Sweat It Out on the Playground: A Quick and Effective 30-Minute Outdoor Workout

Summer is here, and it’s time to make the most of it! Take your workouts and physical activities outdoors and embrace these amazing days. With school out for summer, the playground can become your personal fitness haven. Whether it’s just you or you’re accompanied by little ones, we’re showing you a workout that turns those parks and playgrounds into the ultimate outdoor gym.

3 Tips for Optimizing an Outdoor Workout

1. Get Creative

Get creative with your outdoor workout. Find a flat grassy area for squats and push-ups.  Look for a bench or picnic table for step-ups and tricep dips. Don’t let the monkey bars still haunt you. Tackle it with some pull-ups and hanging leg lifts.  Keep a resistance band or jump rope in your car or backpack, and have it with you on your jog or bike ride if the mood strikes you. 

2. Give Gratitude

Don’t let yourself get so wrapped up in your workout that you forget to stop and look around! I always encourage my clients to remember to feel grateful for their surroundings and their ability to move during the workout.  The more you enjoy your outdoor workout, the easier it is to stick to your exercise plan.

3. Two Is Better Than One

Why settle for just one when you can have the best of both worlds? I recommend my clients include both cardio and strength training as often as they can. So before you venture into that outdoor exercises, make sure to design a workout routine that encompasses both heart-pumping cardio and muscle-strengthening moves.

What Should My Weekly Exercise Goals Be?

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, adults should focus on the following to achieve substantial health benefits:

• At least 2.5-5 hours a week of moderately intense aerobic activity or 1.25-2.5 hours a week of vigorously intense aerobic activity or an equivalent combo of the two.  Basically, anything that gets your heart beating faster counts!

• Plus, at least 2 days a week of muscle-strengthening activities that involve all major muscle groups. Do activities that make your muscles work harder than usual!  

Where Should I Start?

If you complete this 30-minute cardio + strength workout 3-4 times a week in addition to some brisk walking or other physical activity, you will be well on track with completing the recommended weekly fitness goals.

If all of this sounds like more than you can do right now, do what you can.  Aim for the recommended activity level, but be as active as you are able.  Something is always better than nothing.  

30-Minute Outdoor Workout

Complete each exercise for one minute. (AMRAP exercises at your best effort in a minute).

After all 10 movements are performed, rest for no more than 60-90 seconds, completing 3 sets in total.

Don’t forget to warm up and stretch!

You will need: Watch/Stopwatch, Park bench/Picnic table, Jungle gym/pull up bar, Swing

Exercise Level: Beginner-Intermediate

1. Squats

Keep your head up, your torso straight, and your core engaged. Push your hips down and back, and be sure your knees stay behind your toes.

2. Step-ups

Great for strengthening legs and buns! Remember to keep your back straight and core engaged. Ensure your foot is placed entirely on the step. (30 seconds on each leg)

3. Push-ups

Squeeze your glutes. Align and maintain your legs, spine, and neck. Keep an “L” space between your chin and your chest the entire time. Inhale, lower everything down at the same time keeping your biceps close to your body. Lower until your chest grazes the ground. Exhale, push the ground away but do not lock your elbows at the top. To make it easier, try adding in a little elevation (bench) or dropping to your knees.

4. AMRAP Pull-ups

(As many reps as possible) Great back and shoulder strengthener! Brace your core at the bottom of each rep and focus on pulling your elbows into your back pockets. Be sure to keep tension on your back and between your shoulder blades throughout the movement. Try to avoid tugging upward with your arms. To make it easier, try pull-ups using the chain on a swing or inverted body rows under a bar.

5. Swing Split Squat

Stand up straight with your back to the swing and place your back foot onto the seat. Lower your front leg into a bent position to complete the squat. The lower you go, the more you should feel it in your hamstring, glutes, and quads. (30 seconds on each leg)

6. Jumping Jacks

Standing with your legs together and arms at your side, bend your knees, jump into the air, and spread your legs shoulder-width distance apart. Stretch your arms out and over your head. Jump back to starting position and repeat.

7. Tricep Dips

Keep your hands close to your body and your elbows tucked in. Be sure to keep your back flat and slide right up against the edge of the bench, bearing your body weight in the back of your arms.

8. Burpees

Combine a jump, squat, plank, and (optional) push-up. Begin with a strong jump with your knees wide, landing in a squat with your knees bent. Hand comes to the ground with knees wider than your elbows. Hop or step back into a plank with shoulders over wrists and feet hip-width distance apart and a straight line from your head to your heels. Hop or step back in with your knees tracking over your ankles and outside of your elbows. Come right back into the jump to repeat.

9. AMRAP Hanging leg lifts

Great for core strength! Easier- bend the knees; harder- keep the legs straight.  Try to avoid swinging, crunching your shoulders, and lowering your legs too fast. 

10. Swing plank

Place feet in a swing and hands on the ground. From a plank position, move your feet toward your hands into an ab tuck, straighten, and repeat. 

Exercise Disclaimer: Before starting any new workout regimen, it’s essential to consult with your healthcare provider. If you experience faintness, dizziness, pain, or shortness of breath at any time while exercising, you should stop immediately. This workout is merely a suggestion and should be adjusted to fit your individual needs and goals.