Embrace the summer sunshine by achieving your fitness goals outside: 4 benefits to outdoor exercise.

Summer is right around the corner, and an increasing number of people are choosing to exercise outside and avoid stuffy gyms. Taking your workout outside comes with a whole host of benefits for every person in every level of fitness. Studies have shown that exercising in a natural, outdoor environment has huge positive impacts on mental wellbeing. So here are a few reasons why “Sun’s out guns out” is a great idea.

You’ll receive a boost of Vitamin D

Exposure to sunlight enhances Vitamin D production which helps enhance your health and mood. Whether it’s low intensity exercises such as walking, or high intensity exercises like functional training or sprinting, sun exposure has been shown to increase your mood and instantly make you feel energised and brighter. Vitamin D is also essential in building and maintain healthy bones, muscles and strengthening your immune system. This means exercising outdoors this summer can help keep your body fit and healthy no matter the intensity or duration of your exercise regime.

Exercising outdoors can improve mental wellbeing

One incredible benefit to exercising outdoors is it’s power to improve one’s mental wellbeing. Studies consistently show the numerous mental benefits of green exercise. These include reduced anxiety and stress levels and an increase self esteem and the ‘happy’ hormones, endorphins, serotonin and dopamine.

Exercising outdoors is easily accessible

Another great benefit of exercising outdoors, is that there anyone can get active, in any location. Beaches, Parks, your own back garden, are all perfect examples of places you can workout. You can either choose to use nothing other than your body, by doing simple bodyweight exercises such as squats or press ups. Or you can use modular equipment, such as the Auster Power Straps. Gear like this allows you to perform a huge variety of exercises, that target the whole body.

Social benefits

There is also research to show the social benefits of outdoor exercise. Exercising with others, whether that’s a team sport, joint workout class or a simple hike with a friend, is a fun way to meet new faces, engage in social interaction, challenge yourself and learn something new.