It is so much easier to be active during the summer. The fact that the air doesn’t physically hurt your skin to be outside, or the fact that the sun doesn’t set at 4pm before you’re even off of work, it’s much easier to feel motivated during the summer months.
Myself, like many others, tend to slim down during the summer because of all the outdoor activities that become available to us when the weather is nice. Here are my favorite ways to get active during the summer.
Walk, Walk, Walk. If you didn’t already know, I am a HUGE advocate of walking. I spend 100+ minutes a day walking outside. I walk to and from work and the gym everyday and spend my 2 15-minute breaks and lunch break at work walking. Going for a walk and getting fresh air is used as “me time” where I listen to a motivational podcast or focus on relaxing and recharging. You can burn around 400 calories for each hour of walking.
Ride Bike. Cover more distance by riding bike. Exploring by bike is a great way to discover new parts of your city that you didn’t even know existed. Bike to work or to run errands. You can burn around 350 calories for each hour of biking.
Swim. Swimming is such good exercise—I find it more challenging than any other cardiovascular exercise. It’s also a very low-impact way to move your body, so it’s easy on your joints.
Outdoor Workouts. Are you short on time or don’t belong to a gym? Step outside into your backyard and get in your sweat sesh. Do sprints in the park. Go to the high school track to do interval training. Find an outdoor flight of stairs you can run. There is an infinite list of bodyweight exercises that can be done anywhere, at anytime.
Join a Sports League. If you’re more into team sports, try putting together a sand volleyball team or joining a soccer team. What about playing some basketball or tennis in the park every Tuesday night with your friends? Get creative.
Rethink Your Vacation. Instead of an all-inclusive alcohol-filled, lounging beach vacation, what about going on a hiking excursion to a national park? Why not explore a foreign city by foot? If you do go on a beach vacation, there are loads of water sports you can try to get some exercise in. Beat the heat by waking up early to jog on the beach and end the evening with a beachside stroll.
Other things you can do include gardening, cleaning, taking on a new project, water sports, rollerblading, dancing, going on a picnic, produce picking, shopping, running, etc. What are your favorite ways to exercise during the summer months?
Exercise is more fun when it doesn’t feel like exercise, right? Get outside and get moving!
Mandi.