During the hottest and coldest months of the year, most active people spend their time at the gym or working out in the comfort of their homes. But with the spring season officially here, it’s finally time to bring your workouts outside for a change of scenery!
Even though you don’t have the same equipment and machines as you do at the gym or even at home, outdoor workouts are still a great idea. Not only do they add a lot of variety to your workouts so you can avoid boredom, but you can also try a bunch of different things that you might not get to do at a gym – all while breathing fresh air.
In this article, we’ll show you some of the best outdoor workouts that you can do to exercise in spring and stay on track with your goals, whether you train at your local park, at the beach, or even in your backyard!
HIIT training
While this type of training is something that you can technically do at the gym, it might be too crowded for you to get the full potential of a HIIT workout – which is why you should add it to your outdoor training routine!
HIIT (high-intensity interval training) is a fast-paced training style consisting of short bursts of intense exercise followed by brief recovery periods. It burns a ton of calories while also helping you tone your muscles and improve your strength, resistance, speed, and coordination.
You can add a bunch of different exercises to your HIIT routine, such as squats, burpees, mountain climbers, and lunges. Here’s a sample workout that you can try with no equipment:
- Jump squats (45 seconds + 15 seconds rest)
- Butt kicks (45 seconds + 15 seconds rest)
- Tricep dips (45 seconds + 15 seconds rest)
- Reverse lunges (45 seconds + 15 seconds rest)
- Plank push-ups (45 seconds)
- Rest for 1-2 minutes before repeating two more times
Hiking
Nothing says getting a good breath of fresh air like going hiking. Of course, you can just hop on the treadmill at the gym and get your steps in that way, but hiking outdoors offers a couple of extra benefits!
Walking in general is a great way to build your lower-body strength, your stamina, and your cardiovascular resistance, not to mention an increased lung capacity. But because hiking trails often have uneven terrain and a lot of going up and down, your body recruits more stabilizer muscles in the process, also increasing your stability and coordination.
Swimming
Looking for an outdoor exercise that engages your whole body while also being refreshing? Then swimming is the one for you! Whether you swim at the local public pool, use your own pool, or even go to the beach, swimming is one of the best ways to stay active outdoors.
When you’re swimming, you use almost every muscle group to stay afloat and move through the water, mainly your upper-body muscles and core. On top of that, you burn a ton of calories all while increasing your lung capacity and improving your cardiovascular health, making it one of the best full-body workouts out there!
Circuit training
Similar to HIIT training, circuit training is a fast-paced training style that incorporates different exercises into one single quick fitness routine. The main difference is that, while HIIT is mostly focused on cardio, circuit training excels at building muscle!
A basic circuit workout will include a combination of upper-body, lower-body, cardio, and compound exercises, cycling through them to build both your strength and endurance. Here’s a sample circuit training routine that only includes four exercises:
- Push-ups (30 seconds, 15 seconds rest)
- Banded glute bridges (30 seconds, 15 seconds rest)
- Mountain climbers (30 seconds, 15 seconds rest)
- Jumping jacks (30 seconds)
- Rest for 1 minute and repeat 3-4 times
This is a pretty straightforward workout plan and the only equipment you need is a long or short resistance band.
Yoga
While not a high-intensity workout at all, yoga is still a great way to build muscle, and not many people know about it! If you’re a frequent lifter, you can benefit a lot from yoga because it helps build total-body strength and improve your balance by staying still in many different static positions.
On top of that, because yoga is a breathing-based activity, it also helps release all that built-up tension and stress from your workouts and daily life, and your posture and flexibility can improve too! All in all, bringing a mat outside and doing some yoga while breathing fresh air can be a great addition to your outdoor workouts.
Rollerblading
Who says exercising can’t be fun? Even if it’s been a while since you picked up a pair of rollerblades or skates, it can still be a good idea to dust them off and bring them to the park next time you want to get some physical activity done outdoors.
In case you didn’t know, rollerblading is a great way to strengthen your whole body. Your lower-body muscles will be in charge of moving you forward while your upper-body muscles and core help you stay balanced and give you a boost. Just remember to wear a helmet and knee pads – you don’t want a small rock to ruin your workout!
Biking
Similar to hiking, cycling at the gym is not the same as picking up a bike and getting a couple of miles in. Because of how dynamic biking can be, between constantly turning, accelerating and decelerating, and going through uneven terrain, it can be a killer workout and a serious calorie burner.
The main muscles worked during biking are your lower-body muscles such as your quads, glutes, and hamstrings, plus your core for stability – but your upper body is involved too! Steering the bike and keeping your balance on it requires upper-body strength, so you can definitely consider it a full-body outdoor workout.
Calisthenics
If you’re not familiar with calisthenics, it refers to a style of strength training that uses your body weight as resistance while performing different movements, some more advanced than others. Many parks have fitness stations with bars and benches that are perfect for calisthenics!
This is a bit of a higher-intensity one and usually requires a lot of upper-body strength, but you can start small and build your way up to more difficult routines! Exercises such as pull-ups and burpees are considered basic calisthenics, and they’re perfect for beginners who want to build their overall strength outdoors.
Get some fresh air by working out outdoors
You don’t need to work out outside every single day, but doing so a couple of times a week will help you add some variety to your workout routine and even help with your mental health and stress. Fully enjoy your springtime by giving outdoor workouts a try!