The “Fresh Air” Factor
I spotted a couple of my neighbors circling the third floor track at my gym last night as I folded and unfolded myself in a merciless ab machine. The husband is a faithful power walker. It’s been inspiring to watch him morph from beginner to buff over the past few years, blitzing by our yard most afternoons with ankle weights and a cheery wave. But, we hadn’t seen him in a while. I’d started to worry in the vague sort of way I do when something seems “off.”
He confessed that the extreme cold had kept him off our neighborhood streets for a full month. Like me, he has integrated cardio machines into his regimen. Like me though, he finds that they don’t fully measure up to outdoor exercise. Part of it is the ultimately limited range of motion on any machine. The other factor is quite simply “fresh air.”
An all-out stair machine work out can get my heart pounding -and my gym has a big screen movie room where a good flick can sustain the dedicated until closing credits. Rather than risk running on outdoor ice (I’ve matured from reckless to reasonable), I’ve even run the indoor track (once) when I just had to stretch out some muscles. But “fresh air” always wins…
This Saturday will include a “whatever the weather” walk. We’re getting more snow. I don’t know yet if it will be good “running” snow -which would be wet enough for traction, but not so wet as to form snowballs under the heels – a hike in the woods sounds refreshing in any case. Last November, we hiked from “Old Man’s Cave” to “Cedar Falls” in Hocking Hills State Park southeast of Columbus. Icicles still dangled in the deepest shade, but quick climbs generated enough heat to pull of the gloves and unzip my jacket. We had started out late in the day, so I had to curb my camera enthusiasm a little, but the deep breaths of trees and forest floor filled me completely. And that’s the “fresh air” factor…
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