Health Benefits of Being Outdoors

1. When thinking about exercising, most people initially think about

going to a gym. What they might not know is that there are
countless ways to be active outdoors, while also receiving
mental, social, emotional, and intellectual benefits as well.
Outdoor activities like hiking, biking, trail running, swimming,
and paddling are great ways to enhance your physical, mental,
and emotional health, while getting in touch with your natural
surroundings.
2. Overview:
a. Health Topic: Health Benefits of Outdoor Recreation
i. Subtopic: How Paddling Can Benefit Personal Health
b. Setting: Community Center, Health Facility, Gym, or
Medical Facility
c. Audience: Young to Older Adults (Ages 18-65)
3. Instructional Objectives
a. Students will be able to correctly identify at least three
different outdoor activities that can benefit personal health
when asked by the instructor at the end of the PowerPoint
presentation.
b. Students will be able to identify at least five combined
physical and mental health benefits of paddling on a blank
graphic organizer, when asked by the instructor.
4. Outline of Content
a. Objective 1 (or A):
i. Benefits of Outdoor Recreation
1. Better Physical Shape
a. Provides an alternative environment for
working out and burning calories
2. Swimming
a. Burns 476 calories per hour
b. Swimming strengthens your chest, back,
arms, abs, legs, and shoulders.
c. Great way to cool off in the summer
3. Hiking

a. Burns 442 calories per hour, but difficulty

of hike is a factor.
b. Builds leg muscles, increases lung
capacity, increases endurance
c. Experience natures wonders (Ex. State
park)
4. Biking
a. Burns 476 calories per hour
b. Riding trails
i. Experience nature
c. Exhilarating sport gets you in great
shape
5. Trail Running
a. Burns 10% more calories than road
running
b. Change of environment that can
stimulate you more than a road or
sidewalk
c. Takes away physical stress of hard
surface on your feet, ankles, legs and
back
d. Running through nature makes you feel
serene
6. Better Mental Health
a. Physical activity helps reduce stress
levels, anxiety and depression, and also
boosts self-esteem.
b. Outdoors provides fresh air, a serene and
natural environment that also contributes
to lower anxiety and stress levels.
c. Regular physical activity provides you
with a better nights sleep, resulting in
more energy the following day.
d. Countless activities exist outdoors that
you can do at any age.
e. Hiking, swimming, biking, and trail
running are great examples of outdoor

activities you can do with the whole

family.
b. Objective 2 (or B):
i. What About Paddling?
1. Physical benefits
a. Burns up to 400 calories per hour
b. Being in the sun increases Vitamin D and
serotonin levels in your body, making you
feel happier
c. Builds muscles and helps shed excess fat
d. Tones the muscles in your core, chest,
arms, shoulders, and back
e. Increases cardiovascular health, which
helps improve aerobic fitness, strength,
and flexibility
2. Mental Benefits
a. Being an aerobic exercise means it
stimulates chemical in your brain that
make you feel good, like dopamine,
serotonin and endorphins.
b. Being in a natural environment has a
calming and relaxing effect on your body
and mind
c. Repetitive motion by your paddles
through the water has a calming effect.
d. Tandem canoeing or kayaking gives you
an opportunity to be social and have fun
with friends while exercising at the same
time
5. Instructional Activities (Focusing on Objective 2/B)
a. The instructor will begin by showing a PowerPoint
presentation that describes the health benefits of
participating in various outdoor activities, such as
kayaking, canoeing, hiking, trail running, and swimming.
The presentation will go over physical benefits to personal
health, and also discuss how various outdoor activities can

have positive effects on a persons mental health. The

PowerPoint will also address the sport of paddling
specifically, going over the physical and mental benefits of
the sport.
b. After the PowerPoint presentation, the instructor will then
give the students a blank graphic organizer, designed as a
human body, that will help them write out at least five
combined mental and physical benefits of paddling
(canoeing or kayaking). When completed, students should
have a filled out graphic organizer that has written and
visually described the desired number of health benefits.
6. Time Allotted
a. The time allotted for the presentation will be approximately
fifteen minutes. Students will then work on completing the
graphic organizer given to them in approximately fifteen
minutes. This should make my presentation and activity a
total of thirty minutes long.
7. Materials
a. Graphic organizer of the human body
i. Writing utensil
b. PowerPoint presentation