--- title: Why Spring Is The Perfect Time to Take Your Workout Outdoors description: Spring is a the best season to refresh your exercise routine. Take your workout outside, and you'll reap the healing benefits of nature canonical: https://time.com/4718318/spring-exercise-workout-outside/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-30T21:23:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T04:07:20.896Z article:section: Health og:title: Why Spring Is the Perfect Time to Take Your Workout Outdoors og:description: Spring is a the best season to refresh your exercise routine. Take your workout outside, and you'll reap the healing benefits of nature og:url: https://time.com/4718318/spring-exercise-workout-outside/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01c29501afa33013/6988c0b4ab6d77737d6ad6d4/forest-bike.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5184 og:image:height: 2916 og:image:alt: forest bike og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Spring Is the Perfect Time to Take Your Workout Outdoors twitter:description: Spring is a the best season to refresh your exercise routine. Take your workout outside, and you'll reap the healing benefits of nature twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01c29501afa33013/6988c0b4ab6d77737d6ad6d4/forest-bike.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Spring Is the Perfect Time to Take Your Workout Outdoors > Sponsored content. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Mar 30, 2017 9:23 PM UTC  Getty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Mar 30, 2017 9:23 PM UTC When the weather thaws, the plants bloom and the days get longer, it’s spring—and the best time of the year to take your fitness regimen [outside](http://time.com/4405827/the-healing-power-of-nature/). Here are six research-backed perks of _al fresco_ exercise_._ ### **You work harder** When people exercise outside, they tend to spend more time doing it. One [study](http://escholarship.org/uc/item/84b2x4bf#page-2) found that older people who were active outdoors did at least 30 minutes more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week than those who only did it inside. It also made them feel healthier. “Nothing makes you feel more childlike than being outdoors,” says Dr. Pamela Peeke, a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and author of _Fit to Live_. “You’re modulating stress hormones, increasing endorphins and increasing the secretion of serotonin,” she says, so your mood brightens. ### **Being in nature lowers blood pressure** Spending time outside is also good for the heart. A [recent study](http://www.nature.com/articles/srep28551) estimated that nearly 10% of people with high blood pressure could get their levels under control if they spent at least 30 minutes in a park each week, partly because of the heart-related benefits of getting fresh air and lowering stress. In Japan, public health experts [recommend](http://time.com/4405827/the-healing-power-of-nature/) people spend time walking outdoors, a practice called forest bathing, or _shinrin-yoku_. Researchers in Japan have linked forest bathing with lower levels of the blood pressure-raising stress hormone, cortisol. ### **It spurs cancer-fighting cells** Some research suggests that when people are in nature, they inhale aromatic compounds from plants called [phytoncides](http://time.com/4405827/the-healing-power-of-nature/). These can increase their number of natural killer cells, a type of white blood cell that supports the immune system and is linked with a lower risk of cancer. These cells are also believed to be important in fighting infections and inflammation, a common marker of disease. In one study, researchers found that people who took a long walk through a forest for two days in a row increased their natural killer cells by 50% and the activity of these cells by 56%. Those activity levels also remained 23% higher than usual for the month following those walks. ### I**t can feel more fun** When people exercise outside, they feel better and enjoy the exercise more, studies suggest.“Enjoyment is an important pathway to the mental health impacts of physical activity,” says Rebecca Lovell, a research fellow at the University of Exeter in the UK. Exercising outside is also a great alternative for those who don’t want to go to the gym. A [review](http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es102947t) of research found that people who exercised outside reported feeling more revitalized, engaged and energized than those who did it indoors. The researchers also found that people who exercised outside felt less tension, anger and depression. ### **Your mental health may improve** **improve** Nature has a way of making people feel calm, and exercising outside can strengthen that effect. A small [2015 study](http://www.pnas.org/content/112/28/8567.abstract) found that people who walked for 90 minutes outside were less likely to ruminate on their problems and had less activity in the brain area linked to depression, compared to people who took similar walks but in urban areas. “Nature becomes a major distraction from all the stresses of life,” says Peeke. ### **You save money** Exercising outdoors is not only convenient, but it’s less expensive than a gym membership. It also cuts costs for the community. A recent [study](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743516302298) in England of “green exercises”—those done outside, including dog walking, running, horseback riding and mountain biking—estimated that the health benefits of doing physical activity in nature can save around $2.7 billion a year. “All you need is the right pair of shoes, and you can exercise on your own time,” says Peeke. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4718318/spring-exercise-workout-outside/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4718318/spring-exercise-workout-outside/"},"headline":"Why Spring Is the Perfect Time to Take Your Workout Outdoors","datePublished":"2017-03-30T21:23:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:07:20.896Z","description":"Spring is a the best season to refresh your exercise routine. 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