It took long enough, but the unusually long and cold winter in northeast Wyoming finally gave way to hints of spring. The temperatures finally cracked the 60s and 70s and the snowdrift mounds started to wilt.
As Wyoming locals know, even mid-April is too early to say goodbye to winter, but barring the occasional weather-related setback, it’s hitting the time of year when you can expect winter. lighter sidewalks and brighter skies.
With the good weather coming, the question now is what to do with it?
How can you make the most of the spring and summer weather while it’s here?
There are many ways to exercise outdoors, shaking off the winter rust and making the most of daylight hours and warm weather while you can.
“Not everyone is always so accessible to exercise,” said Tyler Erickson, occupational therapist for Campbell County Health Rehabilitation Services. “It can be very intimidating, especially when they go out.”
Fortunately, local exercise and movement gurus have suggestions for how people of all ages and experience levels can get the most out of the outdoors while exercising safely and in good health. health.
When planning to reincorporate the outdoors into your workouts or get back into the exercise habit after a winter of hibernation, it’s important to start with something accessible and fun.
“I think it’s important to find something you really enjoy doing because you’re more likely to stick with it and be active with it,” said Kristin Kalb, physical and occupational therapist for CCH.
“From a PT perspective, I think making sure you don’t overdo it when you start out is a really big thing.”
A man walks along the boardwalk above the fishing lake at Dalbey Memorial Park in Gillette on Tuesday morning.
Ed Glazar
For those who aren’t used to exercising or have gotten out of the habit of the long winter, even a walk around the block can be a good start to revamping the habit of being. asset.
“Find something that’s accessible to you,” Erickson said. “It may seem daunting, but walking around your own neighborhood is a great place to start.”
There are a number of benefits to exercising and being outdoors, so it’s no wonder good things happen when they’re combined.
Sunlight provides a boost in vitamin D, and Erickson said there are studies that suggest exercising outdoors raises endorphin levels even more than exercise alone. Endorphins are triggered by different forms of exercise and cardio levels, but heightened when combined with the fresh air and sunshine from outside, giving an extra boost to feel-good hormones.
“When you’re outside in the sun, you actually tend to see more of an endorphin or serotonin release from a physiological perspective,” Erickson said.
Walking may not be the most intensive exercise, but it can easily be modulated according to the person’s pace and abilities. Looking for a harder workout? Turn walking around the block into a run.
A woman jogs along a trail at Dalbey Memorial Park in Gillette in April. 7.
Ed Glazar
If running is too hard on the body, there is a solution for that too.
Jumping on a bike can be a great way to get your heart rate up without the wear and tear on your joints that running and other activities can have.
“There’s the perception that running and walking are the best, but of course we have a lot of people who can’t tolerate it, particularly with joint pain,” said Shannon Sorensen, director of rehabilitation at CCH.
“So the bike is a very good option and that’s something that Gillette is developing. Most cycle paths you can walk on too.”
In Gillette, there are a number of public bike paths for gentle rides around town, and even rougher trails for mountain biking on the north side of town.
“It’s kind of like swimming,” Sorensen said. “When you’re doing it, you’re going to do it, it doesn’t necessarily feel like you’re training as much as you’re going to run.”
There are plenty of trails in Gillette for casual and more experienced cyclists, but the roads leading out of town can also take you to great outdoors for exercise and summer adventures.
There are a number of walking trails and parks in Gillette, such as the paved trail that goes around the fishing lake and others that connect and pass through different parks.
But there are also opportunities to explore outside of Wyoming, while exercising on the hiking trail or playing on the water.
Hiking is a great way to enjoy a walk, with difficulty varying depending on the steepness and distance of the chosen trail. There’s also kayaking, paddle boarding, and good old-fashioned swimming to cool off in one of northeast Wyoming’s many lakes.
“I think we’re really lucky to live an hour from the Big Horn Mountains and there are endless opportunities there,” Kalb said.
People talk while strolling around the fishing lake at Dalbey Memorial Park in Gillette on Tuesday morning.
Ed Glazar
In addition to hiking in the Big Horn Mountains, there’s adventure to be found at Keyhole State Park and the Black Hills further east.
When venturing outdoors, it’s important to keep in mind a kind of golden rule: “You have to make sure that wherever you go, you can come back.” So you need to exercise safely,” Kalb said.
One of the safest forms of outdoor exercise can also be one of the most overlooked.
For all the reasons for starting a garden, exercise is number one.
“A lot of people underestimate gardening as a physical activity and I think it’s also one of the best for summer,” Kalb said.
When you maintain your garden, you are often under the sun and you sweat. The work produced by your upper limbs — arms, wrists and hands — may require more energy than your lower limbs, Sorensen said. When gardening, this means that the basic tasks of digging seed holes and weeding are good exercise, requiring effort and using your full range of motion.
“You actually burn more calories gardening than just sitting,” Kalb said. “And you’re in nature, it’s therapeutic.”
The key is to have conscious positioning. Don’t tear your back by bending uncomfortably, instead find comfortable sitting and kneeling positions, and be sure to get up and move around.
Gardening and other outdoor activities may be commonplace for adults, but who’s more excited about spring and summer weather than kids?
Getting out and playing has always been important for kids, but it may be even more important now, as technology and indoor entertainment have given kids more options to stay in.
“Getting them out and running them is really important,” Erickson said. “We see a lot of sedentary behavior now in young people, with technology, things like that.”
This could lead to development issues.
“With that, you’re probably going to see a trend towards more joint injuries with sport or just in general as we get older because if we don’t impact muscles and bones, it doesn’t. not reinforce,” Erickson said. “We need strength, impact and movement to strengthen our bones to strengthen our muscles. With this, we actually prevent injuries.
“For the kids, I think it’s extremely important to get them out and running, to be kids.”
Gillette has plenty of bike paths and walking paths, and these paths often connect to many parks, which are great spaces for kids to use when the weather turns and the school year draws to a close.
“From a (physical) therapy perspective, these parks are so crucial for motor skill development…we have great parks everywhere,” Sorensen said.
“This developmental piece for them from a sensory perspective and motor development is huge,” she added, “to get these kids out and on a swing or climbing a ladder or crossing bridges that are fragile.”
Ultimately, there are a number of ways to exercise outdoors and make the most of the warm weather along the way. Often it’s a matter of starting slowly, building the habit, and finding activities that work for you.
“Every little bit counts,” Kalb said. “The more you do for yourself, the better you will be.”