Solar Powered
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In order to witness the total eclipse of the sun, I traveled several hours to upstate New York with my wife and our one year old dog. The trip was for three nights, but with the eclipse bringing on the nighttime sky, it felt like we tacked on an extra day and night. The rare phenomenon totally messed with our body clocks.
Day shifted into night for four minutes (mind you, the celestial event happened around three in the afternoon). We were surrounded by farms, so the roosters started to crow as if they were anticipating dawn. A variety of nighttime critters came out to serenade us as well. Despite lasting just four minutes, it actually seemed like we pulled an all-nighter.
Being that the aftermath of the eclipse felt like morning, I needed a spark. I could have made a fresh pot of coffee, but I try to avoid caffeine in the late afternoon. So I did a few hundred burpees, and then I grabbed my kettlebell and started to swing it among these three trees that my wife and I had been admiring the whole time we were at our Airbnb. My wife joked that this was the closest I’ve come to a morning workout in a while (I’m an insomniac, so true morning workouts are a rarity).
In my opinion, there’s no greater way to workout than exercising outdoors. And it’s no surprise that experts in exercise science agree (see: Gladwell, Valerie F et al, 2013). The sun is such an invigorating force of nature. I get a profound jolt from its light hitting my skin, which energizes my entire body and boosts my psyche. The chirping of birds, the babbling of brooks and the whooshing of the breeze is as good, if not better, of a workout soundtrack than my standard-fare of upbeat tunes.
Since 2020, our trips away from home have centered around being outdoors, and in my opinion, the best way to spend time outside is being physically active within the surrounding environment. I realized that I enjoy discovering a new place by going on epic walks or running around the town for miles on end. Being engaged in this type of locomotion lets me roam more freely than if I was in a car, on a bike or taking any form of public transportation.
When I’m out on a hike, I try to incorporate some of the more traditional exercises I’d do at home in tandem with the natural surroundings. During a recent journey, following a stream in the woods, I came across the perfect felled tree for doing both inverted rows and close grip reversed palms push ups.
I also tried out some deadlifts and overhead presses, using a variety of fallen branches. Some of which were much heavier than they looked!
Our dog got a nice workout as well. He particularly liked tramping through the stream and running alongside us up inclines and switchbacks.
The sun has such a major impact in motivating my mood and powering my workouts. When it’s cloudy and gray, I am less inclined to want to be active. I have to push myself to get going on those particular days. However, when the sun’s out, I am champing at the bit to get physical.
Getting a moderate amount of sun on a regular basis is simply common sense. The ultraviolet B (UVB) light from the sun is by and large the best way to naturally produce vitamin D3. But too much of these rays can also lead to sunburns, leathery skin and in the worse case scenario, skin cancer. Because my workouts are generally during a time of day when the sun’s at its peak strength (between ten in the morning and four in the afternoon), I wear a low to medium grade SPF sunscreen (between fifteen and thirty) for protection. A sports and/or waterproof specific sunscreen is preferable because it is less likely to run and drip when I perspire. This helps ensure that I don’t get sunburns or sun damage, while still allowing me to soak up the vitamin D from the sun’s rays.
I’ve heard several fitness influencers profess that wearing sunscreen prevents the skin’s absorption of vitamin D. This seems to be a common trope that unfortunately gets repeated in certain online/social media “heath conscious” communities (the fact that there are several Reddit threads on the topic, further supports its prevalence). From my own observations, I’ve noticed influencers are generally not great at parsing scientific research. Or worse, they’ll cite and revise information from studies in a matter that’s favorable to their personal bias, or what they think their audience wants to hear. Please wear sunscreen. Research shows that we still synthesize vitamin D3 from the sun while wearing sunscreen (see: Neale, R E et al, 2019, and Passeron, T et al, 2019).
Due to my mental health struggles, I’ve become quite reclusive, and spend ample amounts of time at home. But I know that being out in the sun is essential for my physical and mental wellness, and I am glad that I have the privilege to do so in more or less remote environments, whether that’s up on my urban rooftop or out in the woods.
Enough about me, I am interested in hearing from you. If you were within the path of the eclipse, I’m curious to know how you spent your time. I’d also like to hear about some of your go-to activities and methods for getting fit in the great outdoors.
As we jump into the heart of spring, I hope that the season brings us all an abundance of auspicious and awesome experiences!
References, Notes, Suggested Reading:
Gladwell, Valerie F et al. “The great outdoors: how a green exercise environment can benefit all.” Extreme physiology & medicine vol. 2,1 3. 3 Jan. 2013. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3710158/
Neale, R E et al. “The effect of sunscreen on vitamin D: a review.” The British journal of dermatology vol. 181,5 (2019): 907-915. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30945275/
Passeron, T et al. “Sunscreen photoprotection and vitamin D status.” The British journal of dermatology vol. 181,5 (2019): 916-931. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31069788/