What Are Exercises I Can Do Outdoors?

Exercise has a huge range of benefits for your physical and mental health. No matter what form of exercise you do, it improves your muscular strength and endurance. It also boosts the function of your cardiovascular system and helps protect you from chronic disease.

Of course, exercise is also great for weight management and is part of a healthy lifestyle. It keeps you physically fit but also elevates your mood and relieves stress and anxiety.

The current recommendation is to perform 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week, which can be split into multiple sessions. Alternatively, you can perform 75 minutes of higher intensity exercise each week if you prefer doing things like sprints or HIIT circuits.

If you are interested in taking your workout outside, there are plenty of great forms of exercise that you can do in the fresh air. You don’t need gym equipment to get in a great workout, and you can exercise anywhere you like, whether it’s in your garden, in the local park, or in the middle of a forest.

Walking, running, hiking and cycling are all great options. Here are some additional ideas you may not have thought of that are great forms of exercise to do in the great outdoors.

Beach Volleyball

If you live near water, think beyond just swimming.  Beach volleyball is a fun and social way to get a workout in.   Not only will playing regularly help tone your body, it will help with eye-hand coordination, too.  Many areas have leagues you can join, giving you the motivation to get to the court, meet new people and enjoy a great workout.

Park Strength Training

Strength training doesn’t require a gym or specialized equipment.  Your local park is the perfect place to train.  Search online for exercise ideas from a reputable professional or take your regular indoor  body-weight exercise routine and transfer it to the outdoors.  Some city parks even have permanent exercise equipment available to encourage physical activity.

HIIT Circuit

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is extremely versatile. You can think of almost any high-intensity movement and perform it in a series of intervals, resting in between. Many people like to do sprinting intervals for their workouts, but you could also throw in movements like star jumps or jumping squats to get your heart rate up.