Six Big Outdoor Fitness Trends
Outdoor Fitness Trends You Should Try Right Now!
Back to the grind after the holidays? Join the latest trends and boost your natural highs with our Six Big Outdoor Fitness Trends.
As we all know gym workouts can be boring, especially if you don’t have an exciting goal to aim for like training for a marathon; or a big life changing event like a wedding. ‘Experiential’ is the word being screamed of late…get fit almost by accident as you learn a new skill and experience a new outdoor activity. It’s back to the great outdoors.. The ‘Green Exercise’ movement is on the rise, and has turned the ‘Great Outdoors’ into the ‘New Indoors’.
Thrilling outdoor activities, from surfing and stand-up paddling to outdoor trips like camping, hiking and even rock climbing will challenge your muscles, burn those calories and maybe even get you a sun tan.
So throw some sunscreen on, strap on your sunglasses and say ‘Hello’ to your new gym – open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, no paid subscription required! Here’s the Six Big Outdoor Fitness trends to try:
No 1 Bikepacking
Grab your padded shorts and get back in the saddle. Everyone knows how to cycle but covering 20 to 40 kms a day is a new skill for many…relearn this and experience a multitude of other fun adventure activities along the way. Don’t follow the ribbon of tarmac but roam across moorland and through forests. Camp in the wild along the way, with priceless views of lakes and mountains. Do it with Fitness Adventure Travel in Vietnam, a super destination. The perfect antidote to the stresses of modern life.
No 2 Stand-up Paddling
Stand-up paddle boarding, or simply SUP, is an ancient mode of transportation. Yet it only exploded in popularity over the past few years. This outdoor fitness exercise will improve your balance, strength, cardiovascular health, endurance and posture. It can also help you lose weight, burning up to 500 calories per hour when paddling at a moderate pace, and up to 1,125 calories an hour when doing SUP racing. Stand-up paddling is available on Fitness Adventure Travel trips to Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
No 3 Group Outdoor Training Activities
If you have confined yourself to only training solo to date, consider outdoor fitness group training. Group training makes working out much more exciting. You’ll be motivated to push yourself harder than you would when exercising on your own. What’s more it is a great way to hold yourself accountable. You may not feel as willing to skip a workout with friends than you would if it was just you.
HIgh Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) doesn’t have to be all about the gym anymore. It can be anything from jogging, running and biking to your favourite bodyweight, cardio, strength, endurance workouts. You can even take yoga outdoors.
The message is: take your exercise outside among friends and reap the many benefits.
Photo credit: fitnessbells.com
No 4 Outdoor Obstacle Course Challenges
The rise of the Tough Mudder and the Total WipeOut challenges were inspired by classic military assault courses. These are not just tests of endurance and stamina. But these outdoor fitness races are not solely physical they will test your mental resistance and even your sanity.
Races vary in length usually from 5 to 20 kms, and can include from 15 to 45 obstacles. Even if you complete individually, there’s still a sense of camaraderie, as it takes team work to get past most of the obstacles.
A Fitness Adventure Travel Experience, such as our trip to Senegal, can be wonderful preparation for such events.
Photo credit: hiconsumption.com
No 5 Slacklining
There’s no slacking when it comes to slacklining. Slacklining involves balancing on a strip of webbing suspended low to the ground. You can simply walk from one end to the other. It’s like walking on a tightrope…only not so tight. Even harder, try step-ups, lunges, headstands, and all sorts of neat tricks. All the muscles in your body will be engaged, from your core to your glutes, hamstrings, quads, hips and calves.
No 6 SUP Yoga
Basically this is yoga on a paddle board. This season take your yoga outdoors on the water. SUP Yoga is a great way to take your yoga practice to the next level. If you simply cannot find those ‘unorthodox’ poses challenging enough anymore, wait until you step on a paddle board. Even the simplest of poses will seem hard to pull off at first, regardless of your fitness level.
However, don’t be put off if you only taken a few yoga classes and don’t even know the poses yet; or have never stepped on a paddle board. Everyone can reap the benefits of this low impact outdoor fitness exercise. You will develop strong obliques, sculpt your shoulders and improve your posture. Build your strength flexibility and coordination!
You will need to go somewhere reliably warm. Fitness Adventure Travel run trips to Costa Rica and Nicaragua
Photo by SURFit
Go to Fitness Adventure Travel (F.A.T.) if you wish to travel to an exotic destination to learn a new activity. There are specialist companies like our own F.A.T. or Book Surf.com which allow a person to book a holiday and all of these activities are pre-arranged with world class instructors.
One of the core concepts of F.A.T. is outdoor fitness experiences. From biking the Blue mountains of Oz to hiking through the rainforest in Costa Rica, to learning multi-dimensional movement patterns beside the mangroves in Senegal, FA.T. is all about new experiences that are FAR FROM ORDINARY.
This article was co-written by Ignacio Perez who runs Book Surf Camps.com and the Far From Ordinary team at Fitness Adventure Travel.
