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The four outdoor workouts in this article have been designed to develop functional strength, facilitate fat loss, and improve whole-body fitness. Based on military-style training sessions, these outdoor workouts will engage every muscle in your body.
In addition, because all the workouts contain a cardiovascular element – either jogging, sprints, and/or hill sprints – they will also improve your aerobic capacity. This means that, if you regularly participate in these outdoor workouts, you’ll be able to train for longer before fatiguing.
It’s this combination of cardio and calisthenics that makes these outdoor workouts ideal for conditioning training. While the bodyweight exercises develop muscle definition and physical functionality, the cardio exercises promote fat loss.
Furthermore, because these outdoor workouts don’t require a single item of exercise equipment, they can be completed almost anywhere. This means that, if for whatever reason you cannot access a gym, you’ll always have a whole-body workout to hand.
Outdoor workout #1: 30 minute track and field
The following training session is a great all-purpose workout that is perfect to start the day with. It involves all of the exercises featured in our other article Exercises You Can Do At Home. This workout has been designed to be completed in a public park. All you need is an 800-metre-long track to run around and a field on which to perform the bodyweight exercises.
This outdoor workout couldn't be simpler. After the warm-up, and starting at the area where you plan to perform the bodyweight exercises, complete one full lap of the park. Maintain a steady pace throughout the distance. Aim to increase the intensity with each new circuit.
When you return back to where you started, proceed to work through the 5 callisthenic exercises.
30 minute workout overview
Warm-up (5/10-minutes) (walking/jogging/body-weight exercises)
1 X lap of the park (700 metres)
20 reps Burpees
20 reps Press-ups
20 reps Squat jumps
20 secs Plank
5 reps Pull-ups
Repeat 5 times
Each full lap, including the 85 reps, takes roughly 6 minutes – at a leisurely Sunday morning pace. The structure of this session makes it perfect for the person who is time-constrained or is new to physical training. Not only can the bodyweight exercises be interchanged with ones more preferable, but the number of laps can be tailored to suit your pre-budgeted training time or current fitness level.
Get your heart rate up with this outdoor sprint workout!
Outdoor workouts #2: 45 minute workout
Whereas the distances and repetitions of the first workout are split across a series of sets (or laps), outdoor workout #2 focuses on each component separately.
After completing the run the run distance (or cardiovascular exercise of your choosing), work through the 15 minute bodyweight exercises AMRAP at the park (or at home). Set a 15 minute countdown timer, then try to cycle through four exercises as many times as possible. I recommend making a note of the number of cycles as this will provide you with a benchmark to compete against next time.
45 minute workout overview
30 min jog
15 min AMRAP
10 press-ups
10 step-ups
10 triceps dips (either full bodyweight or partial)
10 burpees
The aim here, of course, is, after the run – which kind of acts like a prolonged warm-up – to complete as many repetitions of the four exercises as possible (AMRAP) in 15-minutes. Once you’ve set your timer, start at the first exercise and proceed to work through them in the order shown. Try not to rest for the duration of the AMRAP and ensure that you make a note of how many cycles you completed.
Outdoor workouts #3: 60 minute circuit
Session #3 starts with a 30min jog. But of course, you could substitute running for a different cardiovascular exercise, such as cycling, skipping, or rowing (if you’ve got a home rower machine). Following the run, you will complete a series of calisthenics pyramids coupled with sprints.
After completing the first level of the pyramid – 1 rep press-ups – you are to sprint 50/75/100 metres (select distance appropriate to your level of fitness). The objective here is to initiate the sprint straight out of the set of press-ups.
The moment you have completed the sprint either jog or walk back to the area where you are performing the callisthenic exercises. This constitutes your recovery time.
On returning drop down immediately into the next set. Repeat until you have progressed up the pyramid. Proceed in this fashion through the four exercises.
1 hour outdoor circuit workout
30 min run
1 up to 10 press-ups
1 up to 10 squats
1 up to 10 plank (reps constitute as seconds: 5 reps = 5 secs)
1 up to 10 burpees
Outdoor workouts #4: 45 minute full body workout
The final outdoor workout is inspired by battle-fitness training I used to do as a Royal Marine. But don’t worry, this workout doesn’t involve guns, explosives or sadomasochistic Physical Training Instructors.
Firstly, you’re going to warm up with a gentle 2.5-mile jog. Maintaining a steady pace, 2.5-miles should take no longer than 20-minutes.
Concluding the run, you are to work through the 4 sprint-to-bodyweight exercise AMRAPs below. Let me just quickly take a minute out of your day to explain how to approach these AMRAPs.
You need to mark out a 50-metre long stretch of flat ground, preferably a path at your local park or, better still, a flat patch of grass. Then set a 5-minute countdown timer. As soon as the clock starts you are to sprint the 50-metre distance. The moment you pass the line drop down and complete 10 repetitions of the stipulated bodyweight exercise. Repeat for 5-minutes!
After the buzzer sounds signifying the end of the 5-minute AMRAP, enjoy a well-deserved one minute rest. Is that all! One measly minute? Yep, that’s your lot.
Okay, now that you are adequately rested and, no doubt, raring to get stuck into the next AMRAP, start the countdown timer and repeat. Here are the outdoor workouts:
Warm-up: 2.5-mile run to be completed in under 20 minutes.
5 min AMRAP 1: 50-metre sprint followed by 10 press-ups
1 min rest
5 min AMRAP 2: 50-metre sprint followed by 10 star jumps
1 min rest
5 min AMRAP 3: 50-metre sprint followed by 10 burpees
1 min rest
5 min AMRAP 4: 50-metre sprint followed by 10 burpee with a press-up
To Conclude
If you’ve read all three of the articles on outdoor fitness, you should be adequately inducted into the outdoor fitness training methodology.
In addition to possessing a clear understanding of the benefits it offers, you are now able to identify appropriate areas in your local environment around which you can structure a dynamic exercise session that stimulates multiple components of fitness.
Furthermore, you have learned a range of callisthenic exercises which can be incorporated into your outdoor fitness training sessions.
Now that you have acquired the knowledge and tools all that is left is for you to implement them. In doing so you will not only open up a new dimension in your training approach, but you might just improve your fitness in the process.
Enjoyed these outdoor workouts?
Get your hands on 80 more with the Hungry4Fitness Book of Circuits & Workouts Volume 3 >
About Adam Priest –
A former Royal Marines Commando, Adam Priest is a content writer, college lecturer, and health and fitness coach. He is also a fitness author and contributor to other websites. Connect with Adam at info@hungry4fitness.co.uk.
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