6 Badass Fitness Activities to Get Your Blood Pumping

Sometimes, the gym doesn’t quite cut it. Yes, you’re able to do your reps and get your sweat on, but there’s nothing about the soundtrack of clanking metal and a backdrop of clunky equipment that’s inspiring. Why not change things up with extreme fitness activities that improve your mental well-being as much as your body?

If you’ve been to Singapore or Vietnam, you may have seen workout equipment installed in many of their public parks. Did you know that pumping iron in a confined gym does not have the same effect as lifting weights outdoors?

According to a study in Extreme Physiology & Medicine, exercising in outdoor natural environments provides all-around health benefits. Maybe that’s why outdoor sports look so fun. The open setting increases your physical levels with less perceived exertion. It also reduces stress, restores mental fatigue, and improves mood and self-esteem.

The study also states that the outdoors shouldn’t be seen as a playground for those who seek the thrill of extreme sports. Rather, governments should be tasked with providing green spaces for all sorts of fitness activities. While you wait for that day to come, extreme sports it is. Here are some blood-pumping workouts you might want to try.

Wakeboarding was on everyone’s bucket list about 15 years ago. Matinee idol Aga Muhlach even credited his Men’s Health cover bod to the sport. Wakeboarding requires more than getting towed around by a boat. Combining elements from surfing, snowboarding, and waterskiing, it challenges the core, tones muscles, improves balance, coordination, and reflexes, and enhances your endurance.

Wakeboarding may have gone a bit out of fashion, but that only means you have shorter lines to deal with and can go for more rounds.

Catching waves is an incredibly popular sport in the Philippines. Not only are surfing-friendly beaches accessible in various parts of the country, but lessons and board rentals are also relatively cheap. Beginners and pros alike can enjoy benefits such as muscle toning, balance and coordination, cardio, endurance, and flexibility.

Deakin University research, which analyzed a six-week surf therapy program, found participants to be more focused, less depressed, and have fewer emotional and peer problems.

See your action heroes jumping over fences and buildings? They probably trained in parkour. This fitness activity requires your body to navigate and overcome obstacles in various environments – from urban areas to forests. Techniques include jumping, running, climbing, swinging, and vaulting.

There are plenty of indoor parkour facilities in the Philippines but follow Parkour Philippines to learn about fun outdoor training events.

Take your climbing to the next level by scaling rocks instead of dusty walls. Bouldering is a type of rock climbing that involves traversing short walls or rock formations without ropes or harnesses. Because the height is relatively short at 20 feet, crash pads usually make up most of the safety gear.

Put your entire body to the test by climbing boulders at Rizal, Cebu, Quezon, or Mountain Province.

If you like fitness exercises with a set goal, you might want to try Spartan training. The objective is to get through the Spartan obstacle course, which typically features crawling under barbed wire, scaling walls, lugging around heavy objects, and climbing ropes.

Preparing for the race requires bodyweight exercises, interval training, and functional training. You can also practice obstacle-specific workouts.

Do you want to fulfill your Derek Zoolander “mer-man” fantasies? Free diving is a fun adventure of a workout. It’s technically swimming so you enjoy the same amazing health benefits, such as faster recovery, a full-body workout, enhanced coordination and posture, and increased muscle tone. However, free diving gives you a stunning view of the ocean. It also helps you work on your breath-holding capabilities, relaxation techniques, and underwater swimming skills.

Whether you engage in fitness activities indoors or outdoors, make sure to freshen up after. Sweat from the exertion or bacteria from the water may affect your skin and hair. Wash up with CLEAR Cool Sport Menthol Anti-Dandruff Shampoo for Men. Designed to clear off all traces of grime and grease, it keeps you cool and flake-free regardless of the extreme workout you choose.

Pack a bottle of POND'S Men Facial Wash Energy Charge while you’re at it. It’s infused with coffee bean extracts that brighten up your face even after you’ve rolled around in mud all day.

This year, go for the adrenaline rush when choosing fitness activities. Mix up your workouts and don’t forget, even as you’re grunting through the rocks of Rizal, this is supposed to be fun!