Sometimes not having a roof over your head is better than you think. At least when it comes to fitness training. Because sport in the fresh air is doubly healthy . The outdoor unit has unbeatable advantages over the indoor variant – provided you take care of the right training jacket and training pants . Because even the most ambitious training plan in the open air is not good for your health if you catch a cold or get a heat stroke. Here we show you the advantages of fitness right outside the door and how you can organize your outdoor training in summer and winter.
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Warum Outdoor-Training?
Everything is standardized in the gym: every bar, every piece of equipment and even the floor. The strain on the body is always the same. In nature, the opposite is the case: every surface requires a different force load . In addition, the workload is much higher. In order to squat with a log on your shoulders, the log has to get up there first. This requires a greater effort and more coordination than in the gym to take the barbell out of the rack. But there are not only good reasons to do your training outside for sporting reasons. Outdoor sports can also score points when it comes to promoting health.
Good for the immune system
Stale heating air in the gym or at home – in the worst case, enriched with pathogens! Not exactly good for your health. With regular outdoor units, constant runny noses are a thing of the past. Because the combination of exercise and fresh air has a positive effect on the immune system. The blood is pumped full of more fresh oxygen and the body’s nutrient supply runs more smoothly. This keeps the ignition values down.
The body is more challenged outdoors: it has to adapt to different temperatures and conditions. The body’s regulatory mechanism is trained and this in turn has a positive effect on the immune system.
Vitamin D from the sun
The sun is the real health booster: not only does it put you in a good mood, but the sun’s UV light also enables the body to produce vitamin D. The main role of this vitamin is to regulate the calcium balance in the body. This mineral, in turn, performs important functions in the body: it helps build bones, synthesize enzymes, and even plays an important role in blood clotting and muscle function.
Good for stress relief
It is in the truest sense of the word in the nature of things: we can relax better outside in nature. The sounds and smells of animals and plants calm the nerves and have an invigorating effect. In addition, when training in front of the door, it is easier to mentally distance yourself from the pressure to perform at work or the argument with your partner. This gives the head a well-deserved break – and draws attention to where it should be when exercising in the open air: on the body.
What does outdoor training include?
Outdoor training is so much more than just jogging or Nordic walking. There are now hundreds of original ideas – for outdoor sports alone or in a group at so-called boot camps. You train with everything that nature or the city has to offer : benches, stairs, trees, hills, stones. If you want, you can also use tools such as TRX slings, ropes or medicine balls. The imagination knows no limits. But the most important training device is you yourself: because exercises with your own body weight are always part of outdoor training.
Difference between summer and winter training
Outdoor fitness is possible at any time of the year. And yet there are clear differences in training in summer and in winter. In the cold season, floor exercises and very strenuous endurance exercises should be avoided. Because cold air can negatively affect the lungs and airways. The respiratory tract reacts irritated to the cold and can no longer absorb oxygen properly.
When it gets warmer outside, more physically demanding exercises are allowed again. Even floor exercises are no longer a problem. However, if it gets really hot in summer, you shouldn’t put too much strain on your body. Because the heat automatically increases the heart rate.
In summer and winter, you should always make sure that you wear good functional clothing when doing outdoor sports . Because if you are optimally protected from cold and heat, training in front of the door puts you in a good mood and has a real benefit for your health .
