Daylight Saving Time has come again, and most of us are now adjusted to more light later in the day. I wish it were like this all year round. But since it’s only available for half of the year, take advantage of Daylight Saving Time and use it for a boost in your exercise routine.
A lot of people have felt the motivation from their New Year’s resolutions start to dwindle by now (if it hasn’t disappeared already). Everybody needs boosts at different times of the year. More hours of sunlight in the evening can help you feel happier and more motivated to be active when you come out of work into pretty, sunny weather (depending on where you live!).
Here are some ideas for exercising in the longer daylight hours:
1. Take a walk. You could go by yourself, with a friend, partner, kids, or pet. (Usually I would say walk your dog. However, I recently saw a teenage girl walking her pet lizard!) Also, take advantage of a scenic route. You can just walk around your neighborhood, or you can walk around a park, on a beach, on a trail, or in the mountains.
2. Take a bike ride. Riding a bike is not only great cardio exercise, but it can also be relaxing, especially if you have a good trail near you. It’s nice if you don’t have to worry about cars.
3. Go for a swim. Go to a heated outdoor pool (unless it’s warm enough where you live), use a pool at your gym, or swim in the ocean if you’re lucky enough to have an ocean near you. I tend to use a wetsuit if I’m going to be in the ocean for awhile, as our water in San Diego isn’t that warm. If you live somewhere like Hawaii, you might just need a swimsuit year-round.
4. Surf. Surfing is great exercise, and it can feel very peaceful.
5. Rollerblade. Rollerblading can be lots of fun with friends or family. It’s a similar workout to ice skating, but you can enjoy the sunshine at the same time.
6. Go to the gym or an exercise class. Although you might not be in the sunshine at the gym, it’s much easier to exercise when you finish work and it’s still light outside. If you feel motivated, go for it!
7. Golf. Go play some golf either on the driving range or on the course. If you have enough energy to have a pull cart and walk the course, you’ll get an even better workout.
8. Play any sport outdoors. You could play basketball, tennis, soccer, football … any sport you like. It’s even more fun when it’s light outside.
9. Take your workout outside. If you do bodyweight circuits or exercises that don’t require weights or many weights, take your workout to your local park. Some parks are now geared more toward exercise (such as Nobel Athletic Fields in the UTC area in San Diego with exercise stations around the park for pullups, pushups, dips, and other exercises.)
10. Go for a jog or a power walk around your city. Just because you live there doesn’t mean you can’t explore your city or go to your favorite areas and power walk or jog around them.
Hopefully, you’re feeling more happy and energetic with the extra sunlight in the evenings. So choose your favorite type of exercise or one of the ideas above, and try to get some exercise in every day! Enjoy your new exercise boost! 🙂
Photo Credit: Photo by Joits at Flickr Creative Commons
haha… teenage girl walking with a Lizard… OMG I can’t imagine that..I was actually looking for a partner to walk along with me.. and obviously walking with a Lizard doesn’t seem a good idea to me..!!!
It was definitely an interesting sight to see! I agree that a partner for walking is maybe a better idea, but it’s great to see new things! Have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
daylight is the perfect time to do something outside.. and all recommended ideas you gave here, just perfect..!
That’s what I did the other day. I took my dog Gino, my Galaxy SII as my camera, some water and I had a destination in mind.
As I walked I took pictures, my dog enjoyed it. I had something to blog about and great evidence that I was there.
Have fun sharing the good stuff with your readers Christina.
Great ideas!
Walking your dog is a win-win situation. It burns off your calories, keeping you fit while it burns off the energy of your dog, keeping him happy, fit and easy to discipline. I also do Yoga twice or thrice a week. It’s a great way to flex you muscles plus it’s a great sleeping pill. But the best of all is Surfing! it’s fun plus you can work on your tan! 😀
I have always found rollerblading to be fun, healthy and a good way to get inspiration 🙂
Hi Christina
I have recently taken up stand up paddleboarding. I would definatly put it on the list it is a great core body workout and great fun all at the same time
Great stuff lee
Any outdoor sport would be best for saving the daylight while keeping your body fit. But people still don’t have the time for sports. Even if they have, they might not have the company.
Take your workout outside, what a great idea for people who do a lot of bodyweight exercises. The park is a great place to do chin ups and other exercises. Getting outside will also improve the intensity of the workout! Only thing is you will need to consume more water on a sunny day, but that’s no big deal. Going for walks is also great, something I do with my family all the time, it’s a good way to engage in some low-intensity cardio, something you can do on a daily basis.
I think that a group activity or sport definitely works best for me. I recently joined an amateur volleyball team to be more active and it is a great way to enjoy yourself and to meet interesting people. Either way, my time is much better spent than on a treadmill in a gym.
I have always been a runner, but I have only recently begun to see the advantages of your #1 idea: walking more.
It is so simple, yet injury free and like you said in #10, it can be combined with so many other fun and exciting ways to get in exercise.
Love the ideas.
Daylight savings time is approaching again, this time we gain an hour. Pretty stoked, neat tips, thanks!
great ideas, i love that there mostly things i love to do like golf, surf and rollerblade! proof that exercise can be fun!
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I feel like many people think exercise has to be some torture session in a starkly lit gym with a bunch of strangers, and this really isn’t the case. Many things count as exercise, and just getting up and moving about is a great change of pace. Great suggestions!
