Perhaps this is obvious, but in
order to write book reports for Fridays, I have to read the books
beforehand. If all goes well, I
will be posting a report on Friday about the book I have been reading that will
talk about the whole thing and why it is good and why it applies to fitness.
But right now, I’m only halfway
through the book. I am too excited
to wait to post two new reasons to get outside and exercise, as articulated in
this book (tune in Friday to find out what it is!).
One: nature makes us happy.
Studies show that being outside in nature improves our mood and our
health. We live longer, have fewer
health problems, and generally improve when we visit the trees and rocks and
waterfalls of our world.
Two: walking (and to some extent biking) can increase our sense
of connection to our community.
When we are out in our town, we notice things we don’t have time to see
in our cars. We get a sense of the
terrain, like where the biggest hill is and where the restaurant aromas are
most enticing. We improve our
brains by mapping our immediate world in more detail. We meet the neighbors and learn, if not their names, the
names of their dogs.
Go play!