A few park workouts to keep in your back pocket
Who wants to spend precious summer hours in a stuffy gym?
The nicer the weather is outside, the less I want to train in a gym for an hour or two. And while I’m trying to stick with my lifting program this summer, some days I’d rather work out in my side yard, go for a run, or make use of the pullup rig at the park two blocks from my house.
So in honor of fresh air and summer sun, I’ve written a few workouts we can all use on days when it’s too nice to confine ourselves to a gym.
Use these however you want: on vacation, with a friend, or in lieu of whatever you’d originally planned to do with a barbell or treadmill. They’re intentionally written to require no equipment or things you can easily find at a park. Scale reps and movements as needed to fit your current fitness level (I’ve included some tips below). You should be able to finish a workout — even if it’s hard — and not feel like your muscles are completely nonexistent halfway through.
5 Workouts to Do at a Park (No Equipment Needed)
#1
15-minute AMRAP (as many reps as possible — set the clock and work without rest for 15 minutes)
10 pushups
Run the bases on a baseball diamond
16 alternating single-leg squats (down to a bench if available, or hold onto a fence for assistance; 8 reps per leg)
#2
12- to 20-minute park bench tabata
(Do movement 1, then movement 2, etc. For each movement: 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest. Go through the entire circuit 6-10 times.)
Park bench step-ups
Park bench tricep dips
Alternating single-leg squats down to a park bench
Pushups (you can put your hands on the bench to make it easier, or put your hands on the ground and feet on the bench to make it harder)
#3
15-20 rounds for time
10 burpees
100-yard sprint
2-minute rest
#4
7 rounds
5 strict pullups (or jumping pullups) on playground equipment
12 burpees
30 reverse lunges
#5
For time
3 rounds:
20 tuck jumps
3-minute run (steady pace)
30 walking lunges (total)
After completing all 3 rounds, rest 5 minutes. Then…
3 rounds:
15 pushups
30 squats
40 jumping jacks
How to Scale Pushups and Pullups
If any number of pushups or pullups has you shrinking away from a workout, you may need to scale down the movement to make it easier. There are a few ways to do this:
Pushups
Instead of doing pushups from your knees, try placing your hands on an elevated surface (like a park bench) and doing pushups that way. If there aren’t any surfaces available, do the upward motion with your knees on the ground, then at the top straighten your legs and control yourself back down. This can help you build up the strength to eventually do standard pushups.
Pullups
If you can’t do a pullup (or a bunch in a row), try jumping pullups. You simply jump to the top position of the pullup, with your chin over the bar, and then control yourself down. If you don’t yet have the strength to control yourself down, try holding yourself in the top position — 10 seconds for every rep or if that’s too hard, for as long as you can manage. If all of those options are just a bit to hard, do dead hangs instead, 10 seconds for every rep.
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