Looking for ideas on how to shake up your workout routine? Well, we’re here to help!

Training outdoors is a great alternative to a gym workout or indoor class, whether that be in your backyard, a park, the beach or anywhere in between.

A major barrier to performing outdoor workouts can be not knowing what to do, so we’ve developed two routines for you to use!

Both routines are designed to work a variety of major muscle groups through various planes of motion. The first routine is designed for those in the early stages of their exercise journey, while the second routine is more advanced. Take note of the key cues to ensure form is on point. Enjoy!

Outdoor Workout: Routine 1

Glute Bridges

• Place band just above the knees
• Feet should be shoulder width apart and heels close to the hips
• Push out against the band so your knees are shoulder width apart
• Raise hips as high as possible, in this top position squeeze glutes as hard as possible
• Slowly lower the body and repeat

 

Side Leg Raises

• Lay on your side with knees slightly bent and one leg stacked on the other
• Slowly raise the top leg, maintaining a slight bend in the knee
• Ensure torso is slightly rolled forward throughout
• Repeat on both sides for an equal amount of time or reps

Knee Plank

• Drive knees and forearms into the ground to lift the torso
• Keep a neutral spine throughout this hold
• Retract the belly button for maximal core engagement when you’re breathing out

Dead Bugs

• Slowly extend your leg while bringing the opposing arm behind your head
• Aim to have both the heel and wrist stop just before touching the ground
• Keep lower back on the ground to the best of your ability throughout the movement
• Alternate this movement in a slow and controlled manner
• If you feel this in your lower back, adjust the movement by bringing your heel only half way towards the ground

Table Top Hold

• Move into the position as pictured above
• Keep your chin firmly pressed into your chest throughout the hold
• Increase the difficulty of this exercise by moving your heels out towards the ground

Alternate Supermans

• Start in a lying position, facing down
• Slowly raise one leg as you raise the opposing arm
• Hold for 3 seconds and repeat on the other side

 

Squats

• Stand tall with feet shoulder width apart or a fraction wider, with ears over shoulders and a ‘proud chest’
• Slowly move your hips back as though you were going to sit down
• Hold in the bottom position for one second then extend up into the starting position
• Aim to keep a neutral spine throughout the entire movement
• A good starting point is to find a park bench and sit up and down, particularly if you’re at the beginner level

Standing Lunge

• Assume the same starting position as the squat
• From here, take a large step forward and slowly lower your back knee until it’s just off the ground
• Return to the starting position and repeat on the opposite side
• Aim to keep the shin of your front leg relatively straight up and down (don’t let your knee go over the toes)

Knee Push Ups

• Assume the starting position, as seen above
• Aiming to have your elbows tracking straight back, slowly move your nose down towards the ground
• The goal is to keep a neutral spine throughout
• Hold in the bottom position (nose just off the ground) for one second, then push back up into the starting position
• If this is too difficult, try an incline push up on the back of a bench as seen here

Sit Ups

• Laying on your back, bring your hands forward and place them mid thigh
• Raise your body until your wrist reaches your knee
• Hold for 2 seconds then lower back to your starting position and repeat

High Knees

• Aim to have light feet as you hit the ground (land on the balls of your feet)
• To make the exercise easier, slow the movement down

Bear Crawls

• Aim to keep a neutral spine throughout the movement
• Ensure the core is engaged throughout this exercise
• Move forwards and backwards in a controlled manner to increase the level of challenge

Lateral Lunges

• As with the standing lunge, ensure the knee does not go over the toe of the lunging leg
• Aim to keep a ‘proud chest’ and neutral spine throughout the movement

Side Steps into Burpees

• Vary the intensity of this exercise by the speed and number of side steps
• When going into the burpees movement, maintain a neutral spine when kicking legs back
• Beginners are encouraged to step back and forward one leg at a time throughout the burpee, as opposed to the jumping movement

