This is a question I have pondered for many years, starting way back when I was a competitive triathlete, and cyclist. My mantra was always that I must train my sport outside no matter what the weather. This would ensure I was training the specific traits required for racing. The only time I truly needed to train indoors was for my strength training. I could have moved the gym equipment outside, but I thought that might not be the most practical of ideas.
Fast forward to the present day (October 30, 2017), and I still aim to train outdoors as much as possible. This has been reinforced by my recent foray into the field of photography. Combining my love of training outside, with photography, seems quite logical. There is nothing quite light working on one's fitness while taking beautiful photos at the same time. Not all of my outdoor adventures lead to epic photos, but they do prepare me for all my future adventures where a good photograph is likely to be taken.
There is no doubt I will continue to include indoor training into my fitness routine, because strength training is what truly keeps me healthy and mobile. The stronger and more mobile I am, the better I feel when attempting an activity that is physically challenging. This could be biking, hiking, running, swimming, paddle boarding, the list goes on. Plain and simple, strength helps improve the quality of all movement! I'm not saying you need to squat 400lbs and bench 200lbs, but being able to perform a squat, a lunge, a push up, and a pull up, without falling over is a necessity. Oh, and being able to balance on one leg is helpful too, especially as you age.
The take home message is that if you don't have a daily movement practice in place, you should start planning one today. Getting out on a walk is as good movement practice as any!
Get outside (or inside) and move!
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