Other Ways To Get Fit At The Park

Children's Play Area

I hear you asking how you can use a children's play area as a training method, but it's actually full of great pieces of equipment. The best pieces of equipment that you can use are the monkey bars, pole bars, climbing frame and the wooden steps (small balance pods) if they have them.

Monkey Bars: There is no high-tech fancy way of using the monkey bars any differently than a child would, so simply get yourself across them as many times as you can in a set period of time. If they are quite low it's an added challenge to hold the legs up which will also work the core. Also try not allowing yourself to step off the end each time and continue hanging.

Pole Bars: These are the parallel bars which can sometimes be found in playgrounds, these are great for doing tricep dips on in a stationary position. Or try dipping and then moving along, dip and move and work up and down the bars.

Climbing Frame: If you like to train in unusual and freestyle fashion, a climbing frame is a great tool. I use it as an obstacle for my clients and set them a task of scaling it as many times as possible in a set time and they do really enjoy this different style of training.

Wooden Steps: Great for plyometric based training, usually these "stepping stones" are at different heights so a good method is to jump two footed onto each one working along the different heights.

Cardio Track

This is a self-titled method because one thing most parks have in common is a path that travels through or around the entire place. There are many sites you can use that can help you determine the distance of the track if you want to work that way but what an easier version is to decide a route and set the amount of times you want to circle it. For example if it's short 3/4 is good but if it's large start with once. Then time how long it takes to do it, and gradually set a target time to achieve each session or each week. Without realizing you are increasing your pace and seeing great improvements.

Yes you can get most of these from a gym environment and this kind of workout wont suit everyone but if you can add this in even once a month you will be surprised how it can help. Just changing up your routine will help your body to push itself and see much quicker gains.

See Also: HIIT Training Works To Improve Your Stamina

Again this is relatively weather dependent but if you don't mind the cold or rain then there really is no stopping you — it's actually harder to keep cool when the weather is great so make sure to take on plenty of fluids.