7 ideas for outdoor fitness training

7 ideas for outdoor fitness training

Are you bored with your current workout routine? Are you tired of driving to the gym to work out when the weather is nice? Are you stuck in a fitness rut ​​and looking for new ideas to renew progress? It's warmer weather here. So why not take your fitness routine outside?

Let's be honest. Driving 30 minutes to the gym to run on the treadmill and lift weights doesn't make much sense when the weather is nice. Not to mention, you've been cooped up all winter, you're bored with your fitness routine and haven't seen any progress in months.

Sit back and make yourself comfortable. I'm going to share with you some ideas that will get you out there, get you interested in training again, and help you experience progress you haven't seen in years. Interested? I hope you said YES!

In my 10 years in the fitness game, I've found that it always comes back to a few key points. First: you have to try to achieve more from training session to training session. Second: We all need regular variety in our training (for psychological and physiological reasons). Today I'm going to talk about the second point and teach you how a little variety in your training can help you get back on track. Check out these outdoor workout ideas to add a little variety to your routine:

1. Take your strength training outside to mix it up: During the summer months, I really enjoy doing my strength training outside. I love taking my weights to my yard or the local park. Working out with a loved one or a group of dedicated friends is a great way to do this. Some of the exercise equipment that work well for outdoor workouts are kettlebells (pictured below - looks like a large bowling ball with a handle), clubbells (a weighted racket), medicine balls (fun to throw around) and sled pulls (great for athletes), weighted vest workouts, sandbag workouts (nothing fancy here, just sand in a bag), and good old dumbbells.

2. Try Interval Training to Increase Fat Loss: Look, the “fat burning zone” is a myth. Sure, your body uses fat as a fuel source after 30 minutes of continuous exercise at a given intensity, but sports scientists have shown us that shorter efforts at higher levels of exercise can be even more effective at reducing your body fat percentage (ever wondered? Why are sprinters so lean without having to run for 30 minutes straight???). A great way to incorporate interval training into your summer workouts is to warm up for 5-10 minutes and then alternate 30 seconds of more intense effort with 30 seconds of more moderate effort. You can do this on your mountain bike, road bike, mountain sprints, kayak sprints, jump ropes, track sprints, or even with a bodyweight callisthenic like jumping jacks. Enjoy!

3. Do mini-workouts throughout the day: An easy way to fit in an outdoor workout is to choose an exercise and take short exercise breaks outside. You could walk out of your office and do a series of squats, lunges, elevated push-ups, stair climbs that involve skipping steps, or even calf raises. Remember: It's your total energy expenditure at the end of the day that's important - not all at once.

4. Do some gardening: The garden is a mess, so you might as well get some exercise and be productive at the same time. Try stacking wood, raking leaves, building a rock wall, digging a hole (you decide what for), walking with a loaded wheelbarrow, carrying things over your head across the yard, and spreading some mulch around your new plants that you just planted in the hole you dug earlier.

5. Take in a landscape: Make the world your gym. Commercial health clubs have nothing to do with Mother Nature. Get outside and go for a walk in the local park, hike, kayak, mountain bike, and go to the beach to run in the sand or jump in the waves. Getting outdoors can be a great way to adopt a fitness lifestyle and add variety to your current workout routine.

6. Go on Obstacle Walks: A cool way to add variety to your routine is to mix in some bodyweight calisthenics like squats, push-ups, and jumping jacks into your summer hikes to increase calorie burn and challenge your body. Walking on a treadmill is boring and predictable. An obstacle walk through your local park can be much more enjoyable and the “mess” of walking outside might be the right kind of change you've been looking for.

7. Participate in a summer sports league: Sports are a great way to add variety to your routine and have fun. There are hiking clubs, mountain bike clubs, road bike clubs, triathlon training clubs, softball leagues, martial arts tournaments, basketball leagues and much more. In fact, I'm participating in a summer basketball league for the first time in years and I can't wait to get started. It's a great opportunity to get outside, make new friends and do a fitness activity that will improve your life.

There you have it – 7 ideas to take your fitness training outside and add some variety to your routine. One thing to consider is going to the gym a few days a week and doing your other workouts outside. Mother Nature has given us some great opportunities. So go outside this summer and take advantage of this opportunity. I'm sure you'll see progress again (and have a lot of fun doing it!).

Train with intention

Kyle

Inspired by Ezine and Kyle Battis