Seattle Weather Report Calls for No Rain - Now What Do I Do?

With spring weather comes outdoor adventures. Many of us will enjoy the spring warmth and sun outside instead of inside like during the cold winter months. This usually means less time in the gym burning off all those calories. This doesn’t mean that we stop working out, it just means that we bring the workout outside.

Most of our spring and summer activities will become outdoor activities; so the question is then posed, how do I continue to workout and stay strong while enjoying the outside sun. There are many very good ways to stay fit and still get a great workout outside. A great place to start is to look at recreation website to find a good park or walking/biking routes around the city. Parks usually have great walkways where someone can walk, run, rollerblade and bike. Sometimes there will also be a lake or pool near the park for swimming and recreational boating adventures. There’s tennis and basketball courts available for pickup games and matches wherever there are communities. If you want to enjoy activities outside of the city try researching local hiking trails, and take some friends on a hiking or mountain biking expedition. The benefit of doing these outdoor activities is that they burn as many or more calories than many indoor types of training, you get the vital Vitamin D which is important in muscle function and our immune systems, and most important they are all fun and enjoyable activities, why else would you be doing them?

So what happens to our workout when we get those spring showers that bring all the flowers? This is when we take full advantage of our club and train for the activity we aspire to do outside. If we want to go play tennis outdoors, try working on your racquet sport conditioning with squash, the glute building, and high calorie burning sport. If a weekend hike is your family’s next trip, bring them to your gym to try conditioning on the versa-climber or stair mill. If you just enjoy walks in the park, try walking around the 1/12 mile track, where you get to view the entire club as you make your way around. If you an extreme mountain biker, you will probably be out in the rain enjoying your muddy ride, but if not, bring your bike into the club and get it tuned up and fit to your body by the new bike fitting expert. If you have a love for the water, then practice the crawl stroke in the Olympic size pool. For those of you enjoying your first or tenth marathon or triathlon; a certified weight training expert at the club could help you get the strength/endurance and technique down to finish the race within your goal time. Rain or shine the gym is always open for all your training needs.

By taking advantage of the good spring weather you may find yourself doing all kinds of calorie burning activities. This is a great way to begin getting in shape with all kinds of activities that will peak your interest, and maybe getting a nice tan along the way. Just make sure that when the weather turns for the worse, we don’t stop our exercise enthusiasm; but instead continue our training and fun inside our club, so that when the good weather comes back we can enjoy those outdoor activities at a higher capacity than our last outing.

Written by Jacob Galloway
Fitness Director, Seattle Athletic Club Downtown