Today we talk about training in the open air .Can training in the park give the same results as the gym We do this with content created in collaboration with the friends of Fit , who are increasingly becoming a point of reference for fitness Especially in this period, with gyms closed since the latest Prime Ministerial Decree, outdoor training is a very popular topic.
In this guide we are interested in understanding how many results we can have, as beginner or intermediate athletes, by training in the park. Is the gym really that essential, or can you still progress with outdoor training?
Is it possible to gain mass without going to the gym?
One approach to gaining mass without a gym is bodyweight exercises. Exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups, squats, lunges, and dips can be performed anywhere and can effectively stimulate muscle growth, especially for beginners or those without access to gym facilities. These exercises target major muscle groups and can be progressively overloaded by increasing repetitions, sets, or variations.
Another option is utilizing household items or improvised weights for resistance training. Items like water bottles, backpacks filled with books, or resistance bands can provide ample resistance for muscle stimulation. By performing exercises like bicep curls, shoulder presses, or weighted squats using these makeshift weights, individuals can still induce muscle hypertrophy.
Additionally, outdoor activities such as calisthenics, hiking, or sports like rock climbing can provide opportunities for muscle engagement and growth, albeit in a less structured manner than traditional gym workouts.
Strength and explosiveness: gym vs park
Let’s move on to the next, very similar study, which compared the same types of training over a 5-week period . This time the study was conducted in Croatia, in 2014, on 23 people.
This study focused on leg exercises, trying to evaluate useful data for those who practice sports. For example, improvements in jump height and sprint time were measured , again achieving similar results between one group and another.
Once again functional training defends itself and demonstrates that the park can be a solution as valid as the gym.
For those interested, the study is called “ Effects of five weeks of functional vs. traditional resistance training on anthropometric and motor performance variables ” and was published in the scientific journal Kinesiology . The table below summarizes the results.
Comparison on joint mobility
The last study we mention was carried out in Brazil , in Chebacco. This study was conducted on 52 people with the aim of evaluating the difference between the usual gym training and the now famous park-style training, but from the point of view of joint mobility.
Joint mobility , i.e. the ability to make large movements with the joints, is extremely important for athletes and beyond. Posture, ease of movement, the ability to do exercises well and many other things in our daily lives and our journey in the world of fitness are influenced by joint mobility.
To study joint mobility, 52 Brazilian women close to old age were called. Can you guess the results? Exactly, this time too they were completely comparable. So we have three different studies, with different subjects and objectives, which all come to the same conclusion: training in the park and training in the gym can give the same results.
Limitations and things to know
All three studies were conducted on untrained or novice people. This is an important limitation , and this is why we cannot say with certainty that a park and a gym are effective in the same way.
Those who are already at a more advanced level and work with high loads need to focus on progressive overload in order to grow . Progressive overload involves gradually increasing the intensity of your workouts over time, so you continue to exhaust your muscles and push them to grow.
Progressive overload can be achieved in several ways, but the most direct is to increase the load used during sets. And this is where training in the park gives way a little to the gym; Increasing the weight loaded on the barbell during the military press , for example, is much easier than increasing the ballast during bodyweight shoulder workouts.
we can also read this blogs:https://healthcust.com/?p=137
