I recently read a fantastic article on Bloomberg.com entitled “Walt Whitman Is Not Impressed By Your Expensive Gym Membership.” The article details how, way back in 1858, the American poet Walt Whitman wrote a series of newspaper columns on the topic of “Manly Health and Training.”
One such column discussed avoiding the gym, and shows how much of a big believer in outdoors exercise that Whitman was instead. He says:
“Places of training, and all for gymnastic exercises should be in the open air—upon the turf or sand is best. Cellars and low-roofed attics are to be condemned, especially the former.”
He also encouraged learning and practicing bodyweight exercises that one can do anytime, anyplace. For example:
“To toss a stone in the air from one hand and catch it in the other as you walk along, for half an hour or an hour at a stretch—to throw forward the arms, with vigorous motion, and then extend them or lift them upward—to pummel some imaginary foe, with stroke after stroke from the doubled fists—to take very long strides rapidly forward, and then, more slowly and carefully, backward—to clap the palms of the hands on the hips and simply jump straight up, two or three minutes at a time—to spring over a fence, and then back again, and then again and again—these, and dozens more of simple contrivances, are at hand for everyone—all good, all conducive to manly health, dexterity, and development, and, for many, preferable to the organized gymnasium, because they are not restricted to place or time.”
What a man after my own heart! I’ve certainly written a comprehensive article in the past about how you can use natural movement such as crawling, lunging, carrying, swimming, hiking, and all manner of outdoor ambulation to gain massive improvements in athleticism and fitness—all while breathing in fresh air, getting nourishing sunlight and exposing your body to elements such as heat and cold (both of which can improve longevity, fat loss and more).
I’ve also highlighted the concerningly high levels of carcinogens in the air of the average fitness center, as well as significant amounts of harmful bacteria on the surfaces of fitness equipment such as treadmills and weight training machines, and the host of pollutants and airborne pathogens you encounter in the gym (you can check out this two part article series to read more about that).
In this article, I’m going to fill you in on five easy workouts that I have in my back pocket that I can do anywhere I have access to the outdoors, which, frankly, is just about anywhere. And if I’m in a polluted city, I pull out a few of the damage mitigating strategies I talk about here to keep my body from getting too assaulted by pollution.
1. My “pole” walk
For this, I grab a pole like a PVC pipe or an ash rake handle or a broomstick. Then I set out on a walk. Every hundred yards or so, I stop for exercises such as:
-Overhead squats holding the pole overhead while maintaining tension on both ends of the pole
-Walking lunges while twisting the pole to one side or the other
-Mountain climbers while holding the pole against the ground
-Overhead shoulder passes from the front of the hips to the back of the hips with the pole
2. My breathhold walks
I head out on a walk with the goal of breathing through my nose the entire time using a pattern of 4 count in, 4 count hold, 4 count out, 4 count hold (this is called box breathing). About every five minutes, I take a deep breath and simply hold my breath for as long as possible. This form of breathwork meditation as you walk leaves you feeling as though you’ve completed a yoga class or deep meditation session, but you burn calories, get fresh air and move at the same time.
The sky’s the limit when it comes to creative ways to move outdoors.
3. My jumping jack walks
This is a great workout if you’ve been flying on an airplane and are jetlagged and too tired for a tough workout, or have just had a long day and don’t feel like hitting the gym. You simply go on a walk and every five to ten minutes, you stop and do 100 jumping jacks. That’s it…that’s simple! And you can certainly combine this strategy with any of the other outdoor workouts in this article.
4. My uphill hikes with breathholds back down
For this workout, which I often do when hunting or camping, I pick a steep hill or mountain and walk up it as fast as I can for 10, 20 or 30 minutes. This is the hardest part of the workout. Then, when I get as far as I want to go, I turn back around and do workout #2 (the breathhold walk above) as I walk back down the hill, often sidewinding from side to side as I walk down the hill to work my hips and lateral muscles just a bit more than I did while walking uphill.
5. My kettlebell or heavy object walks
This workout offers a good combination of resistance training and cardio. Simply put a backpack on and place a weight, a rock, a long or even a baby or child inside (yep, I did this with my twin boys when they were young, and you can read more about working out with your kids here and other fitness tips for kids and babies here, and then walk as far out and as far back as you can. Alternatively, you can grab a heavy object such as a kettlebell or dumbbell, and go on a long walk, but stop every few minutes for exercises such as kettlebell swings, presses, goblet squats, or any other resistance based exercise.
As you can see, the sky’s the limit when it comes to creative ways to move outdoors. Do you have your own workouts to add? Leave them below for others to try! And if you have more questions, comments or feedback about why you should quit going to the gym, then you can join the conversation at http://ift.tt/1xq4tz1.
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