Home Exercises to Get Fit for Outdoor Adventures
Morgan Rogue 08.22.23
I’m not a huge exercise person. I really enjoy certain exercises but it is honestly very time-consuming for me to fit dedicated exercise into my day. So when I do find times to fit it in, it’s usually quick spurts here and there.
For me, it’s about consistent activity and eating healthy. Having a good diet is an extremely important part of any exercise or health regimen.
Being that this is an outdoor-focused website that is heavy on hunting, fishing and outdoor adventure, we put a lot of emphasis on providing for ourselves and as such there’s a lot of emphasis on gear, but very little on how to take care of ourselves so that we can continue to live this life of hiking into the depths of the nowhere for our food and fun.
If we take care of ourselves, then nothing can stop us from pursuing our dreams.
Here are my top 5 tips for exercises at home to get ready for your outdoor adventures:
Pushups
Pushups are easy and can be modified in a variety of ways. Six months ago I couldn’t do one pushup, now I can do 20. I also do wall pushes, alternating between a typical ‘pushup’ stance to one-handed, switching between hands. It’s going to be tough at first. I say pushups are ‘easy’, but they can be quite challenging when you first begin. Do it everyday and you’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll gain strength. Also, don’t be ashamed to start out with your knees on the floor at first, work your way up!
Pull-ups
I might have a slight addiction to pull-ups. I can only do 1 1/2 right now, but I just started seriously getting into pull-ups a couple of weeks ago. I love the way it makes me feel to see over that bar when I get to the top. It pushes me to get better. I try to get a little better each and every day. If you can get a pull-up bar for your door, that’s one of the most affordable ways to start doing pull-ups at home. Most doorway pull-up bars are around $15-20.
Stairs/cardio of some kind
I have stairs at my house and in my everyday life I go up and down the stairs about a billion times. But when I want to get a really good exercise in, I throw my backpack on and go up and down the stairs for 5 minutes straight at a consistent pace. Talk about getting your heart rate up! No stairs? No problem! Throw your pack on and run around your house whether inside or out for about 5 minutes straight. You can also jog in place, do some jumping jacks or burpees, and really spice it up! Get a solid 5 minutes of consistent cardio in. Try to do three sets of 5 minutes throughout the day.
Yoga
I feel like all the cardio and strength training in the world won’t do you any good if you’re still stiff. I can attest to the healing powers of yoga. I used to have severe back pain (because of a complication with the epidural during my second birth), but after doing yoga for several months (and staying consistent with it) my back is stronger and my pain is practically gone. With just 10 minutes a day, I am more nimble, more resistant to injuries, and overall less pain. Yoga is so much more than fancy stretching, it’s actually a really good workout! Some of those yoga positions are extremely tough and you’ll be humbled by them quickly! Do your best and keep at it.
Resistance bands
Some people are afraid of resistance bands but I absolutely love them because of the variety of exercises I can achieve with them. What I typically do is hook it into a door and stretch it out as if I’m pulling back a bow. This is wildly effective to train those muscles associated with pulling back a bow. I’ll also lock it into the top of the door and pull the bands down to work out a different set of muscles. Hooking them to the bottom of my feet and pulling them upwards is also effective. Play around with resistance bands and have fun with the wide variety of strength training you can achieve.
Don’t give up, consistency is key to every single thing we do in life and that’s the same with exercise. These may seem like ‘nothing’, but when you do it everyday for months on end, they add up to an exceptional routine of health and wellness for life and outdoor adventures.
