The ground was mushy and muddy and so were my sneakers. The pull-up bar was covered with a thin sheet of frost. I secured my grip, inhaled the sub 32 degree morning air and a big smile came across my face.

I have been there before. My memories of last winters bitter cold seemed closer than they should. I lived in the cold last winter. I trained every session outside in it. I persisted and the winter did not.

Now it is back, and I am ready. I am better prepared and stronger.

Training outside for the past year has shaped my fitness in the following ways:

I change my programs with the seasons. This has two big benefits: I am constantly forcing my body to adapt, and it keeps my training from being boring. In the winter, I increase my workout density by shortening rest periods and cycling through exercises in a circuit fashion. I do this to keep warm and my body temp up. It also makes the workouts super intense. I use the spring to bulk up for the summer. In the summer I focus on interval training and challenge style workouts. This helps keep me lean. The fall as a de-load from all the previous hard months of training. I have had great results and am up four pounds for the year. That may not sound like much, but I have been training consistently for 24 years. This has been my best year since I was in my early twenties in terms of gains (think about how much meat is in four pounds of steak).
I have become addicted to calisthenics. I never gave enough credit to the bodyweight movement people. These movements are hard. Try a flag, front lever, or some muscle-ups, all very hard. Working on these movements has reinvigorated my love for training and given me new goals to work towards. They have helped my body’s form and function, and have helped me tighten up technique on traditional exercises like dips, kettle bell swings, and pretty much everything else. To get better at calisthenics you need to improve technique, get stronger, or drop excess bodyweight. All are positives.
I have become callous to bad conditions. I train almost every day regardless of weather. Prior to OutdoorFitnessProject, I would not go outside if it was below freezing or raining. Now I accept it and actually enjoy the bad weather days. One of my biggest learnings is that the satisfaction of my workout is inversely related to the quality of the weather. The worse the conditions, the more satisfying the workout. Who knew?
My training is much more inclusive. I regularly train with my daughter, my dog, and my friends and neighbors, all of which I have never done. I still like to train hard by myself sometimes, but being around friends and family and doing what I love is a great way to spend time.
My perception of everything around me has changed. Much like when I was a kid and I looked at every dirt mound as a bike jump and curb as something to grind on my skateboard. I now look at trees as pull-up bars, retaining walls as plyo platforms, and benches as something to put my feet on for incline push-ups. This has given me reason to explore what is around me. I now have better knowledge of the local parks, fields and what my town has to offer.

While there are many rewards to exclusively training outdoors, there are a few negatives. The biggest one is all the clothing you need to travel with in the winter. Recently on a work trip, I was bundled in a few layers and heading out of the hotel to run hill sprints in a few inches of snow. A guy got off the elevator in shorts and a t-shirt on his way to the hotel gym. My first thought was that is a lot less stuff to pack. Things worth doing aren't always easy.

I completed my challenge and made it through 2015 by training exclusively outside. I actually gained muscle and improved my conditioning. The benefits of training outdoors are so positive that I am going to keep it up for 2016.

Take action, join me and the outdoor fitness movement in 2016.