Fortunately, Justin Williams, a certified fitness instructor and proprietor of the North Houston Adventure Boot Camp, has offered up his own advice on how and why maintaining your workout routines is the way to go, particularly focusing on the effects of completing your workout routines outdoors. Off we go:
Why is outdoor exercise more beneficial to your health? A 2007 British study by an organization called “Mind” concluded that “walking in a park-like setting was more beneficial for mood and self-esteem compared to walking in a shopping center.” You could equate this to spending your time on a treadmill or elliptical machine inside a gym.
Also, our respiratory systems work like a sponge, and every air freshener or man-made impurity in the air hinders the respiratory process. Fresh air cleanses our lungs because it brings more oxygen to the body, helping to bolster our immune system. Increased oxygen boosts energy levels and increases brain function.
See Justin's recommendations for working out in and around Houston
When you exercise outdoors, your mind has to focus differently than if you were confined to a gym. If you think about it, when you’re outside, you use all of your senses, a connection of body and mind. There’s no need for toxic air fresheners outside. Physical fitness also makes your mind sharper.
According to a University of East London study, working out outdoors can burn up to 30 percent more calories than doing the same exercises in the gym.
Particularly in the morning, your energy is higher, the air is cleaner, and you have the opportunity to feel great all day long.
Enjoy some fresh air, make fitness a priority in your life, and feel great about yourself!
See Justin's recommendations for working out in and around Houston
