Hi Warriors! It is April and hopefully wherever you are, the weather is showing up with more nice days than not. When that happens, fitness and exercise land usually kick into “beach body” season. And that usually means an emphasis on low calorie diets, toning exercises, and long sessions of cardio. I won’t get into how much is wrong with the previous sentence, but many of us are thinking about being more active again, so today I thought I’d talk about an easy way to spice up LISS cardio.
LISS stands for Low Intensity Steady State. Basically, LISS cardio is the opposite of HIIT. Exercise that is done at easier to maintain levels for longish periods of time. This is usually the type of exercise that brings to mind slogging a million miles on a treadmill while simultaneously attempting to distract yourself from the burning, heavy sensation in your legs, your wandering mind that is composing a grocery list, and the fact that you straight up hate your life at the moment and every decision that led you to said treadmill.
Which brings me to a simple solution. One so simple in fact, that you’ll be both surprised you didn’t consider it already and shocked that a trainer with years of experience (me) would dare suggest it. Go outside.
See, decades of diet-focused culture have somehow given us the idea that the best workout comes inside. Probably in a place that we have to pay to belong to because it has all kinds of fancy equipment. Well, Big Diet is full of it.
Not to say that there isn’t something nice about going to a place that has every piece of specialized equipment you could ever want, but we don’t NEED all those things. And certainly from an accessibility standpoint, gyms and fitness boutiques pale in comparison to the free nature (ha!) of the great outdoors.
I am a huge proponent of no or minimal equipment workouts and exercising outside is absolutely in line with that. A pair of sneakers and maybe some headphones and you are good to go. And there are insanely huge Dimensions of Wellness benefits from exercising outside.
If saving money on a gym membership isn’t enough of a bonus, how about the fact that exercising outside has been proven to lower stress and increase mood more so than indoor workouts? Yup, something about being outside just innately relaxes us. Warm sunshine, fresh breeze… I feel better just typing that.
And speaking of fresh breeze, you’ll get all the benefits of fresh air by being outside. COVID concerns aside, when you exercise indoors, you are usually in a climate controlled environment. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if I say “gym smell,” every single one of you knows exactly the eau de sweat sock musk I am talking about. Not exactly fresh or better to breathe.
Additionally, your body doesn’t need to adapt to the changing environment or circumstances indoors. Outside, your body will always encounter something that requires an alteration of movement which engages more of the muscles and burns more calories. Yeah, we burn more calories when exercising outside, too.
And we also tend to exercise longer outside. This is probably for several reasons. First, it is more difficult to treadmill clock watch when you aren’t actually on a treadmill. It is much easier to push stop on a machine after 20 or 30 minutes, whereas outside, we are more likely to say, “I got this for one more block,” and keep going. Plus, scenery! There is always something to look at (other than a TV or your gym crush) outside and as humans, we are hardwired to appreciate the beauty in nature.
Outdoor exercise also tends to be more social. I know when I head to the gym, I wear my headphones like some kind of people-repelling armor. But if I’m headed outside, I am more likely to see if my husband wants to walk with me, play with my son, or otherwise take part in some kind of group movement.
So, long story short here, if you want to enjoy your steady state cardio more, consider leaving the car in the garage and using your neighborhood, yard, or local park for your next session!
Until next time, be well friends!