Outdoor Workout: Routine 2

Single Leg Glute Bridge

• Lie on your back with feet shoulder width apart and heels close to the hips
• Raise and extend one leg (as seen above)
• Pushing off the grounded foot, raise hips as high as possibl
• In this top position, squeeze your glutes
• Ensure a slow and controlled movement throughout
• Slowly lower the body and repeat
• Aim to do 40 seconds on each side

Banded Clams

• Place band around mid knee
• Lay on your side with one leg on top of the other
• Ensuring ankles stay together throughout the movement, raise the knee up, pushing against the band
• Throughout the movement, keep the torso slightly rolled forward to ensure the use of the glute medius is maximised
• Raise as high as possible and repeat

Toe Plank

• Drive toes and forearms into the ground to lift the torso
• Keep a neutral spine throughout this hold
• Whilst breathing out retract the belly button for maximal core engagement

Dead Bugs

• Slowly extend your leg while bringing the opposing arm behind your head
• Aim to have both the heel and wrist stop just before touching the ground
• Keep lower back on the ground to the best of your ability throughout the movement
• Alternate this movement in a slow and controlled manner
• If you feel this in your lower back, adjust the movement by bringing your heel only half way towards the ground

Hollow Hold

• Move into the position as pictured above
• To increase the difficulty of this hold, move the hands and feet closer to the ground
• If feeling in lower back, add a slight knee band to the movement or bring the heels higher off the ground

Alternate Supermans

• Start from a lying position
• Slowly raise one leg as you raise the opposing arm
• Hold for five seconds and repeat on the other side

Squats

• Stand tall with feet shoulder width apart of a fraction wider, ears over shoulders and a ‘proud chest’
• Slowly move your hips back as though you were going to sit down
• Hold in the bottom position for one second then extend up into the starting position
• Aim to keep a neutral spine throughout the entire movement

Standing Lunge

• Assume the same starting position as the squat
• From here, take a large step forward and slowly lower your back knee until it is just off the ground
• Return to the starting position and repeat on the opposite side
• Aim to keep the shin of your front leg relatively straight up and down (don’t let knee go over the toes)
• To enhance the challenge, try split squats

Push Ups

• Assume the starting position as seen above, on hands and feet
• Aiming to have your elbows tracking straight back, slowly move your nose down towards the ground
• The goal is to keep a neutral spine throughout
• Hold in the bottom position (nose just off the ground) for one second, then push back up into the starting position

Bicycle Sit Ups

• Lay on your back and bend knees to 90 degrees
• Place hands so they are lightly touching the back of your head
• Drive one knee towards your chest as you lift and rotate the opposing elbow to touch the inside of the knee
• Alternate this movement on both sides
• To enhance the challenge, as one knee moves towards the chest extend the opposing leg so the heel is just off the ground

Burpees

• Aim to keep a neutral spine when kicking the legs back and in
• Enhance the challenge by adding a push up into the movement

Bear Crawls

• Aim to keep a neutral spine throughout the movement
• Ensure the core is engaged throughout this exercise
• Move forwards and backwards in a controlled manner to increase the level of challenge

Side Steps into Burpees

• Vary the intensity of this exercise by the speed and number of side steps
• When going into the burpees movement, maintain a neutral spine when kicking legs back

Skater Jumps

• Starting with legs hip width apart
• Bend one leg behind the supporting leg at a slight angle while maintaining weight and balance on the supporting leg
• As you exhale, swing your arms and leap to the other leg
• Focus on a ‘soft landing’ landing on the balls of your feet with hips and knees slightly bent

We recommend you do each exercise for a minimum of forty seconds to get the most out of each exercise.

Vary the time/reps and number of rounds you complete to enhance or decrease the challenge.

Whether you choose to complete the entire routine, or hand pick some exercises to try, we hope you are in a better position to engage in some outdoor workouts.

If you are after more tips on training, check out our other blog posts here.

Happy Training!

Disclaimer: The training and instructional content contained on this website should be taken as information and not medical advice. Please consult your health professional before attempting these exercises.