When it comes to working out, most students have a routine: workout clothes? Check. workout shoes? Check. Charged mp3 player? Check. However, location of your workout can be just as important as your rocking new playlist.

Panteleimon Ekkekakis, associate professor of kinesiology, explained that while the venue of a student’s workout is purely a personal choice, both working out in a gym and exercising outdoors have their benefits and costs.

“It is not the environment per se that is most important,” Ekkekakis said. “It depends on the specific physical and social characteristics of the environment.”

Outdoors

Positives:

• More opportunity for attentional distraction
• Scenery Changes
• Varying terrain
• Ability to workout without others watching

“Working out outdoors might offer more opportunity for attentional distraction, such as scenery to look at, which is associated with a lower sense of fatigue and higher enjoyment for many people,” Ekkekakis said.

Negatives:

• Excessive Heat
• Humidity
• Higher temperatures leads to higher discomfort

“If the temperature and humidity are too high, any possible advantage is wiped out,” Ekkekakis said. “Higher ambient temperature and humidity are strongly associated with lower ratings of pleasure and enjoyment, and higher ratings of discomfort, exertion, and fatigue.”

 

At the gym

Postives:

• Climate Controlled
• Less Humid
• Access to various exercise equipment

“A cooler and less humid environment is both safer and more easily tolerable,” Ekkekakis said. “It is important to keep in mind that the human body has relatively limited tolerance to high heat and humidity.”

Negatives:

• Stressful for many people who feel that their bodies are on display
• Presence of mirrors
• Prevalence of tight clothing

“Exercising in a gym has been found to be stressful for many people who feel that their bodies are on display and are worried that they might be negatively evaluated by critical observers,” Ekkekakis said. “The presence of mirrors and prevalence of tight clothing make the gym environment even more intimidating.”

 

“Exercise takes place not only within the physical environment but also within the social environment. Sometimes, the social environment may be a facilitator, such as having support and encouragement from an exercise buddy, and sometimes it may be a deterrent, as in the case of the self-conscious person avoiding exercise in public,” Ekkekakis said. “As long as the physical conditions are safe, the decision on whether to exercise indoors or outdoors will depend on social factors.”