Benefits of Outdoor Fitness Areas on Campuses and Universities
There are numerous benefits for the college student who attends a school that promotes and provides its students with an outdoor exercise area. Exercising outdoors can help – not only students, but faculty, staff, and the surrounding community – reduce stress, improve mood, boost focus and concentration.
Freshmen in college find themselves immersed in so much change and with so much more freedom, but also find themselves struggling emotionally more than expected.
Studies show that:
- 50% of students report their mental health to be below average
- 64% of students stopped pursuing their higher education due to poor mental health
- 70% of students gain weight during college
Exercise might be among the best ways to address this in college life, while helping learn to make life-long healthy habits when encountering struggles. When thinking back on college days, if there had been a quick way to get in some exercise while waiting for class, so many friends would have been excited for that opportunity.
We’ve found a few ways that outdoor exercise benefits those who use it:
- While exercising outdoors your vitamin-D levels are boosted more than when indoors due to the exposure to natural light. “Vitamin D is one of the most underrated vitamins – it helps stave off depression, improves sleep patterns, prevents osteoporosis and promotes bone growth, and boosts your immune system.” (expertrain.com)
- Exercising outdoors causes you to adapt and adjust to more than just the resistance created by the equipment. Changes in weather, humidity, and other factors build strength and stamina much like athletes who practice outdoors.
- When colleges incorporate outdoor training it can increase participation among peers, not to mention accountability and inspiration.
- When considering exercising outdoors it can be more motivating and enjoyable as you decide to spend time outdoors in nature as opposed to inside a smelly gym. Outdoors the view is ever-changing, and students’ mood can be improved immensely by not only exercise, but the environment.
- It’s quick! In as little as 120 minutes per week students can see amazing results both physically and mentally as they take advantage of outdoor fitness equipment.
- As a bonus with an outdoor fitness area, now indoor spaces can be used for multiple other purposes and precious college real-estate freed up.
What an amazing perk it is to have school administrators that understand the demands of student life and the need for quick and easy access to fitness equipment to help balance the mental and physical wellbeing of the students daily. With all the challenges of life and learning how to handle stress, an outdoor fitness area would be great benefit to all of those who have access to it.
Why Struthers Recreation?
As a distributor of GameTime products we trust that we are providing you with the best we have to offer! “Our products are constructed of durable materials, backed by research and guidance from an advisory board of doctors and exercise physiologists, and feature ergonomic design and resistance technologies that take the guesswork out of exercise.” —GameTime, GTFit (gametime.com/gtfit)
Check out the THRIVE 900 Unit at GameTime.com or contact us at StruthersRecreation for more info.
