I love summer – sunny skies, green grass, and warm weather! I also love that it opens up the great outdoors for exercise and activity, instead of having to be trapped in a gym. A gym may have all the equipment needed to get a good workout in, but the outdoors can be just as good if you know how to use it!

The easiest way to get some extra exercise in during the summer is to ditch the car. It’s nice out, try walking or biking to your destination! Or if you are driving, park a little farther away from the doors and enjoy a nice summertime stroll in the sun. Another great way to get some easy summer exercise in is to use yardwork as an excuse to spend more time outdoors – it gets you moving, and you get a nice looking yard out of it!

These are all great ways to stay active in the summer, but what if you want a real workout?

There are many ways to get a good workout when outside, and it does not just have to be cardio (although nothing beats a run in the sun!). There are many other activities you can do to work on strength, power, speed, agility, and flexibility, all while soaking up those rays.

My favorite thing to do outside is some circuit training; this allows you to perform a multitude of different exercises for different body parts, usually with a mix of strength, power, and endurance. Circuits with body weight exercises also make it easy to manipulate the intensity – you can go as easy or as hard as you want. You can also change the style of the workouts by using either a rep count or a timed program to justify completeness. I usually do a timed workout consisting of 3 sets of 10 exercises, spending 1 min per exercise. You can manipulate intensity by performing 30 sec of an exercise and taking 30 sec rest, 45 sec of exercise to 15 sec rest, or 1 min of exercise with 0 sec rest! It is a quick and easy way to get a good sweat going.

Speed and agility programs were made for the outdoors. It’s easy to find a field, set up some cones or pylons (or really anything else that can be used as a marker), and run some sprints or agility drills. It doesn’t take much space, and can be done wherever there is flat ground.

I always like to end with some flexibility exercises. Static stretches, foam rolling, and yoga are all viable options that can be done literally anywhere – just lay a mat down in the grass and your station is set

If you are looking for fun and simple ways to get moving this summer, feel free to leave a comment below, or to message me directly!