If you are tired of working out inside, take advantage of the warm weather and take your fitness outside and upgrade your routine to fit the great outdoors. When you are doing your exercise in nature, you will feel more energized and motivated to burn those calories and push it a bit further. If you don’t know where to start, below are a few ideas that you can tailor to your own needs, to make the most out of your morning exercise.
The easiest way to take your workout outside is to start jogging. Go to the nearest park, put on some energetic music and start jogging around. Jogging is one of the most basic, yet effective cardio routines, as you get to work out all your muscles and build up strength, along with burning out some extra calories.
If you are in the mood for a more complex routine, you can use jogging as a warm-up, while you are searching for a place to continue the rest of your exercises.
If you take a close look around, you will see that the park can be a giant gym. You can use the surroundings to help yourself with the routine you are accustomed to, or simply develop a new one. Benches, for example, can be used for push-ups and mountain climbers, which are great exercises for both your arms and legs. You can also use benches for crunches, if you forgot your mat or don’t want to carry one.
Trees can be used for exercises where you would typically need a wall, such as wall sits or plyometric jumps. You can also use trees for squeezes and planks, as well as hanging crunches, but do make sure you find a sturdy tree branch that you can grab on.
If the park has some hills or more elevated areas, you can try a bit of hiking as well. The activity is known as urban hiking and has gained quite some popularity recently, especially since people don’t always get the time to go outside the town for a proper hike.
You can adjust the intensity of your hike based on your experience and physical condition, as well as use hiking as a warm up routine, just like jogging. You can even alternate between the two, to create a more entertaining routine.
You can never go wrong with just taking your yoga mat outside and enjoy the mornings while doing some stretching. Yoga is often viewed as a light workout routine, but with a bit of research, you can find more intense exercises that are going to leave you feeling like you just came out of the gym.
If you like to, you can also join groups that get together to do yoga outside. This way, you will stay motivated and meet new people, turning it into a social activity. Just don’t forget to bring water and a mat.