Weight Loss Spotlight

Outdoor Fitness

Depending on where you live you have different outdoors fitness activities to choose from but whatever climate, whatever time zone you are in, there is some basic outdoor fitness options available to everybody.

Let's start with power walking. No matter what longitude you live on you can always put a pair of cross training shoes on and take a long brisk walk. The name power walk comes from the power you put behind a real brisk walk. Take long steps, using you hamstring and you gluteus muscles to really get the tempo up. Swing your arms naturally by your sides to work up a sweat.

The whole trend of walking with dumbbells in your hands doesn't really have any extra fat burning effect on your body, quite the opposite actually. By carrying these 5 lbs dumbbells in your hands your arms can't move as freely as without them and it slows you down instead besides the fact that performing any movement like swinging your arms puts a lot of strain on your rotator cuff with the added weight as well.

Jogging is not necessarily better then brisk walking. The few more calories you burn are easy to overlook when compared to how much more gentle, walking is for you knees and your back.

Hiking is a little more strenuous then regular power walking. Hiking usually takes place in a much more demanding terrain and work your leg muscles a little bit harder as well as your cardiovascular levels.

The beach walk in lose sand is pretty tough too and definitely work muscles you didn't even know you had. If you want to make it just a little easier on yourself you can walk in the wet sand instead.

Bike riding is an excellent way of getting out there and see nature at the same time as you get a good cardiovascular workout in.

Roller blading and skate boarding will give you a good workout as well believe it or not. If you skate for an hour, you get a good leg workout as well as aerobic exercise out of it while you are having fun.

If you have access to the ocean or to a swimming pool, swimming laps is a great workout and it works the whole body at once.

One of the benefits from swimming is the abdominal workout it gives you. Nothing gives you a flat stomach like swimming regularly does.

Another excellent outdoor fitness option especially for the female sex is to locate any kind of stairs in your neighborhood. It can be stairs leading down to the beach, in a park or anywhere else in the city the more the better. Use them to build great gluteus muscles and your legs at the same time as you get your cardio workout in. Walking lounges up the stairs is a killer workout for your legs and your gluteus muscles.

Work your stamina up by increasing the laps with one extra lap, each time you do them.

Having a dog that needs to be walked anyway gives you a great opportunity to put your workout shoes on and make the daily dog walk into a cardio workout. Enjoy the time spent with your dog and get something productive out of it for yourself as well.

If horses is your passion, you probably already know what a workout horse back riding is for your whole body but especially for your lower body.

Living in a cold climate has its pro's and con's. One of the benefits is being able to through the skies on and whether you enjoy down hill skiing or cross country it is an incredible feeling to be out in nature and work up a sweat while having fun.

Skating as well as skiing is a great cardio workout and fun on top of it. Some cities have public recreational parks with outdoor ice skating rinks or you can go to one of the ice skating halls.