Health
How to easily start an outdoor exercise routine
- For those who do not enjoy working out in a gym, choosing to exercise outdoors can make a great alternative.
- To get started, build on what you enjoy. If that is hiking or biking, take longer walks and rides until you’re comfortable being active for about 45 minutes.
- To stay motivated and consistent, it can be helpful to recruit an exercise buddy and get appropriate clothing that will keep you warm and dry in inclement weather.
Between the sweat smell, fluorescent lights and omnipresent television screens, April Herring has never connected with going to the gym.
Instead, she runs, bikes, hikes, plays tennis, pickleball and football — anything to get her exercise outside as often as possible.
“Fresh air, sunshine, the variety of the trees as the seasons change,” said Herring, an administrator at Carroll Community College in North Maryland. “There’s something about the energetic healing quality of nature.”
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The health benefits of spending time in nature have long been established, and exercise in general, of course, improves physical and mental well-being.
Combine the two and you double down on what adults need to stay healthy, said Debbie Rhea, professor in kinesiology at Texas Christian University.
“We’ve got to get outside. We’ve got to be active,” Rhea said. “If we’re going to live long lives, this is what it’s about.”
Racers compete for the title of “King and Queen” of The Alpine Training Center Gym in Boulder, Colorado, on July 26, 2023. Exercising outdoors combines the health benefits of physical activity with those of spending time in nature. (Scott Griesser via AP)
Getting started on an outdoor routine, however, might not be as easy as signing up for another gym membership. Here’s how to get going.
START SIMPLE WITH WHAT YOU LIKE
If you haven’t been active for a while, think back to the activities you enjoyed years ago, suggested Connie Sciolino, founder of the Alpine Training Center in Boulder, Colorado, a gym that trains athletes for outdoor mountain sports.
People who like occasionally hiking or biking should start building an aerobic base by taking progressively longer walks or rides. Once you’re comfortably in the 35- to 45-minute range, start adding some intensity to build strength, she said.
“If jogging is their main activity, I would send them to the bleachers or do some up-down on stairs, either in sprint format or put a pack on their back,” she said.
Rhea cautioned against jumping back into a sport you used to play without preparing your body for the proper movement.
“Let’s say they’re in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and they haven’t sprinted and now they try to run around those bases,” she said. “They’re probably going to hurt an Achilles or a hamstring or something by doing something too fast.”
THEN BUILD STRENGTH WITH WHAT’S AROUND
A side benefit of exercising outside is that there’s no need to buy expensive equipment, trainers say.
After warming up with your preferred aerobic activity, add strength training by using your body weight and what is available in the built environment. That could be finding a picnic table or low wall and placing your hands shoulder-width apart to do leaning pushups. Then turn around, put your hands on the same surface and lower your body for dips that work your triceps.
For working your legs, add squats with your feet shoulder-width apart, looking straight ahead with your back straight. Add lunges by taking giant steps and bending down into the space between your feet. For the core, find a patch of grass to do sit-ups.
Start with eight to 10 repetitions, or no more than you are comfortable with, and add sets with short breaks in between as you get stronger.
For a more complete workout, find a park or trail with outdoor exercise equipment, which is installed in one-third of park agencies, according to the National Recreation and Park Association. The equipment can range from basic pull-up bars to gym-style bench presses and rowing machines.
And many cities, including Chicago, San Antonio and Atlanta, offer free group classes outdoors.
HOW TO STAY MOTIVATED — EVEN IN BAD WEATHER
When it inevitably rains or the weather turns colder, it helps to keep in mind an old axiom: There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.
“If we have the clothing for whatever the temperatures are that we may be in, then we’re more likely to go outside to be active when we need to,” Rhea said.
She suggested investing in a jacket that breathes and a light hat with a brim you can use on sunny or rainy days.
Trainer Katie Higginbotham recommended having a contingency plan for inclement weather. Pick an area with surfaces that won’t get slippery when wet or somewhere with some tree shelter so as not to be bombarded by rain.
On those days, having a regular exercise buddy really helps, said Higginbotham, who oversees quality control for TrainFitness, a U.K.-based private training provider.
“If you know someone is there waiting for you, it’s difficult to say no at the last minute,” she said.
Finally, it helps to set a goal, whether that is training for a 5K charity walk or a triathlon. If you’re working toward something, it keeps you motivated to keep going, Sciolino said.
“When you have that day marked on your calendar, you have to perform these things or die out there,” she said.
Novo Nordisk to slash Wegovy, Ozempic list prices
Board certified rheumatologist Dr. Mahsa Tehrani discusses Novo Nordisk’s decision to dramatically cut the U.S. list prices for its popular diabetes and weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy on ‘America Reports.’
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Millions of Medicare beneficiaries struggling with obesity could soon see the cost of weight-loss drugs plummet, as a new federal pilot program launching July 1 expands access to GLP-1 medications like Wegovy and Zepbound for eligible seniors.
Through a new trial called Medicare GLP-1 Bridge, the federal government is now offering a selection of the brand-name medications to certain Medicare and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries for $50 a month, The Associated Press reported.
