Barefoot / Guest Blog

Ten Reasons to Get Out of the Gym and Into the Outdoors

Here is the first in a series of guest blogs from Ultra Runner and founder of the Natural Running School Piers Stockwell. First off here are ten reasons to get out of the gym and run outdoors.

1. Alleviate boredom of running on the treadmill- Lets face it, running on treadmills is not that exciting!

2. Start training your body to run naturally. Treadmills artificially move your legs for you and will not develop the strength and muscle for running out doors, particularly if you plan on racing.

3. Discover new areas on and off road. Make project runs into areas you have not been to before.

4. Rediscover the joys of running outdoors by trying barefoot running. Start to get your body moving biomechanically more efficiently and help your posture at the same time.

5. Meet new people by joining a running club.

6. Improve your fitness by giving your body new stimulus to adapt to, such as varying terrain or hills.

7. Enter a race and give yourself focus by being outdoors.

8. Give your body some Vitamin D derived from natural sunlight.

9. Increase your mileage and endurance by making progressively longer runs.

10. Avoid the gym bodies building muscle for purely cosmetic reasons.