Let back to school mean back in shape this fall by taking advantage of UD's ideal location for outdoor fitness.

Whether you're hitting the streets of Oakwood for a run or biking through the local parks, exercising in nature can do much more for the body and mind than pounding on the treadmill.

"The big part of outdoor fitness is getting outside and getting away from everyday life," Greg Brumitt, Five Rivers MetroParks director of recreation said. "That's what exercise is about. It's that mental and physical break your mind and body need to be healthy, well-adjusted and have an overall good quality of life."

But just because the scenery's better doesn't mean the workout intensity will decrease. Here are several ways outdoor exercise can actually raise your level of fitness:

Run uphill, burn more calories. The intensity felt running uphill instead of flat is obvious, but the numbers are startling: each degree of elevation adds a 10 percent increase in calories burned, according to http://www.runnersworld.com. In short: more hills, more burned calories. Any run into Oakwood will consist of at least two high-intensity hills. For even more of a challenge, take on nearby Hills & Dales MetroPark, where every other turn is a hill.

Get outside, up your goals. Take a run or try a bike route and go on one straight path. If you typically run for 30 minutes, run straight for 20 minutes. When you turn around you'll have to run 20 minutes back -- and voila! You have no choice but to run 10 extra minutes and crank up your calorie-burn for the day.

Don't let injury hold you back. The outdoors is the best place to prevent fitness-related injuries, and cross-training doesn't have to be inside on a machine. With biking, rowing, walking and kayaking for a change of pace, or running on the MetroParks' 200 miles of trails, your legs will greatly thank you for the break from the treadmill, and you won't have to stop working out to nurse an injury.

Whatever your choice of exercise, don't use lack of Dayton-area knowledge as an excuse not to try outdoor fitness. For information on local parks, check out http://www.metroparks.org. To figure out your own exercise route starting right here on campus, use http://www.mapmyrun.com.

No matter what your fitness level, any outdoor excursions you make will add to your health and subtract from your waistline.

Have a fitness question? Email it to news@flyernews.com