This summer's best outdoor workouts

Escape the gym and reap the benefits of fresh air exercise with our round up of this season's best new activities

Ever feel like you spend most of the year cooped up indoors? Now’s the time to make the most of the longer, brighter days and warmer temperatures by getting outside and active whenever you can.

The health and wellbeing benefits of outdoor exercise, particularly close to nature, are well documented. Experts have coined terms such as ‘ecotherapy’ and ‘forest bathing’ to describe its antidepressant, heart-rate lowering and stress-relieving effects. And a large-scale 2013 review, published in the journal Extreme Physiology & Medicine, concluded that outdoor, natural environments help increase physical activity levels with lower levels of perceived exertion. In other words, we do more but suffer less, thanks to physiological benefits such as stress reduction, restored mental fatigue, improved mood and self-esteem and perceived health.

So why not press pause on the gym and try something different this summer? ‘Take the pressure off yourself to get to that Spin class or pre-work HIIT session – sometimes a hike through the woods or a dip in the sea is what you really need,’ says Sophie Everard, fitness coach and Keen footwear ambassador.

Here are a few ideas to inspire you, whether you’re at home or holidaying...