Are you looking for different ideas to boost your outdoor activity? Fall is upon us and the temperature is cooler and to some of us, downright perfect. If you want more time outside, consider this short list of opportunities to increase your connectivity with our fresh, crisp air and the great outdoors.

1. Exchange Circuit Training for Boot Camp
Most neighborhoods provide an area for outdoor fitness where the landscape creates a natural obstacle course for your own boot camp routine. Parks, open space, playgrounds, hiking trails, tracks, steps, and hills are just a few of the options you can choose from. Use your body weight as resistance for a tough upper body workout. Picnic tables, park benches, or fallen trees are ideal for step-ups, dips, and push-ups. Climbing up the steps at your local sports stadium is also a great high-intensity cardiovascular workout.

2. Trade the Treadmill for a Trail
The treadmill is the most commonly used piece of fitness equipment however, you can get the same benefits and more from walking or running outside. Going "off road” adds the elements of balance, agility, and coordination to your session. The uneven ground strengthens your joints as well as sharpens your foot-eye coordination. Your core balance and stabilization muscles work harder because your body is constantly adjusting to the uneven terrain. Find your fun on a trail or with a local trail running club.

3. Swap the Stepper for Skates
Inline skating is the perfect alternative to stair climber machines because it targets the outer thigh and ankles as well as hips, shins, and buttocks. Inline skaters expend more calories since they have to navigate various terrains, inclines, and turns while the upper body muscles, arms, and shoulders can engage vigorously in the overall activity.

4. Switch Cycles
Stationary and mountain biking are great forms of exercise. You will feel the lower body muscle-building benefits of mountain biking while you pull on the handle bars to get up hills and go over obstacles, challenging your upper body, especially the shoulders, arms, and upper back. In addition, the abdominal muscles get a solid workout since they are used for core stabilization to keep you balanced. Be sure to wear a helmet! Need one? You can rent gear from the Recreational Services Outdoor Rental and Resource Center.

5. Step Outside of the Gym - Join a Team
Outdoor team sports are a fun way to try a new workout routine while maintaining the social atmosphere you get from Johnson Center group classes. Games, such as pickleball, basketball and softball, involve catching, swinging and throwing movements in all directions, angles, and speeds, as well as hand-eye-ball coordination. Any movement your body is not used to will work the muscles in a different way, allowing for greater muscle development and calorie expenditure. Playing a sport is an enjoyable way of getting a good workout. Check Albuquerque Parks & Recreation and Recreational Services Intramural Sports for ideas.

Also, Employee Wellness is available to talk through your fitness, nutrition and wellness goals. Free consultations for all UNM employees.