1. Stairs:
Honestly, these puppies are better
than the stairmill! I have a love/hate relationship with my local outdoor
stairs, the Exorcist Stairs (yup, the staircase filmed in the movie). There are
so many ways to train on an outdoor staircase such as: hitting every step,
skipping a step, two footed hops, and side lunging to name a few. In any case, use caution on the stairs,
especially if it is or has recently rained. I would use stairs on another day.
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| My favorite stairs, the Exorcist Stairs in Georgetown, DC. |
2. Hills:
To me, one of the best rushes is
achieved after a good set of hill sprints. Similar to sprinting on an incline,
hills activate the glutes and hamstrings. Find your local hill, call up a group
of friends, and set a weekly hill date to run or walk hills.
3. Fields:
Nothing feels like being a kid again
more than running as fast as you can in an open field. Living in DC, friends of
mine would head down to the mall and sprint on the fields by the Lincoln. It
was pretty liberating, even if the tourists did look at us funny! If you are
lucky enough to have an open field by you, get out there and take advantage of
it!
4. Benches:
I love a good bench, and I am not
talking about the one in the gym! There are so many ways to incorporate park benches
into an outdoor workout. You can use them for for dips, incline pushups,
decline pushups and step up variations! Next time you walk by a bench, don’t
sit on it, step-up on it!
5. Trails:
Whether for a run, a bike ride, or a
walk, there is a therapeutic effect of being in nature. Take for example that
3-mile run on the treadmill, now place yourself outside with the green trees,
chirping birds, and other runners smiling at you. It’s a little different then
the drone of the treadmill. I challenge
you to get in at least one trail workout a week, allow yourself to be present
and experience nature.
6. Playground Equipment
Channel your inner child! Get back on
those monkey bars! You can also use the bars for various pull-up and chin up
variations. Next time you’re at the park with your children, or even if you
don’t have children, get out there and play too! Bring a ball with you to play
hoops, soccer, or kickball as well.
7. Beach
Sprinting on the beach is a great
workout for your calves, especially when done in the dry sand as well as
walking lunges. You can easily throw together a great body-weight workout with
just yourself and the sand. The combinations are endless!
8. Pool/Ocean
Whether it’s laps in the pool or laps
in the ocean one of the best ways to get in a total body workout are in the
water! Not a swimmer, no worries! Grab a kayak, a surfboard, or a paddleboat
and get active! Just remember to put on your sunscreen!
9. Track
Heading over to your local high school
track is a great way to get in exercise and way to build a sense of community.
Be sure to check in with the school to make sure it is cool to use the track.
Many schools do have times where the track is open to the community.
And there you
have it, 9 ways to train outside without weights! No excuses, you have
everything you need outside J!
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| My favorite play to train outdoors back home in Westerville, Hoover Dam |
Tweet me your outdoor workout today @kelleyvargo #outdoorworkout
See you tomorrow,
Kel
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