Something that I think most of us have discovered for ourselves: Being outdoors in a natural environment, especially exercising etc., improves mental health. A study finds "A jog through a forest can cut the risk of suffering from mental health problems and is twice as good for you as working out in the gym."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/health...tal-health.html

I have noticed that when I do my near daily cardio exercise, outside, I feel refreshed; when I do it on the treadmill, I feel tired. Same time, same speed, same distance. different results.

I totally believe this.
I'd rather dig a ditch in the rain than do just about anything in a gym.

I agree, now do it wearing 5 fingers shoes. Theres something about running in the woods barefoot(almost) that is uber relaxing.

Big time stress relief.

This is entirely believable. For myself, I get stress relief that is significantly out of proportion to the amount of downtime from being out of doors.

My workouts include outdoor hiking and calisthenics. I wish I had embraced the value of calisthenics when I was younger and in my athletic prime. Anyway, there is something about outdoors that makes me and any pain feel small. I have a gym membership, but I go to the gym only about 2 days per year because it's late and raining or some odd reason.