This is an interesting topic and one of the questions I often ask.
Training myself and Personal Training my clients in the beautiful forest and woodlands in and around London made me slightly biased towards the outdoors. However, I will be as objective as possible when I say “it doesn’t matter”.
Yes, that’s right, and in this article, I will explain why I say this.
Everything has pros and cons, and outdoor vs indoor exercise is no exception. Having had the chance to.
Outdoor exercise
Pros
1. Uneven terrain
personal training outdoors makes sense to me because our bodies should be able to react to certain situations quickly and skillfully. These are unpredictable circumstances if we trip, twist an ankle, or lose balance.
Exercising outdoors develops your body and your nervous system, and it helps you react because of the uneven terrain you run, walk, and exercise in general. Whether you know it or not, it creates adaptations in the body and reflexes.
Furthermore, the uneven terrain will develop your muscles from many angles, again something that genuinely functions, as the muscles can react without damaging themselves in many different situations.
The flat surface in a gym will never be able to prepare your body to reach for falls and ankle twisting with less or no damage.
The uneven terrain when training outdoors develops the small stability muscles in your joints, thus making them stronger.
Also, your whole muscles work a lot more as they engage to keep your body balanced and upright. Sports massage therapy can be an excellent method of relaxing the body to release muscle tension.
2. Resistance and incline
On a treadmill, you have the controls. You can decide the incline and resistance. When exercising outdoors, you cannot. You have no control over the wind and incline, particularly when running outdoors.
Let’s face it: Our minds are influential, but they also try to sabotage us. The body also tries to find ways to work less. When you go on the treadmill from work, all tired and half asleep, you want to “take it easy”.
This is the best time to get out there, get fresh air and train against the elements.
You have no control over the resistance and incline; thus, you will push yourself and your limits.
Treadmill exercise is not a workout that should be done daily. Instead, it should be used sparingly to maximise the equipment’s benefits. While treadmills help burn calories, they cannot be used as a primary workout.
3. Diversity
As the seasons change, so does your training. Summer training is very different from winter training.
This is a way to force your exercise routine to change and adapt. This is great, especially if you don’t have a Personal Trainer or Coach. If you keep doing the same or similar exercises (just the progression of the same exercise), your progress will slow down or even regress. Let’s not mention how boring it is.
Furthermore, exercising outdoors, genuinely adapting to nature, not using kettlebells, not doing the same gym exercise, and getting creative outdoors is essential.
Be outside the box, think outside the box.
4. Fighting the elements
Finally, when my Karate coaches prepare me for competitions, they make me fight the tallest and strongest guys on the team. Why?
Well, when you fight against someone or something more substantial than you, you automatically become stronger yourself.
Nature is the most potent force; it can create and destroy. Nature is resilient. Training with nature consistently (as I said before, not taking exercise from the gym outdoors, that’s an outdoor gym) will enable you to absorb some of the power, strength, and resilience it has. It’s inevitable not to.
5. No waiting in line for machines
Cons
1. Uneven terrain
Uneven terrain can also be a downside to exercising outdoors. You might injure yourself if your stability muscles are weak and you run on technical terrains.
I recommend having a Personal Trainer who specialises in outdoor training to teach you and introduce you to outdoor exercising. Not a gym personal trainer who takes gym equipment outdoors; that won’t be useful to you.
Uneven terrain requires a certain level of skill and focus, which I call body mastery.
If you run through the forest and lose focus momentarily, you will likely find yourself face down in the mud.
2. Out of the comfort zone
If you stay in your comfort zone, you will never grow. And if you never grow, what you do will waste your time, money, and energy.
Exercising outdoors all year round will take you out of your comfort zone. And if you have a Personal Trainer, it’s even more so.
And remember, anyone can exercise outdoors in summer, but only the mentally strongest will take on the challenge of exercising outdoors in winter and any weather conditions.
If you feel you are not strong enough, it is time to take nature’s challenges and become physically, mentally and emotionally strong.
3. Streetwise
Exercising outdoors at any time of day or night can be dangerous these days. So, one needs to be very aware of one’s surroundings. Be vigilant.
4. Pollution
Another danger in today’s society is pollution. There’s no need for me to talk too much about that. This is a good reason to stay indoors sometimes.
5. Cold, dirty and wet
When we go outdoors, especially as beginners, we forget we need to be prepared:
– Layers (these are essential; you must ensure you can take layers off and put them on if needed)
– Proper shoes (mud, snow, water, sand, forest, you must make sure you have the right equipment
– Hats (keep your head at the right temperature)
– Gloves (fingers are very exposed to the elements)
– Waterproof jackets and backpacks
– Water (you get dehydrated very fast in certain weather conditions)
– Head torches (when it’s dark or when you know you will come back after dark)
And much, much more.
A good personal trainer specialising in outdoor training will teach you all you need to know about being prepared.
However, these conditions are what it means to train with nature and become as strong as nature. Facing the elements is what makes you strong.
Indoors exercise
Pros
1. Safer
Indoor exercise has its place, and in certain situations, it is recommended:
a) When recovering from an injury, uneven terrain, moisture, or cold can worsen the situation. It’s safer to stay indoors in these situations.
b) When it’s after dark and you are alone. It’s safer indoors.
c) More people are around, so if you suffer from health conditions, there are first aiders, phones, etc. You should not be alone if you have certain health conditions.
d) Other situations where supervision is necessary
2. Cleaner
Well, this is debatable. I find the forest cleaner than the sweaty mats in the gym. No offence, but I hated it when I had to ask my Personal Training clients to lie on the mats after wiping the sweat off them.
On the other hand, some very expensive gyms have 5* conditions. They are spotless.
The air is also cleaner than running alongside a busy road. Then again, exercising outdoors is not only about running.
If that’s all you do outdoors, you must put your creative hat on and think outside the box.
3. Social
Exercising alone outdoors can be lonely sometimes. However, when there are too many people around and too many friends, you must stay focused; otherwise, you will waste precious time.
Furthermore, you can learn from others. Do not copy without knowing what you are doing. Learn from them.
Cons
1. Waiting in line for machines
This isn’t very pleasant. You have a programme.
2. Set patterns of movement
Unless you have to recover from injuries or have certain health conditions that require a specific movement pattern, this is not what you want. Why?
Remember what we said about exercising outdoors on uneven terrain? How do your muscles develop from different angles and strengthen in many other positions?
When you practice hundreds of reps and sets of the same movement (or with very little diversity) over some time, you develop the muscles and nervous system in that set pattern.
When you need your body to react, move, lift, carry, twist, and turn in a different way, it will be weak.
Thus, avoid set patterns of movement unless you need to. Develop your body from different angles.
3. The trap of repetition
While exercising outdoors all year round forces you to change the way you train, when exercising indoors, you can comfortably stay in your comfort zone, in your cocoon. You get out of it very little.
A Personal Trainer can help you only if you are prepared to invest in yourself and put in the work.
Conclusion
How arduous exercising outdoors vs. exercising indoors and how many calories you burn is up to you.
You can exercise outdoors and “take it easy” or indoors and “smash it.” The amount of calories you burn is up to you.
However, regardless of how technical and challenging your muscles work around the body, I believe exercising outdoors correctly will yield more and different results.
