It is great to keep fit and get all of the benefits of regular exercise, but whether you are just someone who likes to be active and stay in shape or you are interested in becoming a fitness professional and doing fitness qualifications and courses, it can be a good idea to sometimes think about how green your style of exercise is.
Here we look at some ways you can make your training or the training you recommend to others if you are a professional more eco-friendly.
Get Outdoors!
Gyms can be a necessary part of staying in shape if you don’t have access to all of the things you need anywhere else or you find you need the social motivation of going there. However, gyms are not the greenest option when you consider the high demands for air conditioning all year round in an exercise space and all of the power it takes to run things like cardio machines. Where possible, think about getting your workouts outdoors, for example, going running, cycling or hiking, or perhaps enjoying some relaxing yoga or Pilates in the park. Pools can have an even worse environmental impact, so if you love to swim, think about whether you could be doing it in the sea or another natural body of water if you happen to live near somewhere like that.
Cycle
Riding stationary bikes or taking spin classes is extremely popular at gyms, but a lot of people are still reluctant to get into riding bikes outside. Using cycling as a way to get around is one of the greenest things an ordinary person can do, reducing traffic and pollution and also reducing congestion and demand for public transport. If you begin to see cycling to places as an opportunity to work out as well as a free, green alternative to driving, you can help the environment, stay out of the gym, and save money on things like your commute and parking, too.
Use Refillable Water Bottles
When you are exercising, it is really essential to stay hydrated, but whether you are using the disposable cups from the gym’s water cooler or you are buying water in plastic bottles, all of this creates unnecessary waste. Water bottles are something that is becoming an increasingly big concern for environmentalists, and even if you recycle the bottles, that is still placing an unnecessary manufacturing demand that you could avoid just by buying a nice refillable bottle and using that every time you train. There are all different types of bottles suited to different activities, from those that can pack down small for convenience to resilient steel ones for people doing more extreme outdoor activities, as well as, of course, just plain old plastic sports flasks. Whatever you use, get in the habit of taking it everywhere and keeping it filled up, and you can stay well hydrated as you train.
These are just some of the ways you can make your fitness efforts more environmentally conscious.
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