5 Reasons why training outside will get you lean

In the UK especially, you will find the exposure to the elements will increase your calorie expenditure in different ways. Although you may be cold to start with, eventually your body temperature will increase and you may find yourself breaking into a sweat even in the minus figures providing you are working at a high enough level of perceived exertion. The cool air will allow you to train harder and for longer than a heated gym indoors, hence more potential training load and calorie burn. There is also wind resistance when running that according to one study can increase your calorie expenditure by 10% (Margaria R, Cerretelli P, Aghemo P, Sassi G. Energy cost of running). Even with no wind at all running through the airs resistance can increase calorie expenditure by 1.2% compared to a treadmill. This doesn’t include shivering as this can also burn a lot of calories, but trust me you won’t be shivering after 5 minutes at a LeanUp Commando Bootcamp.

The main reason people do not exercise is due to excuses. The most common excuse being lack of time. People in today’s society live stressful lives sitting in traffic, grinding out the hours at work, cooking, cleaning, looking after their children, and other time-consuming tasks. The last thing on a lot of peoples minds is getting in their car, driving 10-15 minutes to the gym, changing into gym clothes, wandering around looking for available equipment and trying to figure out what they’re actually going to do. At times like these, it’s a lot easier to just go outside and do a 20-minute intensive workout doing interval sprints, cycling, skipping, burpees, a circuit or any other form of exercise. Regularly I’ll just push my baby girl in her pram around the park just for some fresh air and to increase calorie expenditure whilst settling her to sleep (Superdad I know). There is always something you can do to keep active outdoors, and it beats putting your feet up and wasting an evening watching a forgetful soap opera eating Ben and Jerry’s feeling sorry for yourself.

I laugh everytime someone tells me they’re staying inside because they don’t want to catch a cold. That is why you’ll find they’re always catching a cold. Fresh air will not give you a bug, but being in non-ventilated confined spaces sharing the same air as others will probably do it. Plus, they’ll be missing out on that health boosting vitamin D. According to studies over 4 in 10 people are not getting the optimum levels of this life-altering vitamin. By training outside for just 20 minutes of the day throughout the summer, you can retain enough vitamin D to last you through the winter providing you are eating a balanced and healthy diet (vitamin D can also be sourced through eggs and oily fish, but not in large enough quantities for optimum levels alone). This can help negate the effects of osteoporosis, reduce your chances of flu by 40%, helps reduce the chanced of type II diabetes, has cancer-preventing properties and so much more.

There are a heap of psychological benefits to training outside. Most of us spend way too much time indoors, but by exercising outdoors you will reap the benefits in so many ways. Exercising outdoors can elevate your mood, release serotonin to lower stress levels and take your mind off the day to day grind. There is a clear link between training outdoors and mental health.  You can improve the effects by training near water and in a park/green space. Outdoor activity is also way more interesting; I know I would rather do my conditioning workouts taking in the scenery opposed to staring at my ugly mug in the mirror pounding away on a treadmill listening to the latest garage tracks. It’s also a lot easier to get your friends to join in, so you can all share the benefits together. Lots of gym goers train by themselves or in pairs. I can’t think of a better way to train than with a group of like-minded individuals who are all there to support each other in the great outdoors taken by LeanUp Commando Bootcamp