Physical activity gives many advantages and benefits for well-being, self-esteem, and motivation. With the arrival of good weather, there is much more desirable to carry out activities outside the home, it is an ideal time to carry out any physical activity in open spaces. A few minutes a day of physical activity in the open air improves your energy levels and can even reduce your levels of anxiety and bad mood improves the obtaining of vitamin D thanks to the sun’s rays, a very important nutrient for general health and for the maintenance of good humour. It also allows the body to eliminate toxins, by cleaning the lungs and oxygenating the blood.
It helps to control blood pressure, calorie loss, and to have adequate levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that is present in different areas of the brain and that is important for the body’s motor function. Training outdoors you are always changing the scene which helps stimulate the brain in cognitive aspects such as attention and memory capacity, helps prevent and eliminate stress and anxiety that we accumulate. Because there are no noisy environments, silence promotes the relaxation of the body and mind of the individual.
Madrid is a city with ideal places to go outdoors to play sports, walk or practice meditation. Here we leave several options for some of the best parks and gardens in the city:
1. DEHESA DE LA VILLA PARK
It is a perfect place to disconnect and breathe fresh air doing sports activities. This park is a large park full of willows, elms, and stone pine trees that coexist with more than 70 species of birds. It is full of vegetation and trees so in spring it is a lovely place to walk.
Its main characteristic is that it has the character of a forest with landscaped spaces next to the urban area, Dehesa de la Villa is ideal for running as it has obstacle courses with slopes or routes that facilitate aerobic exercise adapted to the elderly or children.
2. JUAN CARLOS I PARK
One of the favourite parks for the people of Madrid to practice outdoor sports, walk, skate or fly kites, it has a bicycle rental service. You can also play volleyball, mini basketball, five-a-side football, and paddle tennis on various outdoor courts.
3. O’DONNELL’S GREEN WEDGE FOREST PARK
This forest park is a perfect place to run and share with the family as it has a very large children’s area. Thanks to its flat and easy-to-navigate forest paths you can walk, stroll or ride a bike.
4. RETIRO PARK
One of the most famous parks in Madrid has 125 hectares of trees and is called El Parque del Buen Retiro, also generally known as ‘El Retiro’, it is a perfect park to practice sports. The space has areas where you can run with ease and you will find all kinds of terrain for runners: dirt, grass, stairs… as well as many flat areas and areas with slopes. There are also areas with bars, rings, and supports that allow you to work on static capacity and anaerobic training.
You can cycle or skate along the bike lane and enter the park, once you are there you also have the option of taking a boat ride on the lake that is in the center of the park to help your resistance in your arms and upper body. . And also, if you want to do sports in the company, you have a multitude of classes to practice tai chi, yoga, fitness, etc. What better ending your day than going for a walk and doing a little exercise in this wonderful park.
5. WESTERN PARK
Parque del Oeste has about 100 hectares of land where you can admire the well-known Temple of Debod. A perfect park for walking, running, cycling, or skating, and also perfect for group activities such as yoga, Zumba, cardio box, etc. The temple is an ideal space to practice yoga or more relaxing activities.
6. MADRID RIO PARK
This is a very good option to practise outdoor sports, the park has more than 10 kilometres located next to the Manzanares River with green spaces, bridges, walkways, and dams. You can run, bike or skate and also do other sports in facilities near the park because it has areas where you can climb, play tennis, practice basketball, soccer, and even a skate park.
7. CASA DE CAMPO
One of the parks in Madrid that is also famous is the Casa de Campo, with some 1,535 hectares of land, it is the largest natural space in the Community. It has several cycling circuits, perfect for short bike routes, and light walks, you can practice running, tennis, soccer, hiking, or swimming.
8. EL CAPRICHO PARK
Located in the neighbourhood of Alameda de Osuna, northeast of the city of Madrid. It has an extension of 14 hectares of garden with walking areas and idyllic hidden corners.
It is a somewhat smaller park but it has a special charm thanks to the almond trees present, ideal for taking a walk and enjoying all its beauty, it is not allowed to enter with bicycles or skates and you can not play ball, nor eat in the premises or enter with pets.