You’ve likely heard before that regular exercise is good for your health. Most everyone knows there are a multitude of benefits that make exercise a great habit to have. Many of the great benefits from exercise are achievable outside of the gym through recreational exercise. Even if you love hitting the weights and cardio equipment, changing up the routine now and again is a great idea. There are several reasons why getting out of the gym and doing something other than structured gym-intensive exercises can be very beneficial.
Maybe you love going to the gym, and if so then more power to you. There are a lot of reasons that the gym is the best atmosphere to get in purposeful exercise and make the most out of your exercise time.
Some people, however, just cannot stand the thought of going to the gym. This is fine as well!
Here’s why:
- Breaking the monotony
Structured exercise helps target specific imbalances and muscle groups, and is more specific to achieving goals. Constantly doing the same things can get very boring, however, so changing it up sometimes is a great idea. Trying new exercise activities helps to keep things fresh and ensure you don’t get bored of the same routine.
- Take your mind off of exercise
Sometimes the last thing you want to do is spend your time purposefully exercising. When you have to think more about the activity you are doing that the fact that you are exercising it is a lot easier to get through! This is especially true if you choose an activity that allows you to see some sights or makes you concentrate on the task at hand!
- Challenges you in new ways
Some types of recreational exercise challenge your fitness in all new ways. When trying a new sport your balance and coordination will be tested. If you take a long hike and encounter some big hills, your cardiovascular health will be challenged! You will likely have to coordinate core strength and balance in ways you’ve never had to before!
Here are a few ideas to help you get your exercise in outside of the gym!
- Take a hike
There are a ton of wonderful parks in Western Pennsylvania. Many of them have fantastic hiking trails for you to explore, with great sights along the way. If being in the woods isn’t your thing, there are plenty of places around the city to hike around and see sights of the city! Take advantage of as much of this as you can!
- Ride a bike
Riding a bike is a great challenge to coordination and balance! Once you get going it can be a great test of your cardiovascular fitness and you can cover a lot of ground! Just make sure to wear a helmet!
- Play a sport
There is no shortage of different sports you can try to test your fitness. Many can be very low impact and some can be very HIGH impact. Either way, playing a sport is sure to challenge your fitness in new ways. If you are already a seasoned vet in your favorite sport, try something new! This will make you work harder and learn a new sport that you can continue playing for years to come, and continue getting great exercise along the way.
This type of “recreational exercise” can be super beneficial and carry many of the benefits that gym-based exercise brings. That being said, there are a lot of reasons why going to the gym is still very important! While recreational exercise is a great supplement to any fitness program, structured time at the gym can also be super beneficial as well. So remember to mix it up!
