As the seasons change, so does our motivation. When leaves and snow start to fall, we want to curl up in bed rather than hit the gym. Personal fitness instructor Deon Brady knows this all too well.
A passion for outdoors combined with a passion for fitness landed Deon instructing a specific type of fitness regime—outdoor fitness. So rather than staying inside, Deon encourages you to get out there and get moving.
For 42 years, Deon has been a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor. “I started at the Y and I was the 1st instructor at Club Apple,” Deon said. “I taught kickboxing classes, aerobic classes and body pump classes. After 21 years of that I thought, ‘I love the outdoors, what if I created something?’ Then 14 years ago, I created Outdoor Fitness.”
The benefits of exercise we all know but what is the benefit of working out outside? Working out outside is a good opportunity not only to get your body moving but to get fresh air, socialize with others and overall, get a different experience than the gym.
The Outdoor Fitness classes take participants to all sorts of different outdoor attractions in the community. “The location changes periodically,” Deon said. “We go to parks in the city, along the River Walk, the Snake River Landing Pier and more.”
Depending on the weather and location, deciphers the course of the workout.
“There are days when we do more cardio than weight resistance,” Deon explains. “Then there are days where I bring weights and ropes for us to do an interval workout in one location.”
As the location changes, Deon puts the variation of parks to use. “At Freeman Park, we wear our bands and go around the park. Then we stop and put the bands around a tree to do some upper body workouts. If I find places that have picnic tables, we use those to do step ups or even a rock, we will step up on.”
At Community Park, Deon puts the hill to use by performing sprints up and down the hill with the class. Then the class will do dips and pushups on the benches at the park. “It’s an hour-long class and at the end of class, we do some ab workouts and stretches,” Deon said. “It’s a good overall body workout.”
And when winter comes, Deon doesn’t stop there. During the winter months, Deon and the class cross-country ski through the park to get their cardio on and do band and ab workouts when finished. “It’s all year round,” Deon said.
Outdoor workouts are a great opportunity to get active, spend time outside or to make new friends. “I’ve had as young as 15 in the class and up to 70 years old,” Deon said. “People who have been active in life but want to do things outdoors.”
The Outdoor Fitness classes are offered year-round, every Tuesday and Thursday at 5 p.m. Anyone who is physically able is welcome to sign up for class by contacting Deon at 208-521-1425 or at her Facebook page, @Outdoor Fitness Idaho Falls.