Group Helps People Exercise Outdoors

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

In Edmonton, Alberta, the sun had yet to come up. The temperature was more than 20 degrees below zero. In the dark and cold, Tanis Smith was ready to run up and down hundreds of stairs among the trees in the Saskatchewan River Valley.

And Smith was not alone. Ten people joined her for the activity. All were wearing several layers of clothing to keep warm.

“You're pretty much just putting everything you own on,” said Smith, an accountant. “If you look at the pictures, you don't know who you are unless you remember what you were wearing.”

Since that winter back in 2013, Smith has rarely missed a workout with a group called November Project.

November Project is a network of free outdoor group exercise classes that started in Boston, Massachusetts. No matter the weather, members get out of bed before sunrise at least once a week and go outdoors for group exercise.

November Project is part exercise, part fun, and part community. It is a model for exercising outdoors, especially in the winter.

It started in 2011, when two friends agreed to exercise every morning for the month of November. They were looking for accountability and motivation to help them stick to an exercise routine.

By the end of that first month, they had invited others to join them. Soon, their meetings were bringing in almost forty people. And it became a year-round project.

“A party is better when there's more people around. We would talk to anybody who would listen,” said Bojan Mandaric. He created the project with friend, Brogan Graham.

Then, as people moved to other cities, they took the idea with them. So, the November Project grew. Now, there are 52 groups in eight countries, including 44 in the United States and Canada.

What do the workouts look like?

People of all ages and fitness levels join the workouts. Some groups begin with something called “The Bounce.” They chant and jump at the same time to bring the group together. Those who feel inhibited, do not have to do this.

Most classes include running and body weight exercises like squats. The project also uses the surroundings of the location. So, for example, some places include running up steps in an outdoor sports stadium. Currently in D.C., members meet on Wednesdays to run up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

To keep the workouts fun, they also might include fun games and activities from childhood. In Edmonton, they play snow games in winter and water games in summer. The games help to lower inhibitions. This helps people make connections, said Jason Shaw. He is co-leader of the Indianapolis, Indiana group.

“Nobody (is) cool at November Project,” he said.

Shaw said groups recognize members' milestones. People can earn prizes for reaching different goals.

To find out if a November Project group is near you, go to their website at November-Project.com. Building community and making friends is another big part of the project. So, each group is active on social media.

If you do not have a November Project nearby, you can find another type of outdoor exercise group. Or start your own.

The November Project organizers offer a few suggestions on how to work out during colder months.

Find workout friends

Find workout friends. At the center of the project, is accountability. Members promise to show up. There is a sense of letting down your teammates if you do not show up, said Mandaric, who moved to Boston from Serbia to row crew for Northeastern University. (Rowing crew is a type of boat racing.)

Invest in some cold-weather clothing

There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing, said Shaw, the leader from Indianapolis. He suggests wearing clothing next to your skin that removes sweat. This will help keep you warm and dry. Avoid cotton, he warned. It keeps sweat in contact with your body and will make you colder.

Also, add a top layer that protects against bad weather. On its webpage, the November Project leaders for Washington, DC say workouts are not cancelled for weather.

Make it a usual activity

Promise yourself to exercise on the same days and times for a month. Create a routine. This will make it easier to stick to an exercise routine, says Mandaric.

Make it fun

And make sure to have fun. Exercise does not have to be hard or serious.

Smith, the member from Edmonton, Alberta, says she enjoys the social part of the November Project the most. She calls it “a chosen family.” They came together because they had fun exercising. She said. “You can have fun and get fit.”

And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. I'm Anna Matteo.

Albert Stumm reported this story for the Associated Press. Anna Matteo adapted it into a lesson for VOA Learning English.

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layer -n. one thickness or fold over or under another

call-and-response -n. statement quickly followed by an answering statement

chant -n. a rhythmic, one-tone statement or song said out loud

squat -n. an exercise in which a standing person lowers to a position in which the torso is erect and the knees are deeply bent and then rises to an upright position

burpee -n. conditioning exercise in which a person squats, places the palms of the hands on the floor in front of the feet, jumps back into a push-up position, in some cases completes one push-up, returns to the squat position, and then jumps up into the air while extending the arms overhead

inhibition -n. a restraint or check upon the free or spontaneous instincts or impulses of an individual guided or directed by the social and cultural forces of the environment

milestone -n. a significant point in development

crew -n. the sport of rowing a boat, causing it to move through water using poles with flat ends called oars

sweat -n. the fluid excreted from the sweat glands of the skin

routine -n. a standard or regular way of doing something