Great tips! I love the outdoors, and even when daylight savings time ends and it gets dark (way too early…), getting outside as much as you can when it is light out really makes a difference in your health and your mood (at least from what I experienced).
Thanks for sharing this great post!
Great post. I think most of us have joined the “Gym workouts” wagon and we have forgotten how beautiful the outdoor fitness is. Here is another idea for outdoor activities.
” Don’t forget the kayaks.”
Kayaking and swimming are my top favourites.
But the most easy one is jog / power walk specially early morning hours, feel the fresh air.
Lighter evenings also means bootcamp season starts again! Great, fun way to get into shape.
There once was a time when I was hitting the gym every single day of my life. That was when I was still in high school. Nowadays, I don’t wanna work out that hard anymore, so I simply take a long walk on days that I do not workout. I work out every other day now. So I also take a walk every other day. There’s nothing like starting your day with some fresh air. But if you can’t get it at the start of the day, get it at the end of the day. Still better than nothing. Catch daylight whenever you can. You need those vitamin Ds!
I love surfing as well, it kills two birds with one stone. It’s relaxing and I get in the zone and I work on my tan 🙂
Hope you’re doing great! I really enjoy outdoor sports and you’ve provide great ideas for me. Thank you 🙂
I choose cycling anytime anyday! Just love the feeling of gentle breeze brushing off your face as you cycle around town. Relaxing and very therapeutic.
It’s lovely when it’s still nice outside when you finish work, all the more reason to partake in some exercise. I’ve been doing bootcamps which are great fun to do in the parks and beaches.
I love jogging and I love the idea of exploring ciy. It must be fun no!! I am goona do that.:)
My best one is the number six :D, very usefull informations, thanks for sharing!
Thank you for wonderful post, I love your blog, It gives very useful and informative information , Thanks again and highly appreciated.
Awesome post Christina! I really enjoy surfing and it is a great exercise too. I read a lot of health benefits of doing surfing as an exercise. Thanks for sharing.
Hi, just taken up roller blading again after about 10 years! Loving hitting the esplanade and skating along the beach at sunset 🙂
very useful and good
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great ideas thanks for sharin :]
Nice post dude.. Actually i love ridding and i think this is my best exercise. However, I want to know if there is any pedometer which can track cycle ridding physical activity ?
Christina Hello, I am working up the courage to start my journey to try to get in shape but when I create will always beats a discouragement with your tips hit me some new ideas always like surfing and some activity on gynastics when I was little I start thinking about WHAT you think?
Thanks for the post. I really enjoy your website. I have to agree with going to the gym. Every time I work out I feel better and more energized.
Living in Florida allows a life style free and independent from any stress related settings. I love to take a bike ride every weekend and found it very relaxing, it also helps to meet new people, all year around, with new daylight savings or not: time is relative.
Hi Christina,A lovely post it is yet very useful! 🙂
These all are easy and interesting exercises. Specially Swimming is my favourit exercise. It really gives me pleasure. 😀
Yes swimming is a very good exercise.
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Daylight saving time can be tough! I love that several of your exercise ideas revolve around going outside and getting some SUN!
Hi Christina, Thanks for your post …it is very useful for our health…
Really this post contains huge valuable information. I think it would be helpful for all. I love reading this kind of post and appreciate it highly. Thank you for sharing.
Bone strengthening activities, like jumping, are especially important for children and adolescents. These activities produce a force on the bones that promotes bone growth and strength.
Yoga acts in a wholesome manner on the various body parts. This stimulation and massage of the organs in turn benefits us by keeping away disease and providing a forewarning at the first possible instance of a likely onset of disease or disorder.
Acute pain is informative and serves as a warning against impending or current tissue damage, whereas chronic pain is itself a pathological condition that serves no beneficial function.
Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed. You may also feel better about your appearance and yourself when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem.
Exercise enhances blood flow to the brain, possibly reducing risk of stroke. It also improves reasoning and memory.Regular exercise arouses the brain and slows down degeneration of the central nervous system, which leads to slower reaction times and poorer coordination.
Great opportunity to get stuck into the garden.
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Thanks for your post …it is extremely useful for our health
Thanks so much! It’s amazing what putting extra energy into everyday activities can do for your health! Have a great day.
Soothing music plays softly in the background as your massage therapist begins to work away the stress of your busy day-to-day responsibilities, in a relaxing quiet atmosphere… Thanks for sharing this post. 🙂
Hi Christina,
I really like the post. And especially that you mentioned bike riding. I absoletly love bike riding and i think its easier than many exercises. Plus, you don’t spend too much once you have purchase a nice bicycle.
Anyways, Nice blog post; infact nice blog!
Keep up the good work.
Emily
Pretty nice post. I simply stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really loved surfing around your blog posts.
Love this article! I especially liked the part of taking your workout outside, I live in LA and there are beaches everywhere. I tend to forget this sometimes since I just moved out here from Texas, I definitely will take my workout to the beach next time 🙂
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Well, I am fitness dreamer, I dream everyday to have a god Body, and I do exercise, but not for much time, I give only a few minuets to Push Ups and to Sit Ups, apart from this, i never tried anything else,
But Now, I am looking to increase the number of exercises to tone my full body and also to do them for a longer period of time, to make, I get the benefits out of it. BTW, the post is good one.
Sports are the best. You get tonnes of exercise and have fun so it doesn’t feel like a chore.