In spring, everyone loves getting back to doing sports outdoors and not only in the mountains, where there is plenty to do in the winter but everywhere. Nature is blooming, the days are getting longer and the weather is getting warmer. These factors encourage us all to get out to exercise and reap all the great benefits that come with it. The authoritative research entitled Benefits of outdoor sports for society. A systematic literature review and reflections on evidence demonstrates the importance for the body and the mind deriving from exercising and being in contact with nature. The combination of the two is a fundamental booster for well-being. In other words, one multiplies the other.
There are many outdoor sports to be enjoyed in spring, from the simplest and most popular, such as jogging, cycling, swimming in the sea, functional training and yoga in the park, to the more adrenaline-pumping and adventurous, such as surfing, climbing, trekking, mountain biking or canoeing. While cycling is an excellent aerobic workout encouraging you to explore new places and fuelling your curiosity at the same time, swimming is always one of the most complete sports with the lowest risk of injury, but it should be practised in open water with caution. Then there are outdoor team sports, which are important on a physical, mental and also social level, like five-a-side football and beach volleyball.
The benefits of outdoor sport, especially if practised in nature (or even in a park, for city dwellers), are many, starting from health. Sport improves cardiovascular and respiratory functions and muscle oxygenation, helping to improve performance and speeding up recovery. In contrast to indoor sports, the air is usually better outdoors, which is also beneficial for health. Exposure to sunlight increases the production of vitamin D, which is essential for the body's proper absorption of calcium and phosphorus. Furthermore, outdoor sports – like running, cycling or swimming – are more challenging, because the conditions are more unpredictable (uneven surfaces, wind, uphill and downhill stretches). This increases energy expenditure and makes you train harder. On the other hand, boredom is reduced and it is easier to take your mind off the effort.
Because outdoor sport is not just physical. It is good for the mind as well. It reduces stress, increases the level of perceived happiness and helps eliminate the toxins of everyday life. In another authoritative collection of studies entitled Does participating in physical activity in outdoor natural environments have a greater effect on physical and mental wellbeing than physical activity indoors? A systematic review says: “Compared with exercising indoors, exercising in natural environments was associated with greater feelings of revitalization and positive engagement, decreases in tension, confusion, anger, and depression, and increased energy.” The social benefits of outdoor sport should not be underestimated either, as the first study mentioned in this article points out, including the improvement of interpersonal relations, especially among young people, in addition to the reduction of crime and the emergence of active citizenship experiences. In other words, a city where lots of outdoor sports are practised is a healthier, safer and more liveable place.
