The spring season offers many enjoyable ways to stay fit outside. 

It’s recommended that adults get 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week, with a mix of cardio and strength training. Activities as simple as walking and cycling can meet this goal as well as improve your health, both mental and physical. 

Spending time outdoors is also beneficial as it’s been shown to decrease anxiety and stress and promote better sleep. 

Walking

Walking is indeed a simple exercise, but one that provides comprehensive health benefits, including helping to maintain a healthy weight and preventing and managing conditions like heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer and Type 2 diabetes. It can improve cardiovascular fitness, strengthen bones and muscles and improve balance and coordination. 

In addition to physical benefits, walking can also improve mood, memory and sleep as well as strengthen the immune system and reduce stress and tension. As with many exercises, building up to walking further and faster can increase the health benefits. Walking in intervals — alternating between slower and faster paces — can increase the health benefits and burn more calories. 

Calories burned: 200-350/hour 

Running

Running is a high-impact, full-body sport that requires minimal equipment, just running shoes and a headlamp or reflective vest if dark outside. You can run almost anywhere. Key muscles used include quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, glutes, hip flexors and core, plus arms and shoulders for momentum and balance. Running boosts endurance, strengthens bones and muscles and improves balance.

Podiatrist Tim Maiden notes many runners land on their heels first, which can create impact equivalent to two to three times their body weight hitting the ground with each step. This intense impact can increase injury risk from the foot to the hip. If you move to a forefoot or midfoot strike, impact is distributed more evenly, lessening injury risk. 

Many love it for the mental as well as physical workout it can provide.  

“Running is a solo sport,” says avid road and trail runner Mandy Valentine. “It’s your own mind and energy that push you, and you get to enjoy the beauty of nature. I love how invigorating and powerful I feel when running.”

Calories burned: 446-783/hour

Cycling

Cycling is a low-impact exercise that easily shifts from indoor riding on a stationary bike in inclement weather to outdoor riding on dry winter days or in the spring. It can foster camaraderie if you ride with friends or be more meditative if you ride alone. More eco-friendly than driving, it builds lower-body strength while being gentle on the knees, back and ankles. 

Cycling increases stamina, strengthens lower-body muscles (quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves) and engages the biceps, triceps, forearms and core. Potential benefits include improved cardiovascular health and weight loss. Consider riding an electric bike or e-bike for less stress on your joints.

Road- and mountain-biking enthusiast Greg Biegen finds cycling “fun, challenging and breathtaking — in terms of exertion and the views.” He adds, “I love being outside, feeling the wind on my face and seeing beautiful scenery. It’s relaxing and comforting, even when it’s very cardio intensive.”

 Calories burned: 250-800/hour

 Hiking

Hiking combines cardio, low-impact exercise and resistance training using your own body weight, which helps boost your stamina and improve your mental health. It’s easy to hike alone or enjoy conversation with friends or family during your outing. According to Washington Trails Association, walking on uneven terrain, like on hiking trails, can burn 28% more calories than on flat ground. Whether you stick to level ground or climb, scramble on rocks or ascend a hill or mountain, you’ll activate your quads, hamstrings, calves, glutes, hips and abdominals. Using trekking poles transfers some of the load from your knees to your arms.

Avid hiker Juliet Berzsenyi looks forward to the sport’s social aspect. 

“It allows me to escape from the city and enjoy the scenery, great company and the journey while working out,” she says. 

 Calories burned: 354-558/hour 

Swimming

Swimming is a low-impact and full-body workout, with the water offering natural resistance to strengthen muscles. 

In addition to improving heart health and strengthening muscles, swimming can help bone and joint health by improving movement and decreasing pain, allowing people with conditions like arthritis and osteoporosis to exercise for longer periods. Swimming can also decrease anxiety and depression and improve mood. 

Lap swimming and practicing different swim strokes are of course options, but so are activities like water aerobics and water walking. Swimming can also be a fun family activity — keeping safety in mind — with all ages participating. 

Calories burned: 250-986/hour 

Pickleball

Pickleball is a sport that has caught fire in recent years and shows no signs of slowing down. The game, played with a paddle and Wiffle-type ball, is a mix of tennis and table tennis. It is played indoors and outdoors, often on relined tennis courts. 

The benefits include increased cardiovascular health as well as hand-eye coordination and flexibility. The relatively low-impact workout can also help bone and joint health, though players need to be aware of injury risks as well.

One highlighted aspect of pickleball is the social aspect, as the game is often played in doubles and through clubs and tournaments.  

Calories burned: 350-450/hour 

Kayaking

If paddling through calm waters sets your mind at ease, kayaking might be a warm-weather sport for you. It provides an all-around physical workout, with positive effects on cardiovascular health as well as your arm, back, core and leg strength. Like many outdoor sports, it can also increase your endurance. 

Kayaking can also boost your confidence and overall mental health, reducing stress and promoting relaxation. The repetitive motion of paddling can be meditative, increasing focus and clarity.

Those wanting to give kayaking a try also do not have to invest in equipment. Rental companies and guides can often be found near paddling areas, with many options available. 

 Calories burned: 400/hour