The gym is great, but outdoors better for total workout

Last winter I entered the 21st century world of fitness clubbing. This is tough to admit after forty-some years running on trails through woods and fields, in mountains and marshland, along the ocean shore and on rock-scrabble desert.

But in February I reached 55 (years of age, not miles per hour) and my incentive to risk life and limb confronting the ferocity of Illinois winters has waned considerably. So, I succumbed. I walked into a gym, signed up, and started treading. And stepping. And cycling. And elliptical-ing.

The outcome? I'm in shape, to be sure, but left somewhat empty inside after all that machine-driven sweating. Fitness, I have found, is more than heart rate, calorie burn, and muscle mass to body fat ratios. I have sorely missed running outdoors.

Nature trails - not machines - provide the total body, sole, and spirit workout. Whether you walk, run, cycle, or skate, exercise in a natural outdoor setting can provide multidimensional fitness benefits.

Don't get me wrong. It's better to be pounding a treadmill in a gym than flipping channels on the couch. What happens, though, when we trade outdoor exercise like walking, running - or gee, even working - outdoors for exercise in artificial indoor settings? What if we left our cars in the garage and walked more - would we experience the subtle change in seasons and see the first spring butterflies? What if we worked in our yards and gardens instead of paying someone else to do it - would we appreciate the cycles of the seasons and the miracles therein? What if we did our own house work instead of hiring others for the task - would we ditch the Bowflex and hear the killdeer calling by the pond? Would we be home more and open the windows to enjoy the fresh spring air?

My initial workout at the gym was an assault on my senses. The din of pounding feet, the pulse of machines, the smell of sweat, and the glare of fluorescents overwhelmed me. Everywhere televisions, on. Everyone with earbuds, in. Omnipresent schlock-rock from overhead speakers (which, by the way, no one listens to while wired to iPods).

That first workout in the gym, I looked out the steamy window longing for relief - and there were Billy's Beef 'n Dogs, a sea of asphalt and SUVs. A sight that made for sore eyes.

The other, outside world of workouts features surround sound of a different kind in a visual landscape that is restful for the eyes and restorative for the spirit. Instead of cacophony there's symphony. The canned music, TVs, and noisy machines are replaced by susurration of wind across a sea of prairie grass, the cry of a red-tail hawk overhead, a chorus of frogs in the marsh, the rustling of leaves in trees. Instead of the smell of dozens of perspiring people, there's the rich earthy smell of the forest floor and the occasional, subtle hint of fox musk. Instead of the continual glare of fluorescent lighting, there's an ever-changing light show, from steel-gray overcast to muted sunsets to the spectacular drama of sunbeams breaking through storm clouds in the big open sky.

I've noted, too, that my workouts at the fitness club are routinely predictable and the boring sameness readily dulls the mind. Running outdoors, however, is anything but predictable or dull. A Cooper's hawk zooming in for a songbird snack has riveted my attention while running on muddy trails. Unexpected yip-howls of coyotes across the creek have instantly caught by attention. The debut of the season's first wildflowers has given me cause for spontaneous celebration. The serendipity of a watching a kingfisher's headlong dive into the river rivals the thrill of seeing a mink pop up its head on the Fox River Trail.

Fitness clubs offer "specials" to their membership, but these pale in comparison to the specials offered by nature to everyone. When you head out on a bike ride through the woods on a lovely spring day, you get not only a great workout but a boost in spirit as well. If you spend an hour walking along the river with your kids, you get good exercise and invaluable family time as well. If you don skis for a moonlit glide through the snowy woods, you get a spiritual high unrivaled by any bench press.

So if you want a healthy heart measured in more than heart rate, if you desire a workout that's salubrious for the soul as well as for pecs and abs, if you seek strength in spirit that can't be gained by steppers and crunchers, head outdoors. There are miles of trails through forest preserves and natural areas in Kane County, and there's a season of serendipity with blessings from Mother Nature ahead.

For trail maps and information, call the Kane County Forest Preserve District at (630) 232-5980 or visit www.kaneforest.com.

Happy trails to you.

Valerie Blaine is a multi-tasking naturalist who birds, botanizes, entomologizes and more while distance running on forest preserve trails. You may reach her - when she's stationary - at blainevalerie@kaneforest.com.

<p class="factboxheadblack">Kids, nature and exercise</p> <p class="News">Kane County has recently launched a Fit for Kids program aimed at reducing childhood obesity. Encouraging nutritional eating combined with encouraging a more active lifestyle is key to the program's success. </p> <p class="News">One salient principle in the Fit for Kids initiative is "fostering and supporting physical activity for all in our community." </p> <p class="News">To that end, the Kane County Forest Preserve District offers not only miles of trails for the public's use, but also active nature programming for all ages. Our programs are all based on active outdoor engagement with nature in the forest preserves and building a lifelong connection with the natural world.</p> <p class="News">For a complete list of summer camps, kids programs, family programs, and adult ecology classes, see <a href="http://www.kaneforest.com" target="new">kaneforest.com</a> or call (847) 741-8350. To learn more about the Fit for Kids program, visit <a href="http://www.kanehealth.com/fitforkids.htm" target="new">kanehealth.com/fitforkids.htm</a>.</p>