Nowadays, it seems everyone wants to be fitter and healthier. When the New Year rolls around, it’s one of the most common goals and any type of lifestyle change usually involves making the decision to workout more often. Most of the time, this means joining a gym. However, buying a gym membership isn’t the only way to get fit. In fact, most of the time when people buy a gym membership, they’re spending a lot of money on something they don’t actually end up using. Going to the gym takes a lot of time that many people just don’t have or can’t seem to find, but the good news is that it’s actually not absolutely necessary. Learning how to exercise outside the gym means you’ll have fewer excuses because you can exercise anywhere, any time, and without any equipment—a great way to overcome the usual excuses.
Everyone knows they should exercise, but it’s become even more important now that obesity is one of the most common ailments of the Western world. Excess weight has been linked to a number of diseases and illnesses such as heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and several types of cancer. Even a small amount of excess weight can be a danger to your health, however, there are even more benefits of exercise than just lowering your risk of disease. Exercise can improve your energy levels, mental acuity, memory, mood, and overall motivation, which is why learning to exercise outside the gym can be a healthy change that prompts a lot of other positive changes in your life.
Everyone is busy these days with family commitments, work, and other demands, which is why things that aren’t scheduled usually don’t get done. Your commitment to your own health and fitness should be as strong as your commitment to work and other activities that keep you healthy and happy. So you need to schedule your exercise outside the gym ahead of time. This will allows you to plan your workouts, anticipate them, and prevent you from scheduling other activities for the same time. That isn’t to say that things won’t come up and interrupt your schedule, but your workouts are much more likely to happen if you view them the same as any other appointment.
Once you’ve made the commitment to exercise, you need to decide what you’re going to do, how often, and make sure you have the resources to do it. Try choosing forms of exercise you enjoy since there’s no point doing something you hate. Once you’ve decided, prepare for your exercise sessions. This means clearing a space in your living room, dusting off your workout clothes, or finding out the time and place of that class you’ve been thinking about doing.
Carefully planning your exercise routine is particularly important if you suffer from certain illnesses or fatigue-related disorders such as Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS). Adrenal Fatigue is a stress-related illness that often occurs after a period of prolonged stress. Your body has what’s known as a NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) stress response, a system that responds to stress by making changes that allow your body to adapt or react to a stressful situation. However, if stress becomes chronic—as it often does in the modern world—constant demands can cause the adrenal glands, a vital part of the NEM stress response, to become fatigued. If this occurs, a number of troubling and debilitating symptoms may occur including lethargy, anxiety, weight gain, and increased susceptibility to infections.
When you feel lethargic due to AFS, it can be tempting to exercise with the hope of feeling better. People who exercise often enjoy the rush of endorphins following a workout. But if you have Adrenal Fatigue, this system doesn’t work in the same way. Adrenal Fatigue can cause hormonal imbalances that affect the release of norepinephrine and epinephrine, hormones that help your body perform aerobic activity and give you the energy and drive to complete your workout. However, if your hormone levels are out of balance because of Adrenal Fatigue, heavy workouts can actually become the cause of severe fatigue and stress. This adds to the load on your adrenal glands and actually makes you feel worse. So if you have AFS, or think you might, it’s important to plan exercise outside the gym that won’t worsen your symptoms or put further stress on your body.
A good way to get fitter is to look for ways of making exercise outside the gym just another part of your life. This will improve your general wellbeing and may even introduce you to a new hobby or pastime you never thought you’d love. Try biking to the local shop, walking to work, working in your garden in the evenings, or taking the stairs at work. Although these may seem like small changes, any time spent being active instead of collapsed in front of the television can improve your health and radically lower your risk of early death.
If you’re going to exercise outside the gym, it means you can exercise anywhere including your lounge room, the local park, walking trails near your house, and even the local pool. Varying your workout space can help keep you interested and give your body the variety it needs to improve your overall health. If you exercise outside, this will also provide you with some much needed vitamin D. Outside exercises you may enjoy can include:
Just because you focus on exercise outside the gym doesn’t mean you can’t sign up for a class. Most gyms allow you to pay for a specific class you want to attend and there are also a variety of health centers that run yoga, dance, and martial arts classes. As an added bonus, you’ll be doing exercise with other people, which can be a great way to make new friends or give you a sense of competition so you’ll push yourself a bit harder than you would by yourself. Paying for the class and having the others expecting you to show up will add a degree of accountability and may increase your motivation or give you the push you need to show up on days when you just don’t feel like it.
In particular, joining a yoga class is great for AFS recovery. Yoga is not only great for your overall health and wellbeing, it will also teach you techniques for de-stressing and healing your body. Adrenal Fatigue leads to dysfunction of the Autonomic Nervous System, resulting in chronic overstimulation and hormonal imbalances. Deliberate controlled breathing used in yoga practice, can calm your nervous system, reduce stress levels and blood pressure, and promote feelings of calm and serenity. This, in turn, will lessen your overall stress levels and lighten the load on your adrenal glands.
Learning to exercise outside the gym can help you overcome excuses. Exercise outside the gym can be done anywhere, without too much preparation or bulky equipment, and you don’t have to leave your children at home or feel guilty about neglecting all the other things you should be doing to spend a few hours in the gym. Creating an exercise routine can be as simple as buying some workout DVDs, signing up for a fun exercise class, or going for a walk around the block. The important thing is consistency. If you want to succeed, make sure you schedule workouts and stick to them.
© Copyright 2018 Michael Lam, M.D. All Rights Reserved.
To get fit, you don’t need to buy an expensive gym membership that you don’t use. You can design an exercise routine that can be done in the privacy of your own home by learning how to exercise outside the gym and overcome the excuses holding back your fitness.
