Free Worldwide Gym Membership

The front door to your very own private gym.

Now, for a limited time only, you could receive a lifetime membership to your very own private worldwide gym! Supplies are limited, and time is running out, so call now! Alright, you already know by now I'm not giving away gym memberships or anything.  I am, however, going to show you how you can utilize the gym membership you were born with that no one really seems to remember anymore - the outdoors.

Isolationaphilia

While there are a few exceptions, most of the modern world seeks to isolate us from the world that people inhabited for a vast majority of human history.  If we want to travel, we no longer have to pack up and walk there.  If we want to eat, we don't have to pick through the woods foraging for a salad or sprint after a rabbit or hurl a spear at a deer we've been stalking, we just pick up a frozen steak from the store or swing by a fast food place on the way home.  We don't have to build our own homes.  We have strollers to carry our kids around instead of holding them or strapping them to our backs.  We've been pretty successful at taking a lot of the physical work out of daily life.

Now, I'm not saying all of this is bad.  I enjoy hunting for my own food, but it's nice to know I can go pick up some grass fed beef or maybe some heirloom tomatoes from the farmer's market.  I very much like air conditioning, cars and refrigeration.  I'm obviously a pretty big fan of the Internet.  We just have to see both the ups and the downs of the situation.

One problem is that gyms have largely followed suit with the rest of the world.  Some very smart (but possibly misguided) folks came up with machines that simplify your movements, and anymore those machines dominate most gyms.  Machines that help you only use one muscle group at a time.  Machines that let you run forever without going anywhere.  Machines that, like a lot of our other modern conveniences, remove us from situations (and consequently movements) anywhere close to those our ancestors would have come across.

For some, that's perfectly fine.  If your goal is to have biceps bigger than most people's heads, but you don't necessarily care about being able to do anything with them, then it makes perfect sense to use a machine that targets your biceps.  The problem is, for a martial artist, 'fitness' means something a little different than what some people might normally think.  I hesitate to use the words 'functional fitness' or 'functional strength' because anymore they've kind of become cheesey marketing buzzwords but it's the best way I can think to put it.  For us, an exercise that works nothing but the biceps would be inefficient and irrational.  Can you think of a single technique in which only your bicep moves?  Even the most basic punch is a concert of interconnected muscle groups ranging from the muscles in your arms to your shoulders, torso and your hips.  If your entire body is designed to work as a single unit, why train it any other way?

Another downhill trend in gyms anymore is this fanatical obsession with constant chronic cardio.  Think about it, when most people think of a gym the first thing that comes to mind are vast rows and rows stretching off into the horizon of expressionless zombies slogging away on treadmills, Elliptical machines and stationary bikes - their minds so numbed by flashing array of televisions in front of them and the assortment of blaring music players dotting their ears that the building could catch fire and they'd likely still be jogging when the firemen arrived.  We've discussed it before, long slow cardio is not the way to go.  For some reason though it has become embedded in the cultural consciousness as the paragon of fitness.  Either way, why pay money to go to an establishment that lauds an activity you know to be more physically detrimental than beneficial?

Getting Back to Basics

Now, don't assume for a minute that I think modern gyms are the scourge of the Earth or anything.  There are definitely those hidden gems out there, gyms where members are encouraged to train hard and lift heavy, gyms where you'll find more pull up bars and Olympic weight sets than Elliptical machines and treadmills.  The key is to be doing lots of good compound lifts.  This article isn't about that though.  Sometimes though, even if you attend one of these rare, wonderful gyms, it's good to get yourself out of the gym and into the sunlight.

"But, what could I possibly do outside? There aren't weight sets in the woods, or pull up bars, or physio-balls."  That's true, but you do have your body.  I mean, you can certainly also toss 300 lbs of bumper plates in a backpack and haul it and your bar out in the woods somewhere to exercise (a workout in and of itself) but generally that's not necessary.  While I think that, for ideal strength-to-weight ratio purposes, training with weights should eventually be a part of your routine, you can still get an excellent workout just with your body weight and a little creativity.  Need some examples?

• Handstand Push Ups - A personal favorite of mine.  They're easy too, do a handstand, slowly lower yourself so your nose touches the ground (without falling over or eating dirt) then push yourself back up into a handstand.  Okay, so easy may be a relative term here.  There are lots of ways to do these, eventually you should be able to do them freestanding out in the open, however to start out with I recommend planting your hands about a foot in front of a tree, then kicking your legs over your head so you're doing a handstand with the tree providing the balance support you need and doing your push ups that way.  Using this method you can also gently push yourself away from the tree to learn how to balance the handstand on your own, knowing that the tree is there to catch you if you start to tip over backward.  An even easier version if you're just starting out is the pike push up.  Find a rock, ledge or low, sturdy tree branch and raise your hips partway above your head with your legs mostly straight and your hands lower down on the ground so that you make a V shape.  Doing push ups this way helps get your shoulders and arms used to the load of a full handstand without quite so much weight.  On the other hand, if you need them harder you try them one handed (something I've not seen anyone do yet, actually) or try clapping handstand push ups (something I have seen done).