The covered medications include drugmaker Eli Lilly’s Foundayo tablets and Zepbound KwikPens and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy injections and tablets, all of which have been FDA-approved for weight loss, according to the report.
OZEMPIC USERS MAY BE MAKING A MAJOR WEIGHT-LOSS MISTAKE, NEW STUDY SUGGESTS
The temporary program is set to run until the end of 2027.
This is the first time GLP-1s (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists) will be covered by insurance when used solely for weight loss.
A new federal pilot program launching July 1 expands access to GLP-1 medications like Wegovy and Zepbound for eligible seniors. (iStock)
Prior to this new Medicare pilot, seniors who wanted to access GLP-1s for obesity alone paid about $1,350-$1,650 per month for Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy (semaglutide) and about $1,086 monthly for Lilly’s Zepbound (tirzepatide). However, both manufacturers offered some cash-pay options that significantly reduced those prices for eligible patients.
GLP-1 WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS ARE RESHAPING THE BRIDAL INDUSTRY AS SHOPS RUSH ORDERS AND REQUIRE NEW WAIVERS
There are some parameters surrounding the coverage — older adults must have had a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or higher when they started GLP-1 therapy, or a BMI of 27 or higher alongside another health condition, such as a past heart attack or stroke or prediabetes.
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Those who already have insurance coverage for other diseases, such as diabetes and sleep apnea, are not eligible for the program.
Through a new trial called Medicare GLP-1 Bridge, the federal government is now offering a selection of the brand-name medications to certain Medicare and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries for $50 a month. (iStock)
There are more than 70 million Americans currently enrolled in Medicare, 10 million of whom are overweight or obese, according to Juliette Cubanski, vice president and director of the program on Medicare policy at the healthcare research nonprofit KFF.
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“For many older Americans living with obesity, this is a moment they and their families have been waiting for,” Jamey Millar, Novo Nordisk’s executive vice president of U.S. operations, said in a press release.
“The Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program offers a new, affordable path to an FDA-approved treatment that was previously not covered.”
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Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said he hopes the program can help his agency collect data to potentially work toward longer-term coverage, while providing immediate relief to cash-strapped older Americans, AP reported.
“The sheer cost of these medications is a huge barrier to access,” he said in a call with reporters. “That ends today.”
Prior to this new Medicare pilot, seniors who wanted to access GLP-1s for obesity alone paid about $1,350-$1,650 per month for Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy (semaglutide) and about $1,086 monthly for Lilly’s Zepbound (tirzepatide). (iStock)
Oz told reporters that CMS plans to “carefully track participation and outcomes” to see whether an extension of the Bridge program or another solution is the best way to move forward. He told AP a federal law permanently allowing the coverage is “not essential right now” but something “for Congress to debate amongst themselves.”
“We can’t decide what’s going to happen long term with Bridge until we see some of the data,” he said, adding that there are ongoing talks with drug companies to lower costs.
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One potential concern is that older patients tend to have more adverse effects to medication in general , according to Dr. Micah Eimer, a clinical assistant professor of cardiology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
“Specifically, in our research, older patients on blood pressure medications were more likely to experience hypotensive side effects, such as fainting and dizziness, after starting a GLP-1,” he said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Federal health officials are attempting to track down the source of a microscopic parasite that triggers prolonged gastrointestinal illness, as domestic cases begin to climb for the summer season.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had confirmed 145 cases of cyclosporiasis across 17 states as of mid-June 2026, all linked to infections acquired in the U.S.
The culprit is Cyclospora, a microscopic parasite known to cause cyclosporiasis.
DEADLY ‘FOX TAPEWORM’ LINKED TO LETHAL DISEASE DETECTED IN WEST COAST WILDLIFE
The hallmark symptom of the infection is watery, often “explosive” diarrhea that can last for weeks or even months if left untreated, the CDC says.
There is currently no evidence of a single, multistate Cyclospora outbreak linking all cases. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy, File)
Other symptoms include severe abdominal cramping, bloating, nausea, fatigue and significant weight loss.
The official outbreak season for the parasite runs from May 1 through Aug. 31, a window where warmer temperatures historically coincide with a spike in infections, according to the CDC.
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Cases have cropped up in states ranging from Texas to Alaska. New York has been hit the hardest so far, reporting between 31 and 80 cases, followed by Texas and Illinois, which have each reported between 11 and 30 cases.
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While the infection can sometimes clear up on its own, it frequently requires antibiotics. Out of the 145 confirmed cases, 20 patients have required hospitalization, per the CDC.
While the infection can sometimes clear up on its own, it frequently requires antibiotics. (iStock)
No deaths have yet been reported. Patients range from 5 to 86 years old, though the median age is 42, and women make up 61% of the reported cases, data shows.
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The CDC, alongside the Food and Drug Administration and state health officials, is actively investigating several multi-state clusters, but they have yet to find a cause behind the spread.
Officials urge patients with symptoms to seek help from a medical professional. (iStock)
“There is currently no evidence of a single, multistate Cyclospora outbreak linking all cases,” the CDC noted in its surveillance report.
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The CDC advises anyone experiencing symptoms of cyclosporiasis to contact a healthcare provider for testing and treatment.
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