9 Reasons To Take Your Training Outdoors

The weather is getting warmer, and the last place you want to be is inside. Here’s why you should ditch the gym and take your training to the great outdoors

- Vera Tweed

You’ve been cooped up all winter, sweating it out in a packed and germy gym, fighting for machines and breathing stale air. Now that spring is here, there’s no reason to stay indoors — especially because the benefits of training outdoors are plentiful.

“People often ask me, ‘Does it make a difference whether I run on the treadmill or outside?’ and I always say yes,” says Jamie Brenkus, veteran fitness expert and a physical wellness ambassador for Evergreen Wellness (www.myevergreenwellness.com). “Absolutely, there are benefits to going outside,” he says, “No question.”

Here are nine great reasons you should abandon the treadmill and the hit the pavement.

1 YOU’LL GET REVITALIZED AND MOTIVATED

Outdoor exercise is more fun and energizing than indoor routines. Getting outside motivates people to work out more often, according to research. Bonus outdoor benefits include feeling more positive and less tense, confused, angry, or depressed.

2 YOU’LL BURN MORE CALORIES