Green Exercise

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  You can work out at any time, any place. A travel schedule won’t prevent you from exercising.




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  You will save money. You can eliminate or reduce gym and studio fees.




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  You will cut down on mental and visual clutter – no chatter from other people, no blaring sound or glaring televisions.




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  You will escape crowds – no one waiting to use the equipment and no pressure to hurry up. No peak times as there are at gyms.




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  You will sleep better. Many find that fresh-air workouts help them enjoy deeper, sounder sleep.




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  You will enjoy a fresh perspective. Unlike a gym setting which is always the same, mother nature is constantly changing things up: sunny, cloudy, windy, warmer, cooler, etc.




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  You will be more mindful and less likely to zone out. Being outdoors nudges you to pay attention to your surroundings and workout.




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  You won’t be limited by hours. Mother nature doesn’t open and close at specific times. You can work out early morning or late at night.




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  You are more likely to stick with it. Those who exercise outside are less likely to become bored.

 

Health benefits

 

Researchers are discovering that forests, open air and other green environments deliver health benefits to participants. One British study worked with people suffering from depression. An amazing 71 percent of participants reported decreased levels of depression after something as simple as a ‘green walk’ through a park. Similarly, scientists with the Finnish Forest Research Institute report that people who spend time in green settings experience lower levels of stress, anger and aggression while increasing their happiness levels. They say the stress relieving effects of being in nature are so powerful that they strengthen the body’s immune system and increase the number and activity of cells which fight cancer. And, the news gets better as the researchers discovered that those who have stressful life experiences recover better and faster when they allow nature to heal. By spending time outside they receive faster decreases in blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension and stress hormone levels.

 

Health clubs

 

When you work away from a gym or health club, you’re actually putting distance between yourself and a wide variety of germs found there. Health clubs are prone to germs for a variety of reasons including:

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  High volume of human traffic




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  Exposed skin as most people wear shorts and short sleeve shirts to workout




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  High levels of perspiration




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  Fitness equipment which is unclean.

A recent ABC news story conducted a test to find out how many and what variety of germs people could encounter when working out in their gym. Working with Dr Philip Tierno, a microbiologist, ABC staff members took swabs to almost every piece of gym equipment they used bringing the samples to Tierno’s laboratory at New York University Hospital. Tierno found the germs staph aureus, klebsiella, enterobacter and E. coli, all of which can make you sick. Those are some reasons why gym members are often reminded to wipe down the equipment after they use them, though too many to do not follow the simple instructions.

 

Positive results

 

In fact, just five minutes of Green Exercise delivers positive results. A study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology reported that as little as five minutes of exercise in a park, working in a backyard garden, on a nature trail or other green space will benefit mental health. Study researcher Jules Pretty noted that activity in the presence of nature decreases the risk of mental illness and improves the sense of well-being, adding, “For the first time in scientific literature, we have been able to show dose-response relationship for the positive effects of nature on human mental health.” Pretty’s partner researcher, Jo Barton, concluded, “We believe that there would be a large potential benefit to individuals, society, and to the costs of the health service if all groups of people were to self-medicate more with Green Exercise.”

 

Changing venues

 

A UK study concluded that the benefits of Green Exercise come with a wide variety of outdoor activities: walking, cycling, fishing, nature conservation, horse-riding, boating. People who engaged in these activities were found to be significantly less angry, depressed, confused and tense. Those improvements were not affected by the type, intensity or duration of the Green Exercise activity.

It’s easy to switch into green exercise.Getting outside doesn’t mean you have to change your favourite exercise. All you’re doing is changing venues, not activities. For example:

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  If you walk or run a treadmill, you can take a break from the machine by hiking, running and walking outside.




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  If you take a cycle class, you can get the same cardio workout on a mountain bike going up and down trails.




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  If you’re a lap swimmer, you could consider swimming along a shoreline.




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  If you take a yoga or pilates class, take your mat into a park.




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  If you go to a gym to lift weights, consider getting your own weight set and doing the circuit in your own backyard.




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  If you skate, you can do it outside using in-line skates.

 

Practicing Green Exercise

 

Though a health club can be convenient in harsh weather, it does require more time and gas  (petrol) expense to get there. One woman shares her insight, “Some days it takes me 50 minutes to get home from work. By then, the last thing I want to do is get back into the car and drive to my gym. I decided instead to quit commuting to my gym and simply get out and run through my neighbourhood instead of the treadmill. It’s been a huge time saver, takes less gas money and is better for both the environment and my mental health.”

 

Stress levels drop

 

“When I would re-create myself, I seek the darkest wood... I enter (it) as a sacred space. There is the strength, the marrow of nature,” wrote Henry David Thoreau. That was in the mid 19th century. Today, a number of studies show that contact with nature – even minimally – relieves anxiety and stress, the very things Thoreau was referring to. One study comes from Roger Ulrich and colleagues at Texas A&M University. Amazingly, they found commuters who drove to work along scenic country roads recovered more quickly from stressful driving conditions than those who saw only billboards, buildings and parking lots. They also noted that drivers who had taken the scenic route responded more calmly to stressful situations later in the day. Thus, stress relief can be as simple as combining exercise with nature. Researcher Kathleen Wolf, PhD, from the College of Forest Resources at the University of Washington, explains, “It used to be that we looked at cataclysmic events, like divorce or loss of a job, as stressors. But now we are seeing that our daily lives have constant small stressors, and the cumulative effect is significant. Consequently, even small, incremental contacts with nature in our daily lives are beneficial”.

  

When planning to exercise outside, don’t limit yourself. The list of outdoor friendly activities offer many options: jogging, biking, in-line skating, hiking, rowing, rock climbing, swimming, soccer, badminton and more. Consider taking ‘it’ outside.