Stay Active While Enjoying the Outdoors This Summer

Summer is officially here, and you’re probably finding more and more excuses not to go to the gym. Between Little League, long weekends at the lake house, barbecues and just wanting to be outside enjoying the weather, the gym is taking a back seat.

However, finding new activities outside can keep you healthy and add a little fun to your summer this year.

Kayaking, canoeing and even a rowboat – if you’re brave enough – are a lot of fun and great forms of exercise. Algonquin lies directly on the Fox River, which is perfect for these activities.

These types of outdoor exercises will give your upper body a great workout, and you can get a free tan and some fresh air while you’re out there. These activities are perfect for working your shoulders, especially the rear delts, as well as your traps, back and arms.

Rowing a boat is just like using the row machine at your gym or even weighted machine rows. Just look at it like you’re rowing with a pronated grip on a machine.

If you are bringing children along – especially smaller ones – try paddle boating. It’s also fun and the kids can participate, too. It’s like riding a bike on the water. Paddle boating is a fun way to work your legs, get your heart rate up and have fun with the family. A lot of park districts have these available to use on small lakes and ponds.

The equipment can be expensive, so if you don’t want to make that kind of investment, there are many places you can rent them. Check out www.paddleaway.com for a list.

If you aren’t interested water sports or don’t want to spend the money to rent the equipment, disc golf might be the game for you. There’s a little more competition and it’s fairly inexpensive to play.

Discs range from $8 to $15 and the course is free to use. Most towns have a disc golf course at one of their parks. The game is just like regular golf, only there aren’t any clubs—you throw the disc using your whole body in the motion. Also, there are no carts, so you walk the entire nine or 18, depending on the course.

When you make the trip out to play disc golf, I recommend you bring to two discs because some course have a pond or lake and often have a hole right by the water. Also, be sure to bring water and stay hydrated because it can get hot walking that much on steamy summer day.

Check out www.illinoisdiscgolf.com for a list of courses.