• One Legged Squats - An excellent leg exercise.  Sometimes also called pistols, one legged squats are performed by raising one leg in front of you and then, keeping it there, lowing yourself as low as you can go in a squat with the other leg, and then standing back up with just that leg.  Again, it sounds easy, but you may find them harder than you expect.  If you're having trouble you can either do the same as with the handstand push ups and do them with your back against a tree for support (make sure to pick a smooth barked tree, you don't want to sand the skin off your back) or find a low rock or log and do them so you're sitting down on, or just barely hovering above, the log or rock and then pushing yourself back up with only your one leg.  Having something under you like that acting as a seat helps you be reassured that you won't tip over backwards.  Are you such a beast that these are a walk in the proverbial park?  Try them holding onto the heaviest rock you can find, with a log on your shoulders, or doing one legged squat box jumps onto a log or rock.

• Pull Ups - I shouldn't have to explain this one.  Find a tree branch and get going.  If pull ups are easy, try them with only one arm, if they're way too hard, find a branch that is about chest height and angle yourself underneath it with your feet way out in front of you so that your body is face up at a 45 degree angle under the branch and your heels are still touching the ground.  This will take some of the weight off since your heels are acting as a fulcrum and you can slowly work your way up to a full pull up.  You can also try negatives, whereby you jump up to the top of the pull up position and then do the negative part of the movement, lowering yourself back down as slowly as you can.

• Sprinting - Doing high intensity interval sprints out on a trail is infinitely more rewarding than doing them on an indoor track or a treadmill.  Things like gulleys, hills and sudden curves ramp up the intensity, make you more agile and, well, just make it more interesting.  Want something a bit more full-body?  Try quadrupedal movement.  Sure, any passing mountain bikers who see you scrambling through the forest on all fours might think you're crazy, but at least you'll be fit.  It's ridiculously fun too, especially when you get good at it.  If you really want the full benefit, do it all barefoot.

• Tree Climbing - Sprints or quadrupedal movement alone not tiring you out enough?  Are you such a beast that ten minutes of burpees doesn't faze you?  Find a big tree, climb as high as you're comfortable as fast as you can, scramble back down as fast as you can (within the limits of safety), sprint to another tree and repeat.  Want a little more intensity, carry a big rock from tree to tree as you sprint.  Before long, every muscle you have (even ones you didn't know about) will be turning in their resignations.  This is an absolutely full body workout, it's also relatively scalable.  You can lower the intensity by resting between trees, not climbing as high or at a slower pace, etc.  You can also change lots of variables, like throwing something heavy to the next tree instead of carrying it, doing quadrupedal movement between the trees, climbing without using your legs.  The possibilities are endless.

These are just a few exercises that are possible outside, but in reality any exercise can be done out there if you're creative enough.  You can even do bicep curls outdoors, although for the life of me I'm not sure why you'd want to.  So what are some of the general pros and cons about exercising outside?

The Pros

• FUN - I know typing in all caps in generally an Internet taboo, but it's warranted here.  Exercising outdoors is just plain fun.  The combination of liberating amounts of physical exertion with lots of sun and fresh air is a great recipe for happiness and satisfaction.  Not to mention being outdoors tends to just plain cheer people up (probably because exposure to sunlight boosts seratonin levels, that happy feel-good chemical used to treat certain forms of depression).  There are benefits to having a fun workout too, the main one being it can make it easy to forget you're actually doing work.  I remember one time while I was doing my sprints in the woods near my house I was in one of my 20 second walking periods between sprints and I heard a sharp crack off to my right.  Being into wilderness survival and hunting and things I immediately froze, and looked over to find four deer standing there watching me. As soon as I turned all the way to face them, they bolted off down the trail.  In a split second I decided it would be interesting to see if I could keep up, so I sprinted after them.  I gave them a pretty good chase, but eventually ran out of steam.  Huffing and puffing and with a smile on my face I looked down at my stopwatch to find I had been sprinting at full speed for over a minute!  May not be impressive to some, but for me it was well beyond what I was used to doing.  I was having so much fun chasing the deer, I didn't even realize I was running that hard for that long (although after stopping it felt like someone had dropped a freight train onto my solar plexus).  Even though I felt like I was going to vomit everywhere and pass out, it was a fun enough experience that I still had a huge grin plastered securely on my face until I got home.  Having fun while you exercise instead of having it be a grueling monotonous activity can really help motivate people who just aren't that into exercise yet.

