Enhance Your Walks with Outdoor Strength Training
For many of us, especially dog walkers, getting outside daily is second nature. We know that a daily walk is excellent low-impact exercise and that we should aim to get outside every day. Walking is a cardio exercise, benefiting our heart and lungs.
To enhance our daily routine, incorporating some strength training can help build core muscles, which are essential for keeping both our body and brain fit and healthy.
This doesn’t mean you need to head straight to the gym! Instead we recommend trying outdoor strength training. With no subscription fees or intimidating exercise machines you are only limited by your imagination.
We’ve got some great ideas below to help you incorporate strength training into your routine. If you’re aiming to spend more time outdoors this year, check out our ‘Bin The Gym’ advice for more tips on staying active and healthy without the hassle of gym membership.
Why Is Strength Training Important?
- Builds and maintains muscle mass, countering the natural decline that comes with age.
- Enhances everyday activities, making tasks easier and reducing the risk of injury.
- Boosts metabolism, helping with weight management and overall energy levels.
- Strengthens bones, crucial for preventing osteoporosis and maintaining bone health.
- Supports mental well-being, reducing anxiety and depression symptoms.
- Sharpens cognitive function, keeping your mind active and alert.
- Promotes overall resilience, leading to a stronger, healthier body and mind.
Strength Training Ideas To Try On Your Daily Walk!
Rucking
Rucking simply means walking with a backpack. While most of us don’t need to carry a heavy pack on our everyday walks, adding extra weight can boost the energy you use and strengthen your muscles. Start with a well-fitting rucksack and gradually increase the weight using items like water bottles or small weights.
Body Weight Exercises
If you don’t have a purpose made Outdoor Gym or ‘Trim Trail’ nearby make use of your natural surroundings to do simple body weight exercises.
On your next walk add in a few of the following exercises. If you wear your weighted back pack you’ll definitely start to feel the burn and the benefit.
The benefit of doing these exercises as part of a walk is that you will already be nicely warmed up, the safest way to start working on your muscle strength.
Squats: Squatting strengthen your legs and glutes, improving lower body strength and stability.
Lunges: Enhance balance and coordination while targeting your legs and glutes.
Push-ups: Build upper body strength, working your chest, shoulders, and triceps.
Step-ups: Improve leg strength and cardiovascular fitness, engaging your glutes and quads.
Wrist & Leg Weights
Adding small weights to your wrists and ankles increases resistance with each step and arm swing, giving your muscles an extra workout. This makes your body work a bit harder on your daily walk.
Find A Hill!
One of the best ways to add strength training to your walk is to add in an incline. It’s not always possible in some of our flatter areas of the UK but even a small incline will mean your body is working harder as it is engaging your ‘big engines’ aka your thigh muscles and glutes.
Challenge yourself to walking up and down multiple times or finding steeper hills in your area to walk up.
You can use the OS Maps app to find walks in your area. On the premium version you will be able to toggle to 3D Mode which will show all the hills you have nearby.
Let us know by tagging us on Instagram @ordnancesurvey and #ordnancesurvey if you have any clever strength training hacks you add to your own daily walks!
