5 Cold Weather Bodyweight Workouts
As fall settles in across the Northern Hemisphere, many are pulling out their hoodies, snuggling up with blankets, and enjoying all things pumpkin spice (if that’s your thing). It’s a season with cooler temps and less daylight, often making it just that more challenging for workout motivation.
Instead of hunkering down on the couch binge-watching your favorites all over again, why not take advantage of what the fall can offer to fitness? The cooler temps can be refreshing for an outdoor workout, and Mother Nature creates a gorgeous palette of colors to disconnect with. Below are five bodyweight-focused workouts that can be done outdoors in the park. These cold weather workouts encourage getting outside to enjoy the cooler air, take in the beauty of the changing leaves, and work the entire body.
Park Bench Push-Pull Workout
A walk through the park during the fall can be refreshing. Why not hike out to a bench with a view of the fall colors and connect with nature while working your entire body? All you need for this workout is a sturdy park bench. Begin the workout standing in front of the bench with 25 jumping jacks. Then go right into ten slow sit to stands. Sit back toward the bench, slowly lowering your backside down until it touches the bench. Then, slowly come back up to stand. After this, turn toward the bench. Use either the seat or the backrest (depending on your capability) and perform ten slow incline pushups. From there have a seat on the bench and hold onto the back of the seat to perform 10 knees to chest crunches. Repeat this circuit 3-5 times with 1-minute rest between.
Tree Sprints
As you walk along enjoying the fall foliage, find two trees about 200 feet or so apart with level and open ground between them. Starting at one tree, perform five burpees. Immediately after the fifth burpee, sprint as quickly as possible to the second tree. Perform another five burpees once you reach this tree and sprint back to the starting tree. Take a moment to catch your breath and repeat. See how many rounds you can complete in 10 minutes.
Fall Gamble
This is a great workout with a friend or two. All you need are:
- A pair of dice.
- A small piece of paper with six bodyweight exercises.
- A workout mat for each participant.
On the sheet of paper, write out six bodyweight exercises (squats, lunges, pushups, crunches, endless options here!). Have your group set down their mats and each takes a turn rolling a di. The number it lands on is the exercise. Then roll the second. That is how many reps of the exercise. Complete the rolled exercise and then pass it onto the next. Continue to roll and take your chances for 20 minutes. Who can lose with this gamble? Fresh outdoor air, fall colors, and a workout with friends.
Colorful Cardio
This is a simple one! Grab a friend and head out to your local park. Find a nice trail winding through the trees and walk, power walk, jog, run, just move! Get the heart rate up, breathe in the fresh air and connect with someone besides on your phone.
PSL
No, not pumpkin spice latte, but a workout to help keep the calories from this drink in check. The PSL workout (push up, squat, lunge) is a simple and effective full-body workout you can do at any park with no equipment. The goal here is to move for a time. Walk for several minutes until you find a spot that calls to you (this is your warm up!). Perform 5 pushups, 5 bodyweight squats, and 10 alternating side lunges. Repeat these three movements as many times as you can with good form for 15 minutes. Take breaks as you need between each round. See how many rounds you can complete, and then try it again the following week hoping to complete more.
These workouts require no or little equipment but can be an effective way to enjoy the beauty of fall without failing on your fitness. So layer up, grab some water, and head outside to take advantage of the beautiful backdrop of color.
Read More
- How to Turn Hopscotch Into a Tough and Fun Outdoor Workout
- Five Benefits of Exercising Outdoors in Cold Weather
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5 Cold Weather Bodyweight Workouts
As fall settles in across the Northern Hemisphere, many are pulling out their hoodies, snuggling up with blankets, and enjoying all things pumpkin spice (if that’s your thing). It’s a season with cooler temps and less daylight, often making it just that more challenging for workout motivation.
Instead of hunkering down on the couch binge-watching your favorites all over again, why not take advantage of what the fall can offer to fitness? The cooler temps can be refreshing for an outdoor workout, and Mother Nature creates a gorgeous palette of colors to disconnect with. Below are five bodyweight-focused workouts that can be done outdoors in the park. These cold weather workouts encourage getting outside to enjoy the cooler air, take in the beauty of the changing leaves, and work the entire body.
Park Bench Push-Pull Workout
A walk through the park during the fall can be refreshing. Why not hike out to a bench with a view of the fall colors and connect with nature while working your entire body? All you need for this workout is a sturdy park bench. Begin the workout standing in front of the bench with 25 jumping jacks. Then go right into ten slow sit to stands. Sit back toward the bench, slowly lowering your backside down until it touches the bench. Then, slowly come back up to stand. After this, turn toward the bench. Use either the seat or the backrest (depending on your capability) and perform ten slow incline pushups. From there have a seat on the bench and hold onto the back of the seat to perform 10 knees to chest crunches. Repeat this circuit 3-5 times with 1-minute rest between.
Tree Sprints
As you walk along enjoying the fall foliage, find two trees about 200 feet or so apart with level and open ground between them. Starting at one tree, perform five burpees. Immediately after the fifth burpee, sprint as quickly as possible to the second tree. Perform another five burpees once you reach this tree and sprint back to the starting tree. Take a moment to catch your breath and repeat. See how many rounds you can complete in 10 minutes.
Fall Gamble
This is a great workout with a friend or two. All you need are:
- A pair of dice.
- A small piece of paper with six bodyweight exercises.
- A workout mat for each participant.
On the sheet of paper, write out six bodyweight exercises (squats, lunges, pushups, crunches, endless options here!). Have your group set down their mats and each takes a turn rolling a di. The number it lands on is the exercise. Then roll the second. That is how many reps of the exercise. Complete the rolled exercise and then pass it onto the next. Continue to roll and take your chances for 20 minutes. Who can lose with this gamble? Fresh outdoor air, fall colors, and a workout with friends.
Colorful Cardio
This is a simple one! Grab a friend and head out to your local park. Find a nice trail winding through the trees and walk, power walk, jog, run, just move! Get the heart rate up, breathe in the fresh air and connect with someone besides on your phone.
PSL
No, not pumpkin spice latte, but a workout to help keep the calories from this drink in check. The PSL workout (push up, squat, lunge) is a simple and effective full-body workout you can do at any park with no equipment. The goal here is to move for a time. Walk for several minutes until you find a spot that calls to you (this is your warm up!). Perform 5 pushups, 5 bodyweight squats, and 10 alternating side lunges. Repeat these three movements as many times as you can with good form for 15 minutes. Take breaks as you need between each round. See how many rounds you can complete, and then try it again the following week hoping to complete more.
These workouts require no or little equipment but can be an effective way to enjoy the beauty of fall without failing on your fitness. So layer up, grab some water, and head outside to take advantage of the beautiful backdrop of color.
Read More
- How to Turn Hopscotch Into a Tough and Fun Outdoor Workout
- Five Benefits of Exercising Outdoors in Cold Weather