This week of senior project, I focused my research on outdoor vs. indoor exercise. Throughout the rest of this project, I have been doing only indoor workouts, so it was very refreshing to be able to exercise outside for a change. I researched the most effective ways to maintain social distancing, and the best types of masks to wear outside during exercise so that I could make sure I was keeping myself and the people around me safe. I thought that this research would also be helpful for others who are hoping to exercise outside as the weather gets nicer, and I hope to be able to share this information somehow. I also read studies/research articles on the impact of outdoor exercise compared with indoor exercise. I found that there is a large body of research on “green exercise”, or exercise that is done in nature. Green exercise has been found to increase and maximize the mental health benefits of exercise, as while as lower people’s perceived exertion during exercise and make them more likely to exercise for longer and continue exercising long-term. However, most of these studies were focused around more rural/nature filled environments, so this did not reflect my personal experience while being in New York City. However, I still felt that exercising outdoors had a very positive impact on my mental health. I felt more excited to workout than I had during this entire project, and I felt like I had more energy during my workouts than in the past. Also, it was really nice not to be on my phone while doing these exercises, since many of the workouts I’ve done in past weeks have relied on apps or videos. I found that being off of my phone allowed me to more easily clear my mind of outside stress and obligations and simply focus on my mental and physical health, which felt very rewarding. Overall, I found my research this week to be particularly interesting, especially since I felt like I could personally feel the effects of “green exercise” that I had been reading about.