Alfresco training

Janey Holliday finds a gym that’s free, always open and practically empty – it’s the alfresco gym and it’s right on your doorstep

Above: Training with Janey Holliday

I recently read an article about the explosion of canine gyms in America – yes, that’s right, gyms just for dogs. I can’t understand who’d want to take their dog to an enclosed space with no natural air and place them on a machine where they can’t move around freely and socialise with other canines, rather than taking them to a wide open space where they can scurry around and meet other dogs. Clearly, someone had forgotten that the experience of walking dogs was not just about the exercise – and the same could be said for our own gyms. This month around 100,000 people will act upon New Year’s resolutions and join gyms, yet by March a combination of boredom, lack of motivation and fun, means that gym attendance figures will have fallen again. So, for those joining gyms (again) this time of year, stop, and consider the canine gym experience – surely it’s time to let ourselves off the lead and get stuck into some alfresco training?
For a start, there are some massive health benefits from training outside. With some of us spending as much as 95% of our day indoors, training outside gives us a fantastic vitamin D, hit helping us maintain strong and healthy bones. A daily dose of natural light is crucial to our biorhythms and sense of wellbeing and improves every process in the body. Believe it or not, you actually work harder outside! By training on uneven surfaces, working against the natural elements (especially wind) and because you have to create the momentum to drive and move forwards yourself (unlike the gym), you can burn many more calories outside – as much as 20%. It also improves your core as uneven surfaces mean you have to use your balancing and core skills more and it can also make you stronger. A press up using your own body weight (over a chest press in the gym) uses the chest shoulders and triceps, but also uses your core, glutes and legs. But more importantly, training outside can also reduce stress and  gives you a great sense of freedom and relief – running really fast, or shouting as loud as you can when no-one is around is tremendously liberating – try it!!
Whatever happens we all need to get excited about our training because if you’re not, you’ll have very little motivation. So if you are one of the people who hasn’t found something you truly like and you are starting the year already failing, it may be time to take a step outside.

Where and how to train outdoors

Our gorgeous south London parks are well connected, have well lit areas, great path routes, fabulous views and offer good amenities and sport/fitness services. But we also have gorgeous streets and architecture – it’s not all about getting the running shoes on and pounding the streets at a cheetah’s pace. Fast power walking can burn around 500 calories an hour and if you commute into one of the main stations you can pretty much walk to any part of central London in 40 minutes, and I bet you’d beat the bus most of the time too. Here are some outdoor equivalents to gym machines:

1) Swap stair master for double stepping up and down the pagoda in Battersea and walking/jogging uphill in Richmond or Wimbledon Parks
2) Swap indoor circuit training for Wandsworth Common circuit trail (includes step ups, chin ups, ab benches and log ladder), and group outdoor workout classes
3) Swap treadmill for a walk/run around the edge of Battersea Park (approx 1.75 km), the cricket pitch on Wandsworth Common (1 km), Richmond Park (10 km), Putney Bridge to Hammersmith Bridge (over and back is 4 km), or Wandsworth Bridge to Barnes and back (10 km)
4) Swap resistance machines (chest press, tricep pull downs, leg press, biceps curls) for body weight/equipment free exercises: press ups (against a bench or on the grass), dips on benches, bench/step step ups, pull ups
5) Swap elliptical cross trainer for pole walking (power walking with poles)

Motivation

Motivation is the single most difficult thing about exercising. As far as I’m concerned it comes down to things that inspire you to doing something. These are my tops tips: Music – play uplifting tunes before your workout to get you in the mood. Use your favourite tracks to warm up to and powerful tracks to push you through your training. Company – set off with someone, or arrange to meet with someone, or join an organised training group in a park who structure a class to motivate you and get you results. The elements/environment – on a sunny day, get out there first thing to maximise enjoyment or, if not, in your lunch break – literally soak up the sun and feel your mood lift. If its pouring down, look at your training session as a challenge – wrap up and laugh about it and just do it, and if you get bored look around you and use your environment to distract you from your training.


Janey Holliday is a leading health & fitness expert and was recently named as one of London’s Top 50 wellbeing gurus. Janey runs fun, group outdoor workouts and bootcamps for women on Wandsworth & Clapham Commons. Go to www.fitforaprincess.co.uk for details