Is there such a thing as the perfect workout?
Many people, whether they are pro athletes, fitness fanatics, gym rats, or health nuts, are looking for "the perfect workout." Some people believe the perfect workout is a HIIT (high intensity interval training). Others believe the CrossFit WOD (workout of the day) is the best. Super Slow wight lifting is some people's choice. Yoga and Pilates will get a lot of votes also.
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The perfect workout is...
...provided by nature.
The perfect workout is your body having to interact with the natural world. The perfect workout is you getting outside and interacting with nature. Nature provides real-world interactions with real-world demands in real-world variety.
Here's a recent example of a perfect workout I did. Sunday I decided to hike from Eagle Creek to Punch Bowl Falls to Tunnel Falls and back. The hike consisted of 14 miles of hiking, 2000 feet elevation gain, and took me about 4 hours to take the 30,000 steps.
Here's a recent example of a perfect workout I did. Sunday I decided to hike from Eagle Creek to Punch Bowl Falls to Tunnel Falls and back. The hike consisted of 14 miles of hiking, 2000 feet elevation gain, and took me about 4 hours to take the 30,000 steps.
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The hike wasn't just putting one foot in the front of the other however. I used nature to provide some fun real-world demands in real-world variety. The multiple creek crossings gave me the opportunity to jump from rock to rock across a couple streams and balance on fallen logs crossing other streams. Fallen trees across the trail allowed me to duck under logs, crawl under logs, and jump over logs. Tree branches by the trail allowed me to hang and swing from branches. Muddy puddles across the trail were fun to run and jump over. I also found opportunities to climb over log jams and huge rocks to get better views of the waterfalls, creeks, and canyons.
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The perfect workout was provided by nature, I just had to take advantage of each demand and opportunity and find fun and varied ways to move and interact with nature. The "workout" challenged my endurance, strength, agility, balance, power, coordination, and creativity (those are the keys to health and being a well-rounded athlete as I've talked about before). When I was done with the hike, my whole body was tired but invigorated by the great workout, fresh air, and beautiful scenery.
The great thing about nature's workouts is they are always different. Go on a hike, climb a tree, swim in a lake, garden in your yard, shovel snow, the options are endless. Nature is unpredictable, always changing, and the environment the human body was designed for and adapted to. Restore your natural human strength and function by moving your workouts out into the real-world nature provides.
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