By the way, TRX workouts are very popular outdoors
She adds that each person should find a comfortable type of activity for themselves, so that it brings not only benefits, but also sincere enjoyment from the process.
In particular, Ksenia gives advice to young mothers who find it difficult to find time for training. According to the coach, exercises can be done even while walking with a child.
While the child was sleeping, I walked with the stroller and did lunges, squats near the stroller. If the child is sleeping and does not need to be rocked in the stroller, you can do planks or jumps nearby. I just made up a workout from exercises that I could do in one place near the stroller
Tips for a safe and effective start
According to the expert, you should not be afraid that you will not know what to do. For outdoor activities, it is important to prepare a clear training plan for the first time, which will help overcome shyness, if such a problem is present, and help "get involved" in the process.
According to Ksenia, the most important thing for a safe and effective start is the absence of pressure that a person exerts on themselves.
I advise not to drive yourself right away: "I'm going to train from Monday" or "I'm going to train every day for five days." This way you drive your psyche and physical condition and you will quickly go into "rollback". Because it will be very painful for the muscles, some even have a temperature rise, because the body cannot cope. Therefore, I advise you to start with small steps
The coach advises to create a program in which you gradually increase the load. For example, in the first week, do two or three workouts of 20-30 minutes with a basic set of exercises so that the body gets used to the loads. Next – gradually increase the duration of the workout and the number of exercises.
The same applies to the number of repetitions. According to the expert, it is better to do the exercises thoughtfully, slowly and gradually complicating them.
I advise you to choose simple basic sets of exercises first, so that you do not have some super-overloaded exercises in which you do not know where to inhale, where to exhale. You will get confused, nervous and give it all up very soon
The second thing that you should definitely pay attention to for a safe start is the presence of a warm-up before the main workout or warm up your muscles and not get injured. According to the coach, neglecting this is very dangerous.
Warming up should be like our father, because people very often get injured precisely because they did not warm up: they went out into the park and ran. And this applies to any workout, not just running. Be sure to do joint gymnastics and a quality warm-up for at least 7-10 minutes
Also, according to the coach, it is necessary to monitor the technique of performing the exercises. If you are not sure, take a video of yourself and compare it with what the trainer explains to you or with the correct technique on YouTube: whether the foot is standing correctly, whether the position in the spine is neutral, etc.
Don't forget to bring water and a towel to your workout. It is best if the last meal is at least an hour and a half before the workout. You should not train on a full stomach.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
In addition to a mandatory warm-up, which will help avoid many injuries, it is also important to pay attention to shoes for sports. Its poor quality or unsuitability for your sport can also cause injuries or unpleasant sensations.
Shoes must be selected according to the load, according to the direction you have chosen. When we choose the right shoes, we protect ourselves from possible pain in the spine, in the knees
She also adds that if you are doing yoga or pilates, you can do it barefoot. However, if the surface on which you are training can scratch or pinch you, it is better to choose special socks with a separator for your toes.
Another common mistake, the coach calls an unhealthy attitude to your body, namely – the desire to achieve too high a result in too short a period of time, which mixes people to "drive themselves" in training, harming their health.
Start primarily from love for the body, from what benefit you want to give your body today. And not to lose weight in one week or kill yourself in training, so that you lie without hind legs for a week
Monitor hydration. Remember that dehydration can reduce your productivity by 4-6%.
Water should be, and especially if we are talking about outdoor training. Because the body loses more moisture outside. And this applies not only to warm weather, but also to cool weather, if it is in winter or autumn
She adds that due to lack of water, a person may experience cramps, headaches and exhaustion.
Another thing that people often ignore when choosing to play sports outdoors in spring and summer is SPF protection and sun hats.
"You can harm yourself at peak times from 11:00 to 15:00. In general, it is best to train until 12:00 you can and after 16:00", - warns Ksenia.
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