What gets you moving outdoors?

[Baltoscott]

So what gets you moving outside?  Gardening? (That would be my wife!).  Walking? Running? 

Me, I like to do a lot of things outside -- hiking and exploring new trails, walking and playing frisbee with the dogs, hitting my fitbit step and floor goals, but my favorite activities always seem to involve exploring the world on two wheels -- an lately just one wheel.  I've got bikes. Lots of bikes. Folding bikes, an electric bike, a steel touring bike that I use as my main commuter, a bike with studded snow tires, and last year I even learned how to unicycle. It even seems kind of practical now that we've run out of gas on the east coast!

So ... What gets you moving outside?

[Jotex]

Like your wife, what gets me moving outside is gardening. But I’m in an apartment, so the plants are in pots on our terrace. Some are outside, others in a winter garden, and hot peppers in a small greenhouse. 

[NellyG]

Yes, gardening also gets me going outside. So does building maintainance (I live in an OLD house). And walking on the Mount right near me - I love walking among the trees and scrub and rocks. I also enjoy my bike - again, especially among trees and bush.

[SteppingBooks]

I wish I could say that gardening gets me outside.  I try, and the only plants I can make survive are tomato plants and dandelions.  

I get outside to mow the lawn, but mostly I get outside for my walks, despite the weather.  It's like recharging myself when I get outside for a walk.  Usually it is at the local park for safety reasons, but sometimes I will venture to the hiking trails if they aren't too muddy.  Though I may not remember everything I saw on my ventures out, I mentally feel better afterwards.

[Heybales]

What really get's me moving outdoors is seeing a snake too close for comfort!

Love the biking, enjoy the running (but this year gotta get done with some PT first).

Gotta get back to the trails for some jogging. Love the hiking when I got the time and not thinking of a workout.

Missed my backpacking trip to AR this winter as snow was coming in while I'd be on trail - shuttle service said I'd have problems getting the car out even 2 days after I got to it - so.... went around local lake park for the 3 days, still got close to the daily 11-13 miles. Less snow here, but colder.

[YojanaFitbit]

What get's me moving outdoors is walking, I really like to walk on parks or open spaces to enjoy the view. And I have endorphins to thank for that, those chemicals that our bodies produce that are natural pain relievers and mood boosters and can even make us feel euphoric. 😎  Also, being outside in the fresh air and in nature further helps to lower stress levels. 😔

[alexthecat]

I've always used walking for stress management. Even when I was a little kid, I'd wander around outside whenever I was upset about something and needed to clear my head. I still do that in the evenings to shake off whatever happened at work that day. Or I wake up early and take a walk in the morning to prepare for the day. It's a form of meditation, really. 

I'm into lots of things now... hiking, running, skiing, mountain biking... I always get back to walking though, because it doesn't take special equipment or any real skill. (I shouldn't say that. I experienced a traumatic injury and had to relearn to walk as an adult. There's more to that than you might think.) It's just so easy to find time for it. 

[Baltoscott]

@alexthecat @YojanaFitbit  you make me realize that it would have made just as much sense to start this post Mind & Body forum as the Get Moving Forum.  Getting outside really help with stress, and plain old walking makes it accessible to most of us.  

@Jotex -- I like that you've brought the outside garden inside! I think that is another stress buster for a lot of people. @SteppingBooks @NellyG mowing the lawn and working on the house or a bike get me out too. Sometimes I think of those activities as chores, but they are actually kind of stress reducers too. Maybe just because it is outside?

@Heybales -- snakes ... those are kind of stress enhancers!  I never seem to see them until I've almost stepped on them, or inadvertently sent my dog flying at them in pursuit of a ball.  Always good for an unplanned change in direction, though 🙂

Alright, buddy, nothing to see here, just turn around and go back to where you came from.

