How to Exercise at the Park

Are you tired of exercising in the sterile environment of your local health club? Here's how to take your exercise outdoors and get a great workout at the park.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Start by taking a brisk walk around the entire perimeter of the park. This is a good warm up. Now, take a second walk around the park, this time varying the intensity of your walk. Start by walking three minutes at a moderate pace and then break into a one minute run or jog. Repeat this along the pattern until you've circled the park a second time. This interval training will burn more calories than will a steady walk or run. Congratulations! You did it. Now, it's time for a five minute slow walk to cool down.

2. On days that you want a lighter, less intense cardiovascular workout, head to a park that has a hiking trail and take a brisk hike while enjoying nature's intricately woven landscape. This is also an excellent stress reliever after a long day at work.

3. How about a fun cool down? Head over to the swing suit and pump your legs until you feel like you'll touch the sky! Learn to be a child again.

4. Some parks have fitness trails with exercise stations at set points to do muscle toning exercises. If you have access to one of these, take advantage of it. You can get an excellent workout without getting bored since you're constantly being challenged by a new exercise station.

5. Even if you don't have a trail with exercise stations, you can devise your own exercises to do at set intervals to tone your muscles and add variety to your workout. Try doing pushups at the playground. Simply grip a bar on one of the pieces of playground equipment with both hands and push your body away from the bar repeatedly. Follow up with some triceps dips using a park bench to support your arms. You can also do leg lifts while hanging from the monkey bars for abdominal work. Who says you need fancy equipment to get in good shape?

Tips & Warnings

• When you workout at the park, dress lightly. It's best to wear clothing that's light in color with a breathable fabric such as cotton. This will keep you from overheating if the temperatures are warm.
• Be sure to bring along a water bottle to stay well hydrated during your exercise session.

[goefast]

on 10/24/2008 Check out what cam be done at the park at www.goefast.tv

Coach Lou

[sixstring2slim]

on 7/2/2008 Really Great Info Kristie! I really like the "Cool Down" at the Park part, lol.. I use the park as one big circuit training, obstacle course, cross training playground! Love it! Bailey~