By Monica Johnson and Amanda Straus

Is it hard to fit exercise into your daily schedule? Do you long for free time to be outside this summer? We have the answer: do both at the same time! Take your exercise outdoors. Just because you are an adult does not mean you should give up the feeling of summer grass between your toes, or the joy of a late evening sunset as the fire flies blink. Get back to the pure fun of your summer childhood while improving your fitness level. You don’t need dumbbells or exercise machines to get a workout. Anything that challenges your muscles, especially your heart, can be a great way to burn calories, increase your strength and endurance, and improve your health.

SEVEN REASONS

1. Schoolyards and playgrounds are great places to get in a workout and spend quality time with your kids. Even if you don’t have kids, go to the local elementary school and climb, hang, jump, do step-ups on a bench, cross the monkey bars, or watch the kids for inspiration and play monkey-see-monkey-do. When you do what the kids do, you’re guaranteed to get your heart rate up and have fun doing it.

2. Parks offer even more opportunities for outdoor fun. Take a walk or jog around the lake or on trails, play tennis with your sweetie, gather friends for volleyball or disc golf, or join a softball or flag football league. Contact your local recreation department to learn about other opportunities that are available in your area.

3. Take advantage of your lunch break to walk around and check out the scenery. Find stairs to climb, a peaceful cemetery to walk through, small “green” areas or parks between office buildings, and get creative.

4. Ask your local fitness center about outdoor classes and boot camps. If the facility doesn’t offer outdoor classes, consider hiring a personal trainer or instructor to take you (and your friends) outside to show you how to use whatever is around you to create a fun workout.

5. Believe it or not, your backyard has all the equipment you need to have a full fitness center. If you have a body, you are an athlete. Learn how to use a little bit of space and your body weight to create a fun full-body workout. Play tag with your kids, do pushups and sit-ups, create an obstacle course, kick (and chase) a ball around, or climb a tree.

6. Take a hike! Whether it’s at a park our nearby mountain trail, the hills allow you to enjoy a peaceful day with your thoughts and offer a great workout for your heart, lungs, and legs.

7. Cool off by taking a dip in your local swimming pool. Tread water, or challenge your kids or a friend to a water-running race. You can even burn some calories doing somersaults in the water.
As with gym exercise, the duration and level of exertion affect the health benefits of your workout. At least try to break a sweat. Make it a summer of playful exercise that reconnects you to that “school’s out, time to play” feeling. Sweat, grass, lightning bugs, and running around with friends and family—make them staples of your exercise and your summer, putting the fun back into both.

SEVEN WAYS

1. Being outside, on a regular basis, is just good for you. Period.

2. Sunlight gives you Vitamin D, which means one less thing you need from a pill.

3. Nature is more peaceful than the gym, where TVs, rather than room for your thoughts, is the norm.

4. Exercising in a park keeps your motivation up, whether you’re playing on a team or watching others run around. It’s the right kind of atmosphere to make you want to move.

5. Your kids or pets will love it. Busy schedules can leave you feeling guilty about skipping time with people or pets at home. Exercising outside allows you to bring them along.

6. Enlarge your social circle. Exercising outside makes it more likely for you to meet new people, whether friends, a date, or exercise buddies.

7. That fresh summer smell. Not just the sweat, but that great combination of grass, sun, flowers, and dirt that make you feel like a kid all over again. What could be more energizing?

Monica Johnson is the founder & owner of No Excuses Fitness, a personal training firm in Charlotte, N.C. Amanda Straus is founder & owner of The Next Step, a life coaching program that keeps people on track toward their goals.