Your Back-Yard Spring Workout Plan

Your Back-Yard Spring Workout Plan

With spring right around the corner, many of you will be thinking about shifting your workouts outside of the gym, adding more interest to them and challenging your muscles in a new way.

Outdoor workouts are a fast and easy way to get in shape and will target different sets of muscles than normal gym activities would do.

Let’s have a quick look at how you should go about structuring your back-yard spring workout to get you started on the right foot.

Alternate Between Cardio And Strength Moves

The very first thing that you should do when designing your back-yard workout program is to alternate between a cardio based exercise and a strength based movement.

For example, you might perform some push-ups and then go right into a minute of jumping rope.  Or, you could perform walking lunges across the length of your yard and then perform a sprint all the way back.

Alternating the exercises like this will send your metabolic rate soaring, helping you burn more calories during the workout session as well as immediately after as well.

Plus, this will allow you to get both cardio and strength benefits so that you don’t have to include any other cardio training in your weekly workout program as well.

Add Plenty Of Bodyweight Exercises

When looking at the specific strength movements that you’re going to do, unless you plan to bring a set of dumbbells outside, you’ll want to rely largely on bodyweight based movements.  Good examples of these would include push-ups and all their variations, floor dips, lunges, squats, crab walks, dog walks, and if you happen to have a bar somewhere near where you like (in a playground) or an overhead tree branch that you know can support your weight, pull-ups would be an excellent choice.

Keep in mind that if you do invest in a simple set of kettlebells, this will also increase the total number of exercise options you have as these are highly versatile forms of external resistance.

Think Non-Traditional Exercise To Burn Calories Fast

Finally, the last thing to keep in mind is that you can venture into non-traditional forms of exercise as well.  For example, gardening, mowing the grass, or raking leaves will all burn massive amounts of calories and double as a workout session.

Most people think of these more as ‘chores’ than as workouts, but shifting your viewpoint may get you doing them when they need to get done.

Likewise, don’t forget about all the outdoor spring activities as well – bike riding, playing Frisbee, going for a long hike, and so on.  These will all get you out and active, helping you maintain your body weight.

Your Sample Workout Plan

So let’s leave you off with a spring back-yard workout to try out.  Perform this anytime you have 15-20 minutes.

Alternate between the following exercises. Once one round is completed, run through it a second and third time.

Push-ups – 20 reps
Skipping – 1 minute
Walking lunges – 20 reps/side
Burpees – 1 minute
Pull-Ups – 10-20 reps
Jumping jacks – 1 minute
Bodyweight Squats – 20 reps
The Plank – 1 minute

Get outside this spring. You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish outside of the gym.