Indoors or Outdoors?

Wellness Wednesday

Indoor or Outdoor?

Today we’re joining Wellness Wednesday, hosted by Natalie the Explorer, which takes place the first Wednesday of each month. The prompt for March is ‘Indoor or Outdoor Fitness?’

I confess to feeling a bit of a confusion in answering this question that seems so simple. My initial response is hollering out “Outdoors”, fist raised in the air in support of my favorite place to be. But yet, I truly don’t exercise outdoors all that much.

I love to putter in the garden, take hikes and be out in nature. But to exercise out when it’s (shudder) cold – or too hot – it’s not going to happen. I think I’ll save the cardio workouts for indoor facilities.

Besides, as I learned from my younger sister a year or two back, those gentle walks around the block, the hikes in nature where I stop frequently to bask in the glorious sights and scenery aren’t giving me the cardio work out I need. I argued that point with her when she first informed me that I needed a workout that gave me cardio benefits. But I’m on my feet all day at work, back and forth from the stockroom out to aisles, in constant motion. “I put on miles a day in the stores. I’m getting cardio,” I reiterated. “No, you’re not,” she argued back.

All it took was one 30 minute workout at a kickboxing facility. I had to concede that I’d lost that debate. I had to eat crow and admit that my little sister was right.

After I discovered that now in my (ahem) older years, I’m battling with blood pressure that switched from too low to now too high, I know that the cardio benefits are necessary for me. I am not a fan of strenuous exercise, but you’d be amazed what I will do to avoid taking medications. So, at least for this point of my life journey – indoors it is.

However…the question was about indoor or outdoor fitness. And, at least to my mind, fitness implies more than just physical health and wellbeing. To my thinking, fitness also includes the mind and soul components. And for those – a healthy and well balanced disposition and attitude, and a strong, personal spiritual practice – then outdoors is definitely my ‘drug of choice.’

Hmmm…so, 400 words later and I haven’t really answered the question. I guess my final answer would have to be:

It depends.