A little-known secret to getting faster fitness results is to take your workout outdoors. Outdoor workouts challenge your muscles with inclines, declines, and obstacles that you wouldn’t get on the flat floor at home or in the gym. The added vitamin D from the sun will give you double the mood boost that you’re used to from your regular sweat sesh.
Here’s a fun 30-minute outdoor workout circuit to get you started training outdoors.
Workout 1: Outdoor Full-Body Circuit
Warm up: get your body ready with five minutes of power walking or light jogging.
Get started: Perform each move for the outlined time or number of reps.
1. Side Leap
Targets inner thighs, quads, calves, glutes
- Stand on flat ground with your feet together.
- Bend your knees and hop as far as you can to your right, landing on the ball of your right foot.
- Keep your left foot off the ground, bend your right knee and hop as far as you can to the left.
- Do 20 hops per side.
2. Tricep Dip
Targets triceps, shoulders, core
- Sit on a bench and place your hands on either side of your hips.
- Slide your booty forward, supporting yourself with your hands.
- Bend elbows, bringing upper arms almost parallel to ground, then return to starting position.
- Keep lower back close to the bench throughout the exercise.
- Do 15 reps.
3. Incline Pushup
Targets chest, biceps, triceps, shoulders, core
- Stand facing a park bench (or other elevated surface) and place your hands on the seat; walk your feet out behind you until your legs are fully extended.
- Bend your arms and lower chest toward the bench, then push up.
- Complete 12 reps.
- Turn around and place your hands on the ground and your feet on the bench; walk your hands forward until they’re aligned under shoulders, legs extended.
- Lower chest toward ground, then push up. Complete 8 reps.
- Work up to 20 reps of each.
4. Side Scuttle
Targets glutes, inner and outer thighs, quads
- Stand with feet hip-distance apart, elbows bent, with fists near ribs.
- Take three giant steps to your right, sliding your left foot to meet the right.
- Bend your knees and jump up, turning to face the opposite direction.
- Repeat, shuffling to your left.
- Continue for 1 minute, alternating sides.
5. Step to the Side
Targets core, obliques, glutes, upper back, shoulders
- Stand with your right side facing a step, log, or flat rock.
- Hold your arms out to your sides at shoulder height and bend elbows 90 degrees, palms facing forward.
- Step up with your right foot, squeezing your abs while bringing your left knee and right elbow together in front of you. (Emphasize bringing your knee up rather than your elbow down.) Return to starting position.
- Do 12 reps per side.
6. Step-Ups
Targets quads, hamstrings, glutes
- Using a step, fallen log, or flat rock, step up with your left foot and lift your right leg directly behind you.
- Step down and repeat on the opposite side.
- Next, step up on your left foot, raising your right leg diagonally behind you; switch sides and repeat.
- Step up on left foot, kicking right foot out to side; switch legs and repeat.
- Do the kick cycle (back, diagonal, side) 26 times.
7. Side to Side Jump
Targets glutes, hamstrings, quads
- Place four to six small rocks in a zigzag pattern, about 1 1/2 feet between each rock.
- Keeping your feet together, hop to the outside of each rock.
- Turn around when you reach the end and repeat.
Workout 2 – Cardio Melt
You definitely don’t need a treadmill to get a great cardio workout. Use these moves outdoors to get your heart pumping. You’ll need a mat or towel to get started.
- 10 Long Jumps: Do a long jump the length of your mat or towel, and then take small steps running backward to your start position.
- 10 Push-ups: Do them on your knees or with legs extended, depending on your fitness level.
- 15 Sumo Squats: Stand up with your feet wider than your hips and your toes slightly turned out as you sit back into a squat.
- 20 Bicycle Crunches: Lie on your back and bend both knees into your chest, hands clasped behind your head. Find a focal point to the left and right of your body. Look at those two focal points as you twist and crunch to each side, reaching your right elbow to your left knee, and vice versa.
- 20 Mountain Climbers: Start in a plank position and alternate driving your knees into chest, keeping your hips flat and parallel to the ground.
Feeling like a challenge? Time yourself performing the full meltdown, and try to beat your best time with your next outdoor workout.
These are two awesome examples of how you can take your workout outdoors to get even more benefits from your exercise. You can also join us for a 45-minute MoveCamp workout every Thursday live on Zoom. Sign up for free at MoveCamp.ca. Our coaches are incredibly motivating and will keep an eye on you while you move. Bonus points for taking your tech outside to follow along outdoors!