Are you sick and tired of the gym and feel that it is boring for you now? You’re not alone. Although gyms come with some form of guidance, as well as facilities, the routine becomes repetitive very fast. The good news is that outside your door there are countless ways to diversify your workout program.
So now that you’ve rallied up your sneakers, let’s proceed and explore the most exciting outdoor fitness ideas for getting out of the boring routine of gyms.
Why Choose Outdoor Workout Routines?
This is not to say that working out outdoors is just a variation of a setting as people can benefit from it in ways that they cannot gain in any other setting. Research indicates that outdoor exercising decreases stress levels, mood enhancement, and increases in mental ability.
The natural terrain also has a functional training benefit, which we will discuss shortly, and gives you more of a workout than standing on a flat treadmill or just using some gym machines. Now, let’s take a look at several outdoor fitness ideas to reignite your enthusiasm for this type of exercise and have fun with it!
1. Bodyweight Exercises in the Park
In our case, bodyweight exercises are particularly useful for several reasons; they are flexibly portable and parks are great for any body movement. Then natural resources such as park benches, grass fields, and even children’s playing grounds become your gym.
Extendits for extra oomph, incline/decline push-ups on a park bench. The next great exercise is the step up, stand with your back to the bench, and step on the bench with one leg and then the other. Besides, it also targets the leg and involves the use of your abs to maintain your balance.
2. Take Your Cardio Outside
It is sometimes monotonous to exercise on the treadmill, but when you can take your cardio outside it becomes exciting. Hill tasks, which may include jogging along a particular trail or climbing a set of stairs outside, confirm that outdoor cardio results in burning even more calories owing to relevant factors such as terrain variations, wind factors, and natural gradients.
Looking to up the challenge? Take a jog in the sand, and do a few plyometric exercises on the beach – your calves will surely enjoy that. Other great fun activities for exercise while enjoying the scenic views include cycling, hiking, and even rollerblading.
3. Functional Training Outdoors
Do you want to gain muscle and power or just to improve your physical condition? Train your muscles outside for functional training. Functional training entails the repetition of particular exercises such as lifting, squatting, pushing, and pulling, which match real-life activities.
This can be done by framing workout environments with some natural features like hills, trees, and logs. For instance, you can use a tree branch to do pull-up exercises or do squats and lunges on an incline to involve the stabilizer muscles. For more cardiovascular intensity add in some sprints up hills.
4. Strength Training Routines with Minimal Equipment
Ever believed that pulling some serious mass would build up more muscle strength? Think again! Strength training routines are always very convenient because they can be performed with the use of very little equipment. For strength training outdoors, you can only need a resistance band or just a set of dumbbells to achieve great results.
You can perform bicep curls, shoulder presses, tricep dips free weights, or resistance bands as well. Change it up by using a picnic table and doing tricep dips With the same idea, grab a pair of dumbbells and do some shoulder presses or weighted lunges at the park.
5. The Advantages of a Functional Training Outdoors Circuit
If you’re pushed for time but want a fantastic workout and feel the elements on your face, then an outdoor circuit is the answer. This way, it is possible to establish stations with the kinds of exercises such as jump squats, burpees, mountain climbers, etc. This should involve strength exercises in the form of push-ups, different types of planks, and lunges.
It is recommended the practitioner perform each exercise as described, followed by a 15-second break before continuing, for 45 seconds total. Do the circuit 3-4 times for a good upper body and total body workout that takes no more than 30 minutes.
6. Fun with Outdoor Fitness Ideas | Sports and Games
Fitness doesn’t necessarily have to mean breaking into a regular vigorous exercise routine each day. You moreover could turn your hours spent outside into fun. A simple session of soccer, basketball, football or even just throwing around a Frisbee works wonders.
That’s what you will get with cardio outside because unless you were paying attention, you’d have fun and not realize it. Sign up for a local community sports team, or just grab a friend and a ball and go down to your local park for an informal game.
7. Yoga and Stretching in Nature
If you typically do low-impact exercises, try doing yoga out in the open. Listening to nature will help increase your concentration while stretching or holding your yoga poses. All you need is a mat! Yoga out in the open is an opportunity to practice proper breathing and improve the flexibility of muscles while being mentally challenged.
Yoga in the park is quite common with many parks today having instructors who take meetings to the park to teach them yoga, it is very powerful even when you do it alone.
8. Outdoor Workout Routines with Pets
If you are a pet owner you have a companion that will gladly go jogging with you all the time. Dogs especially like to play and hence are suitable partners to have especially when one wants to exercise outside the house.
Take your dog for a jog or a walk, throw a ball for him or her to fetch, or practice agility training with your dog. You will both work up a good sweat and you will also have a chance to know each other.
Step Outside and Redefine Fitness!
It’s important to know that it’s not just the gym that should be your routine destination. In fact, there is a totally different universe of outdoor fitness ideas out there that you definitely should try as each of them is valuable in its way. From bodyweight exercises to cardio outdoors and from outdoor fitness ideas to strength training routines all can be performed.
Therefore every time you are getting bored with the gym consider taking your fitness regime outdoors. Don’t let the title fool you, it’s not rocket science, it’s not a boring chore and just maybe, it will become your new way of maintaining your fitness.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. What are the best outdoor workout routines for beginners?
The best outdoor activities for exercising for beginners include walking, jogging, and other calisthenics such as push-ups, squats, and lunges. The following outside fitness ideas can be very helpful in strengthening muscles and propelling endurance gradually.
2. Is strength training safe for teens?
In this way, you can receive functional training outdoors and make it a full-body workout adding burpees, planks, mountain climbers, and jogging with running and cycling. This will include major muscle groups which will be worked out.
3. Why is outdoor exercise better than the gym?
Cycling or jogging outside in invigorating air, climatic variation, exposure to natural sunlight and can be more exciting and effective for functional training outside as well as for strength training outdoors.
4. What is the best formula for HIIT workout outside?
The high-intensity interval training outside workout routine should include 30 seconds to one minute of full-out cardio outside such as sprinting or jump squats paired with 90 seconds to two minutes of moderate activities like walking or resting.
5. What equipment do I need for outdoor strength training?
To undertake strength training routines outdoors, no equipment is necessary. New, old, or just plain odd objects offer the variety needed to take your workout to the next level of fun and usefulness Resistance bands, kettlebells or simply a park bench will allow for this versatility.