Personal Training West London Outdoors

The benefits of living in west London in regards to fitness is the large amount of parks and open spaces to train in. We have covered on this site in our personal trainer resources section all the outdoor spaces we recommend. In this article we are talking not about the locations but the benefits or training outdoors vs training indoors.

Outdoors-

Fresh Air
Sunlight
(The above are great for many of you who are couped up in an office all day)

Being seen-

People have different views on this. Some people like to train in gyms as they don’t want to be seen by the other people training at possible their early stages of training where they still have weight to lose and may be embarrassed of what people may think of them. Yet if you are confident enough to go outside this can work in your favour as it will remind you of your goal possibly to get in shape for summer or if your in better shape now to feel more confident outside in the sun therefore improving your drive to workout more. Many bodybuilders train in gyms in thin vests so they can see their muscles a lot of people look at them as show offs but a lot of the time the reason they do this is so that they can see their muscles working out and that gives them the drive to train harder and harder to get in better shape.

Ankle Stability-

Often when running on a treadmill for years you don’t gain the ankle stability that you get from running outside as you traverse across different gradients and land conditions. In west London we obviously don’t have a beach (well not that I know of) but running on a beach if you are on holiday is great for ankle stability leg strengthening and toning as it is a land condition that is awkward to run on and the body and mind have to work together to get across it a great away to get fit.

Indoors-
Muscle isolation- Due to the use of modern gym equipment muscle isolation is easy in a gym and outdoors its often hard to get that muscle isolation as you don’t have the resources.

Being seen-

If you are new to fitness or shy about training in front of people a one to one studio is ideal.

Weather- London weather is known to change and usually for the worse so a gym keeps you sheltered and not drenched.

Injury rehabilitation- training outdoors in park if you have a knee injury can be hard to work around but in a gym this is easy as for example a treadmill removed pressure from the knee when power walking due to the built in suspension yet a tarmac path through the park could prove hazardous for the knee.

Temperature- Outdoors the temperature is not controllable and the body needs to be at a certain temperature to work out at best. If you train in a gym you can set the temperature perfect for the muscles. If its too cold outdoors you will have to workout for a lot loner just to get the muscles and body to a safe temperature to workout otherwise injuries may happen. If its too hot outdoors and humid you will sweat excessively and need to drink heaps of sodium replacement drinks that’s not just water, people often make a mistake here. You can still pass out and feel dizzy in the summer from drinking water when its hot and humid as your body is getting rid of all the sodium. When I first began weightlifting I was living over in Seville in Spain and the gym was tiny not air-conditioned and the outdoor temperature was in the 50-Celsius range. I had to drink these bottles as if they were shots of tequila!

Its overall best to train using a combination of outdoors and indoor training for the best results in your fitness and strength. And if its hot enjoying the weather in London whilst it lasts cannot be missed!