What is Bootcamp? Well for starters, it's intervals between running and weight training. It's an intense workout that leaves you breathless, but with toned abs and shaped legs.
Bootcamp challenges every muscle in your body and with little rest in between each set; you're bound to feel the burn and intensity. By constantly moving for an hour, your body has no time to rest, therefore your burning hundreds of calories, even when you stop. It's a way to challenge your body and mind into doing a workout, which leaves no prisoners.
It's for the strong, the weak, the fit, and the not so fit. There is no discrimination, as long as you have the will to finish what you started. The benefits of bootcamp and outdoor training are astonishing.
1. Improved Mood and Reduced Depression
Outdoor exercise provides a mental health boost beyond that of indoor gyms. Moving outdoors has been shown to reduce anger and depression and improve mood. Exposure to sunlight enhances vitamin D production, which may be partially responsible for this mood-enhancing effect. It doesn't have to include intense activities, low-intensity activities such as walking or gardening can also help you to feel energised.
2. Enhanced Self-esteem
Research shows that as little as five minutes of outdoor exercise can improve self-esteem . Any outdoor location will do, but being near greenery or water enhances this effect. Interestingly, low- to moderate-intensity physical activity shows greater improvements in self-esteem than high-intensity outdoor exercise. Activities shown to improve self-esteem include walking, cycling, horseback riding, fishing and gardening. A regular dose of outdoor activity can help boost the already powerful esteem-enhancing effect of exercise.
3. Low Cost
People often cite cost as one of the biggest factors prohibiting regular exercise. The outdoor environment provides a low-cost solution for exercise enthusiasts and trainers alike. While high gym or studio prices can act as a barrier to exercise, outdoor venues such as low-traffic neighborhood streets and local parks offer free space for physical activity. My bootcamp costs a total of £3!
4. Ease of Access
Lack of time is another common barrier to exercise. Navigating traffic, parking garages and crowded locker rooms adds additional time needed to be active. Taking advantage of the great outdoors can reduce these time constraints. Local hills, tracks and neighborhood streets provide ideal walking, running and cycling settings, while nearby parks offer ideal venues for resistance training, boot camps and yoga classes. Many outdoor areas include benches, trees, inclined roads and even designated exercise equipment, allowing for a variety of resistance-training exercises.
5. Connecting With Mother Nature
One of the greatest benefits of outdoor exercise lies in its inherent opportunity to connect with Mother Nature and the people and places in your community. Exercising outdoors can help you feel grounded, deepen your connection to your environment and enhance your appreciation for the beauty around you.
6. Social Engagement
Exercising can take a great deal of self-motivation, and the reason so many people stop going to the gym after a month or two or fall off their diet, is because no one is keeping them accountable. On the other hand, boot camp workouts are large group workouts, and interaction and engagement are promoted, even through dividing people into 2-3 person teams and encouraging competition against others in the class to achieve daily goals. This social aspect keeps individuals accountable, and also promotes friendships with like-minded people who want to get healthy together!
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