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Outdoor Pursuits For Upper Body Fitness

Sports that take place in the great outdoors are more popular than ever. In the summer months it’s not very enjoyable to be stuck indoors in a stuffy gym or sports hall, when you could be outside in the fresh air. The trouble with outdoor sports however is that the majority of them focus on working the muscles of the lower body. It’s not easy to do any weights or pull ups in the park to help tone the upper body, so what sports can you do?

Kayaking. Water sports such as kayaking and canoeing are very good at exercising the muscles of the back, shoulders and arms. The arms and shoulders provide the vast majority of the movement, but the upper torso is also called upon lots to stabilise the body. The best part is that when you get tired you can just up ores and let the river currents take you for a while. A word of warning however, there is a distinct possibility you’ll get wet, especially if you’re not very good at the sport.

Rock Climbing. Its not easy to find sports that put pressure on every single muscle in the body, but rock climbing is one of them. That said, your legs are not actually worked as much as you might think as a lot of the grip comes from special sticky slim line shoes that look like cycling shoes. The arms are in fact called upon a lot more in most types of climbing and get a real workout. You are frequently required to support your whole body weight with your arms and grip with your fingers, which is enough to get even the weakest person toned up.

Hand Biking. More people ride bikes outside than take part in any other sporting activity. However, it’s not so great for toning up the arms. Hand bikes however such as Pinarello ones are geared in such a way that you can pick up some great speed just by turning your arms. They are often used by those who cannot use their legs, so have been designed with usability and endurance in mind.

For bike accessories and road bikes, check out In Gear.

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