[lifecoachsophia]

I recently discovered I enjoy gardening. I am in awe of the beauty of my little pretty plants. I enjoy walking; sometimes increased to a slight jog. I haven't ridden a bike in many years, but I would like to purchase one soon. I am also on the East Coast and we haven't had a decent stock of bikes since COVID hit. Hopefully there will be some available soon.

[Heather-S]

Our dogs are the biggest factor.  Walking them is the main way we get outdoors.  My husband isn't really into hiking.  Neither of us like cycling.  So the dogs give us a good reason to get out.  🙂

I also try to take advantage of beautiful weather days on my lunch breaks at work when I can.

[YojanaFitbit]

@Baltoscott thank you for taking the time to start this topic, I loved it. By the way, wow cool picture! Just be careful, they are beautiful animals to see but as you said they are always hiding waiting for you to surprise you. 😉

[Baltoscott]

@lifecoachsophia -- I'm not much of a runner, but my walks and hikes often turn into the walk/jog pace you mentioned. Do you have any method for that?  I'll sometimes use telephone poles as markers two poles walk and then one pole trot, then maybe one pole walk and two poles trot.  I know others go until they get their HR into the activity into the cardio zone, keep it up for a minute or two and then walk until they drop out. 

[lifecoachsophia]

Hey there @Baltoscott I actually use the exact method you described. I use whatever landmarks are in the area where I am. Sometimes it's telephone poles, mailboxes, or houses. I jog enough to get my heart rate up without feeling like I am going to pass out. Of course, there are times when I push my limits. It just depends on how consistent I have been with my workouts. 

I am considered an "essential worker" and our facility isn't fully staffed yet even though numbers are dropping. I am hoping to be consistently consistent in the next few months. 

[t.parker]

For me, it's running, cycling (although I reduced cycling a lot, no real reason), and rock climbing. Running is my way to explore the area (I find walking way too slow and I'm impatient 🙂 ). I use the Komoot app (I really recommend it) to design the route I'm going to follow. Sometimes, I let Strava generate a random route for me but a few times it took me on unpaved roads with a national speed limit - I'm not comfortable running next to cars passing me by centimeters. Very often I run into the unknown (so I had my lesson to check Google street view to make sure the route is "runnable"). I'm not discouraged by the weather. In fact, I like all weather conditions as long as it doesn't cause immediate danger. Same places during rainy, sunny, or snowy weather may look quite different and this is a huge part of the exploration. I enjoyed cycling a lot last year during the first lockdown in the UK due to almost zero traffic but now roads are way too busy to take some old routes.

[Baltoscott]

@t.parker — I am pretty comfortable riding in traffic, but I definitely pick my battles. Pre-pandemic my morning commute was very early (5:30-6:30) and traffic was’t too bad. Also, living in a city with lots of N/S and E/W streets gives me a lot of options to avoid the busier arterial roads.  I have to agree though that it was a lot of fun spring last year when NO ONE else was on the road!  I am still working from home for now, so I can take exercise ‘snacks’ mid-morning or mid-afternoon to get out on one wheel or two.

[t.parker]

@Baltoscott In general I can ride in the traffic but there are areas I explored during lockdowns that were totally empty and now riding there can get scary. In the UK there are roundabouts everywhere and I find roundabouts cyclist's worst enemy. For that reason, when I plan my route I always try to plan it the way that I'm gonna leave the roundabout on the left-hand side, ideally just turn first left (so I can take outer lane). I had quite a few close calls already mostly due to impatient drivers overspeeding and not keeping distance.

[Baltoscott]

Yes roundabouts can be a challenge.  If you know the area it is sometimes possible to move off your route a couple of blocks to work your way around them.  They are not very common in the US which probably makes them more dangerous than you are used to.  The rule that you yield to vehicles already in the circle seems to take a while to catch on for some people, and a mix of regular users who follow that rule and novices who seem to get themselves trapped in an inner lane and then pause when they want to exit makes for a big mess. The confusion is common in DC where I work. There are quite a few roundabouts there, but maybe half the traffic consists of tourists who are completely baffled by the expected traffic flow.