Rugged Strength Training: The Untold Benefits Of Outdoor Training
Perception may be the “reality” to you…and if you fail to pause and look beneath the surface to seek out what is really going on then your perception will be your reality whether for good, or for bad. If you believe the only way to get in a full day’s work in your training is by having access to a fully stocked weight room then I’m here to tell you that your perception is NOT the reality. If you want to learn about the benefits of outdoor training then keep on reading my young Jedi!
Rugged Strength Training
As I touched on in the opening paragraph if your perception is that you must have a weight room in order to achieve results then you are sadly mistaken. Now don’t get me wrong I love weights, barbells, benches, racks, and even air conditioning, but these things aren’t necessary for you to lock down some serious gains with your strength and conditioning work.
If you have to resort to training outdoors, or even working semi-outdoors by transforming your garage, or basement into a strength and conditioning facility then today you’re in the right place. Let’s go over some of the untold benefits of outdoor strength training and conditioning.
A Miserable Environment Is A Quality Environment (Most Of The Time):
Let’s face it, most health clubs you walk into consists of people that are too distracted by the news, or sports stations that are playing on the TV rather than actually doing any training. They are too busy sizing up their “workout attire” while being worried about what kind of music is playing through their headset rather than focusing on what kind of wrestling match they’re going to be getting into with the iron for the day.
The way I see it is that society has become too mentally and physically weak as it is these days…so why should we perpetuate that soft weak lifestyle with a cushy training environment? This is part of the problem.
It’s been my experience with both myself and my students that when things are a bit uncomfortable it forces a sort of concentration and focus on the task at hand in order to ensure that you dig your heels in and do the work. This added focus and desire to be done with the training by working hard to make it through has always served both myself and my students very well in terms of achieving a level of physical prowess that really can’t be acquired in the same way within a cushy environment.
The Advantage Of Space:
If you’re fairly dynamic with your strength and conditioning work then you may have some tricks up your sleeve by applying some drills that require the availability of some space that you may not necessarily get with the luxury of training under a roof. Sometimes you need to apply some power and running combinations that you just can’t do indoors. Case in point.
As you can see here I can really blend a couple things with this overhead medicine ball throw and run combination. First, I’m able to train the very important power building trait of triple extension involving the extension of my ankles, knees, and hips.
Triple extension of these joints is achieved here by the medicine ball throw itself and there’s no real limitation as to how hard, how far, or how high I should throw the ball because being outdoors doesn’t place any limiting factors on those areas of the drill.
Secondly, once the throw is executed chasing down the ball to set up for a subsequent throw is a great little element to add to the cardio conditioning component of the drill. The rugged strength benefits can really pay off with this type of strength training scenario.
Benefitting From A Change Of Scenery:
All too often a training environment may become stagnant simply because you get tired of looking at it! Even for the most disciplined lifter, or iron veteran the repetition of the same training environment over and over again can cause one to become stale with their training.
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I work on changing things up from time to time by trying to first think about a truly different and unique training atmosphere that I can use outdoors. Once I do this I work to formulate a plan in order to leverage what I can around that environment in order to make it effective.
For instance, if I’m sick of training indoors and I’m at a loss on what I can do in order to train my grip because I don’t have medicine balls, dumbbells, barbells, or kettlebells…I may resort to lifting stones, or even logs for the purpose of training my grip.
As you can see the possibilities are endless if you put your mind to it. The substitution of equipment is rather simple once you are able to notice and take advantage of what is around you. Pay attention to details my friend.
Convenience Of Transforming Your Yard Or Garage:
The other key to training in an outdoor, or semi-outdoor setting is that you can utilize the space closest to you for your convenience. Your garage, or yard can be easily transformed into a strength and conditioning training ground with little to no expense.
You can leverage the use of car tires, sledgehammers, bricks, rocks, and rope to set up an array of drills that you can perform right at home. This saves time, money, and drastically increases the odds of you being consistent with your training over the course of time.
For more information on how to leverage such a program you might want to check out my Unconventional Conventional Method Of Strength ebook which outlines such a program in its entirety with complete video instruction.
What kind of rugged outdoor training are you currently implementing for yourself. Don’t be shy about posting up in the comments here below. Stay strong. Be better. Don’t be a victim.
Related Articles:
Skillful Conditioning: Quality Work To Rest Intervals & Intuitive Recovery
Common Sense Strength: Harness Your Natural Human Ability
Resourceful Strength: How To Make Gains With Minimal Equipment
The Gravity Method: Dynamic Bodyweight Strength Performance
Killing Strength: How Your Smart Phone Is Killing Your Gains!
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I really do believe that working out indoors is more distracting and by working out outdoors, you get put out of your comfort zone. Thanks For The Post.
Thanks for your feedback. I think each place/training environment serves its purpose, but outdoor strength training offers a great deal more value and options than most people think. Thanks again for your post. Don’t be a stranger!