• It's Free - I mean this in two senses; you don't have to pay anything and you are entirely free to do what you want.  Want to throw a big weight around?  Want to mix sprints with heavy lifting without having to wait in-between?  Want to workout without feeling self-conscious about all the people watching, or being surrounded by folk who are way more fit than you right now?  Want to be able to exercise without waiting for Sweaty McGymrat to finish and towel off the equipment you want?  Want to do uphill lunges while carrying a weight?  Want to roar at the top of your lungs like an animal while lifting something big and heavy over your head?  Well you can!  Most of that would be hard in a traditional gym environment, if not impossible.  Although, if you're going to cancel your gym membership anyway, I highly suggest giving the roaring one a try; see how fast you're asked to quiet down or leave.

• Sunlight - No matter what the sunscreen companies tell you, you need sunlight for your body to make vitamin D.  Exposure to sunlight has been shown to increase productivity and work satisfaction in labor studies.  Studies done by Stanford University have shown that exposure to sunlight helps protect against endometrial, kidney, breast, colon, lung, prostate, ovarian and - drum roll please - skin cancer! Yup, vitamin D3 activated by sun exposure allows T-cells (disease fighting immune system cells) to move to the outer layers of the skin, prevents cancer cells from dividing, boosts the genes responsible for managing the cell cycle and actually advances the death of cancer cells directly.  Sunlight exposure reduces your risk of osteoporosis significantly, improves heart health, lowers insulin resistance, blood pressure and inflammation.  Not to mention the serotonin boost we talked about above.  Last I checked, the harsh glare of fluorescent lights so prevalent in most buildings wasn't being touted as a mood enhancing, cancer fighting, blood pressure lowering, osteoporosis preventing, heart strengthening free resource.  So go get some sun!

The Cons

• Arachnophobes Beware - I hear tell there are whispers among the spiders in the forest near my house.  In hushed tones they speak tales of Adam the Doom-bringer, Destroyer of Homes.  With a great huffing of breath and pounding of feet this gargantuan beast is suddenly upon you, looming above your carefully spun home for but an instant before plowing through it the way he plowed through so many buffet lines in the past - leaving but carnage in his wake.  All kidding aside, during and after my workouts I pick, flick and wash more spiders off of me than I can count.  I run through so many spider webs while doing my sprint training that I've learned to sprint with one arm up in front of me so I don't have to spit gossamer out of my mouth every ten seconds.  Now, this is probably just peculiar to my area, and it's a pretty minor, exclusive negative point, but if you're deathly arachnophobic you may want to carry a walking stick or keep the sprints to fields where you won't be kissing any spider webs.

• Rain, Rain Go Away - Really? Rain is a con?  Now, I'm not suggesting you go out in a tornado, thunderstorm or hurricane, but if it's just a shower what's the problem?  Seeing as how I don't think the Land of Oz has Internet access, I'm reasonable certain if you're reading this you won't melt if you get a little wet.  Don't you remember being a little kid and having a blast playing in puddles?  What's wrong with indulging a little in that same pleasure now?  It can also make it easier for you to transition to barefoot training, mud is a lot easier on your feet than hard, rocky dirt.  Not to mention it adds a whole new dimension to the workout.  Believe me, trying to sprint up a muddy hill in the rain can easily go from sprinting to quadrupedal movement to brief rest period (if you consider sliding down a hill on your stomach rest).  "But, if it's all rainy and muddy out I can't listen to my iPod while I train!"  Good.  When I train outdoors I don't take mine.  I mean, if I would have had Rachmaninoff blaring in my ears (yes, I listen to classical music while I train) would I have heard those deer I talked about?  Even if it's only when it rains, training without headphones can be nice - trust me.

• Jack Frost - For those who live in a place that has a winter like me, or a place that has more winter months than non-winter months, training outside in the cold can be a problem.  It's hardly impossible though, with the proper clothing, keeping a proper eye on your extremities to make sure they don't get frostbitten and sticking close to home just in-case, you can normally get just as good of a workout.  Knee deep snow makes sprints and especially quadrupedal movement drills an entirely new game.

Yeah, three cons (if you can even call them that) is all I could come up with.  You have to realize, as well, that you aren't restricted to woods.  Some of you may recall there was once a time, long ago, before parents - mortified that their precious darlings might skin a knee or develop a minor bruise - removed all of the fun playground equipment.  Back in these long gone days of yore playgrounds were frequently called jungle gyms.  Huh, look at that...    gyms.  Park playgrounds still make excellent workout facilities if you know how to use them.  Pull ups on monkey bars, dips, hanging leg lifts; the possibilities, as always, are endless.  This extends to beaches too.  While not my expertise (Ohio isn't exactly known for its seafood industry or surf scene), you can get an excellent workout on the beach too.  Sand, like snow, adds a whole new element to sprints and quadrupedal movement, and things like one legged squats and hand stand push ups can be done almost anywhere.

So get up, go outside, and enjoy the gym membership you received the minute you were born.

Have any other exercise suggestions?  Tips for people getting started exercising outside?  Stories from your experiences, or even some cons to outdoor exercise that I didn't think of?  Let us know in the comments.

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