How to Stay Protected While Crushing Your Outdoor Fitness Goals

By now, it’s widely known that physical activity has a wide range of health benefits, from improving cardiovascular health to boosting mental health. For example, yoga contributes not only to muscular strength and flexibility but also to mood regulation and stress management, especially when practiced as yoga for gratitude. By incorporating gratitude meditation into long-held yoga movements like the half-moon pose and mountain pose, you can relax, release negative emotions, and instantly uplift your mood.

Interestingly, a new review published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine highlights how the holistic health benefits of physical activity can be amplified by exercising outdoors. By doing exercises like regular cardio and strength training in nature, you can achieve a higher meditative state, boost your mood and enjoyment, and improve cognitive functions like attention and memory. Even niche outdoor sports you might not have considered before train the body in a variety of subtle ways – wakesurfing is great for balance training, for example. Individuals who exercise outdoors also report a lower perceived difficulty rate, which can motivate regular physical activity.

However, if you’re looking to maximize the holistic benefits of outdoor exercise, you must remember to invest in sun protection. Spending prolonged periods of time under the sun can expose you to ultraviolet rays, which penetrate the skin and can cause sunburn, premature aging, and skin cancer. Excessive UV exposure has also been associated with eye conditions like eye strain, photokeratitis, and cataracts. These health risks emphasize the importance of using the following protective essentials as you live an active, outdoor-oriented lifestyle.

Sunglasses for running and cycling

As previously mentioned, UV rays can reach the eye’s international structure and pose a threat to eye health. Fortunately, you can wear sunglasses with 100% UV protection when doing outdoor exercises like running and cycling to minimize UV damage while also shielding your eyes from hazards like dirt, dust, and wind. If you wear glasses for vision correction, you can opt for the prescription sunglasses offered by LensCrafters for both sun safety and clear vision. Prescription options are available for protective frame styles like Burberry’s oversized sunglasses and Coach’s cat-eye frames, with the option to try them on virtually to ensure the right fit and prevent the frames from falling off your face while exercising.

Sunscreen for yoga and tai-chi

Meditative practices like yoga and tai-chi are best practiced in the sun with fresh air, as you can connect with the outdoor surroundings and find your inner peace. However, spending time under the sun can also expose you to sunburn and skin cancer, thus reminding you to apply sunscreen with an SPF of at least 50. The skincare brand CeraVe has launched an SPF formula, the CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion SPF 50, to provide broad-spectrum protection against UVA and UVB rays while also hydrating your skin and restoring its barrier. While the product is designed to protect the sensitive skin on your face, don’t forget to also apply sunscreen in lotion or spray-on formats on other exposed parts of the body, such as the neck, back, chest, arms, and legs.

UPF clothing for cardio workouts

Using activewear is advisable when engaging in cardio exercises like jump rope, jogging, and aerobics, as they are built for optimal comfort, performance, and freedom of movement. But more than just choosing exercise clothes that fit you and are made of breathable materials like cotton and spandex, consider athletic apparel with an ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) to help block UV rays from reaching your skin. The good news is that the UPF clothing market has steadily grown in recent years, reaching a value of $861.6 million in 2023. This market expansion means leading brands like Coolibar and Columbia Sportswear offer sun-protective athletic gear, ranging from short-sleeve shirts and hoodies to shorts and leggings.

By including these UV-protective essentials in your athletic gear, you can look forward to spending more time outdoors and reaping the holistic benefits of various exercises.