Day 12: Getting Out to Exercise

Sorry for the late post, I could not get my internet to work last night so here's the post I was going to do.

Gyms are very useful in the fact that they have a variety of equipment and facilities available to their members. However, I am also a big advocate for getting outside to exercise whenever possible. It's just nice to get out and breathe the fresh air but it's also beneficial since the terrain offers training benefits. When running or biking, it is practically impossible to avoid any sort of incline or decline, which is obviously beneficial in recruiting a wider array of muscle. Sometimes parks have workout stations set up which can help to expose you to exercises that you wouldn't otherwise think of. In exploring ways to get exercise outdoors, you tend to come across exercise that you can't find in a gym or wouldn't think to do.

Yesterday, I was researching exercise regimens to prepare for a marathon. What I got were charts that displayed how many miles I should run on each day leading up to the marathon. Well, that's pretty straight forward, however, I thought it would benefit me most if I could run as much as I could outdoors. Not only does it help to battle the boredom of being on a treadmill all the time but it helps me prepare for the outdoor terrain that I will be having to deal with during the actual marathon.

My old way of figuring out the mileage of a run was to get in my car and drive the route. However, when I have to find routes that range from 3 miles to 22 miles this could get a little ridiculous. Well, in an effort to find an easier way, I ended up on the maps feature on Google.com. It started off simply by putting in directions in order to track mileage along various routes but the tools the map has are so user-friendly that it got even easier. I was finding routes for various mileages quickly and easily. Therefore, if you are planning to do a lot of running or biking outdoors, I would suggest toying around with this tool so that you can easily track your mileage.

There are many technologies out there that help to make achieving and maintaining a healthy lifestyle easier, more enjoyable, and more convenient. If you come across a few that really don't do that for you, do not get discouraged. You can definitely find something out there that works for you. Hope this helps. Thanks for reading!