Outdoor Exercise vs the Gym: Why Getting Outside Wins

This week in building health

Outdoors may be better than Indoors

My long time readers know I love to walk.

A lot

As much as I can, I love to be outside hiking, swimming, climbing, and doing all sorts of outdoor activities.

Sadly, it’s not always easy or accessible.

These days, the weather has been WAY too hot to be exercising outside. So I’ve been mostly in the gym.

While that’s good enough for me, I can feel that I get a better experience outside.

From the Article:

“in a world where many people ‘hit the gym’ before or after work or on their lunch break, our results suggest that these people would be better served by simply ‘getting outside.’”

If there were just more public spaces. Or even outdoor gyms- we can have the best of both worlds.

Outdoors gives you movement ++ other things too

Another snippet from the study:

Our results demonstrate improved performance and an increase in the amplitude of the P300, an event-related neural response commonly associated with attention and working memory, following a 15-min walk outside

What does this mean?

Getting outside gives more benefits than just physical exercise. It activates more parts of the brain which helps more with mood, memory, and focus.

How will I put this into practice?

I think practically, what this means for me is:

• If I want to go for a walk or a bike outside is better than on a treadmill or machine

• If I’m going to be lifting weights, I can do that in the gym

• I can get a combination of strength and outdoors with some bodyweight exercises outside

→ Read the Article

My favorite health things for the week

// one

Fitness is Selfish, and That’s Okay

3 minutes | Brady Holmer

We all have different reasons to get healthy. And there’s no “1 right reason.”

So it’s okay to admit also that you do it for yourself. There doesn’t need to be any higher purpose or self-sacrificial reason.

This essay gets into that.

Here’s an excerpt:

There’s a sense of guilt associated with prioritizing fitness, a guilt that demands that one find a reason other than themselves to justify their activity indulgence.

→ Read the Post

// two

The Power of "Acting as If"

15 minutes | Steven Schlafman

A lot of times, when we try to get healthy, it doesn’t feel natural.

• Eating well feels like a chore

• Exercise doesn’t come easy

There’s a trick here known as “Acting as if”

It’s a way to cut through your feeling that “this doesn’t work” and go straight to just doing the thing you want to do.

You’ll find that your attitude will follow if you “Act as if” first.

From the essay:

At the most fundamental level, "act as if" is not about being dishonest and inauthentic, but rather about experimenting with new behaviors and attitudes until you feel more comfortable over time.

→ Read the Post

// three

What Sugar Really Does to the Body (Video)

17 minutes | Institute of Human Anatomy

• Is sugar bad for me?

• What about fruits? Don’t they have sugar?

• What sweeteners can I take?

I get these question all the time- and this video is the one I share every time I get these questions

→ Check out the video

Thanks for reading!

If you like “Becoming Fit for Life” please share it with someone who can learn from it. You can also “like” this newsletter by clicking the ❤️ just below, which helps me get visibility on Substack.

Until next week,