Outdoor Training

By ChulucanasGym

Much more before  there were the classic gymnasiums, the Hellenic predecessors of the actual facilities, the way how the people kept fit was outdoor. If it’s true the Greek Classic Culture was the one that printed a lot  those activities through its art, there is evidence that every ancient world’s culture had training sessions mainly addressed to war exercises, all them made in the open.

As the time has been going on, the conception of the physical training has been getting close into the gymnasiums as we know them more than 3000 years ago, and only some specific activities have been left to work out outdoor, especially the ones referred to adapt to the natural landscape, as adventure sports. However, the effort to look for a major contact with Nature is motivating the people to depend less on indoor and to rediscover  the advantages of doing it not depending on the limitations of four walls and a roof.

As the environmental quality is guaranteed, one of these main benefits is to oxygenate with pure or mostly pure air. Another of those advantages is improving the mood much more evident compared to indoor only provided the landscape is cared or if it still conserves itsinitial natural setup. That’s why many outdoor training activists, our partner Ronald Benites among them, have demanded the authorities to have more green spaces inside the cities and to conserve the areas as the forests, beaches, wetlands, or any space where the human action has created few or none impact.

Over this basis, the outdoor training activity chances are wide, from calisthenics  to  major physical exigency sports. You choose the one you like a lot because whatever will come OK, the issue is you put in activity, so we have you some very useful tips for it.

1. Check Out The Weather Conditions

There’s no more disappointment than to schedule a day for beginning your training sessions and a heavy rain just starts to fall. It’s not about the heaven sending you any kind of message, it’s about you forgot to check out the weather conditions for the zone where you’re going to work out. Then, the solution is such simple as paying attention to the forecast on your favorite TV or radio station, or newspaper. Also remember today there are services offering you a high level of accuracy those allow to know the weather forecast and check it out real-time, that you can have it as an app on your smartphone, even.

2. Protect From Solar Radiation

Even in cloudy days, remember that having long time outdoor means to be exposed to B-type ultraviolet rays (UVB), unlike their A-type brothers (UVA), those can cause skin burning or cancer, or cataracts in the eyes (we will see which protection on the next point). Then, use a sunscreen that allow you to isolate them while you are out there. Remember the medical consensus is to use that with a 40-to-up sun protection factor (SPF). However, ask your reliable doctor or dermatologist about  wwhich one is the most adequate for your skin type. Also remember the sweat removes the sunscreen, so it’s necessary you to retouch it as suggested, one to two hours in general.

3. Choose The Right Outfit

One thing is working out indoor, where you can work out even naked, but another very different is doing it outdoor where you have to face different elements as solar rays, the wind, the temperature, the humidity, and inclusive the insects. Lookfor  and wear the clothes that guarantee you two things at the same time: protection before those elements, and flexibility for doing your movement in a free and natural way. Also choose the sportshoes those allow you to anchor very well  to the soil (or whatever you have to get your feet on), and that results easy to handle. If you work out during the daylight, wear a hat or a cap according to the circumstance and protect your eyes  with special sunglasses those filter UVB rays, those don’t go flying at the first abrupt movement. Get advice  with your trainer, in a serious sport store, and with other people those also work out outdoor.

[READ ALSO: Mask For The Muscle]

4. Never Forget The Medical Kit

If we didn’t advice it before is because we suppose your gym has an accessible one, but when you’re not in a facility of that type, or you’re totally alone at worst, and you have an eventuality as a contusion or any kind of accident, who and how helps you? That’s why it’s worthy to invest in a kit containing band aids, alcohol in gel, iodium, cotton, gauze, sticking plaster, some cream against bites, and even your sunscreen. It’s a good idea your kit box to have a card  wit your name and your phone numbers in emergency case - nobody never knows. Oh, and never it’s useless to know about first aid.

5. Have A Specialized Monitor

As much as the difficulty and the risk of the physical activity you do is major, the ideal would be it has the supervision and the guidance of a person who is paying you attention constantly, who knows how to act if any type of eventuality happens. If you work out in group, it would be fine that one of you to be someone having most experience for becoming that monitor. Remember that one thing is the gym, where you are just a couple of feet away, but another very different is out there where you could be inclusive a couple of hours away.  So listen carefully to your monitor, follow up the recommendations literally. The idea is you to come back to work out, not you to go just once and being forced not to come back for a long time or not coming back never again.

6. Hydrate

Yes, it’s obvious, but it’s necessary to remind it for the same reason than the previous tips. If you are at the gym, you only got to go to the water dispenser or buy a bottle with water, but out there, especially if you are far from the city, the better is you go well-supplied with enough water for hydrating before, during, and especially after  your training session. The same thing if you are accostumed to drink re-hydratant beverages, those only you have to consume after your training session for replacing salt and carbohydrates, not before. Find out more related information here.

7. Leave Clean The Space

It doesn’t matter  if you’re the only person who works out there, and much more reason if it’s about a collective space, avoid to leave trash although that’s not yours, especially if that could harm someone else. Working out outdoor implies a big commitment with the environment, so the hygiene would be a logical and consistent attitude. In consequence, not polluting (anyway) and educating the others through your example not for doing it  will be another of your responsibilities.

8. Create A Community

Although someone will prefer to isolate physically from the rest for a better training, our suggestion is you to try connecting other people like you doing certain outdoor sport or discipline around your region, your country or the world for interchanging experiences, warning for any cause, or even seeing the chance to visit each other for sharing the experience by promoting a kind of sport tourism. The social media are currently the means for commiting that task effectively and efficiently. Use them responsibly.

9. Share Your Experience

If you are who think your relatives, friends or contacts deserve to share the same satisfaction you get when you work out outdoor, try to write something and post it on your social media where you tell how you had, describe the place, and motivate the people to go with you or by themselves. If you want, share your experience with our crew on our Twitter account, by writing us at chulucanasgym@gmail.com, or leaving some message right below. We’ll enjoy to read you!

The photos on this post were provided (from the top to below) by César Campos, Ronald Benites, Pedro Changanaquí, and Félix Oviedo.