Open your front door onto the best gym in Britain

MAKE THE MOST OF THE GREAT OUTDOORS TO KEEP THE FAMILY IN SHAPE THIS SUMMER, SAYS FITNESS EXPERT RUTH LYNCH

WHILE many of us see the outdoors as the perfect place to go for a walk or run, or burn off some energy with the kids, not many people see it as the chance to workout – with most reserving that for the gym.

Dumbbells, battle ropes and plyometrics boxes can be hard to find outside, but that’s no obstacle.

With a bit of intelligent thinking and improvisation you can mimic any workout you’d do in the gym, without having to use felled tree trunks for bench pressing.

OUTDOOR CIRCUITS

HITTING the park (or even the garden)? Flat outdoor spaces are a great place to replicate those circuits you do in the gym. Burpees, bear crawls, planks, press ups, squats and any other body weight exercises can be done outside. Just make sure the ground is flat, clear and level.

The advantage of outdoor circuits, other than the sunshine, is the space – now you can add in sprints, jump lunges and skipping rope work, things that don’t usually lend themselves to busy indoor spaces.

TRAIL TRIALS

THE UK has some cracking trails – through woods and parks, along canals and rivers, over mountains, past lakes and through valleys. The great thing is many are hidden in plain sight on our doorstep.

Unlike pounding the pavements, trail running is softer on the joints and gets you out into the countryside, which is a big boost for our wellbeing.

However, it’s not just knees and brains that benefit from trails. Trail running provides your body with more of a workout than just the cardio you get from road running.

As trails aren’t flat you will build more strength in your legs from the elevation gain and decent. The uneven ground is also good for balance and building core strength, as you engage more muscles to keep you upright. Steps, gates and styles also provide extra workouts for the legs.

NO OBSTACLES

IN the past few years Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) has become very popular. The mix of running with clambering over, under and around obstacles is a fun way to get a full body workout. Pulling ropes, jumping walls, scrambling up inclines and wading through mud are all great resistance and body weight exercises. It can be expensive to constantly enter OCR races, however there are now dedicated outdoor training spaces dotted around the UK. And you don’t need to be a professional to use one.

No OCR training centre near you? Got kids and want to OCR with them? Don’t worry – you can replicate a lot of the obstacles you’d find in a race out in the countryside.

Scramble up walls, wade through big muddy puddles and bogs, jump over styles, hang off trees and run up and down a hill carrying a large stone or small rock. Get inventive and think of all the fun you’ll have with the kids (and how much you’ll tire them out).

ADDED BENEFITS

AN additional benefit of being outdoors is that fresh air and sunshine help boost your serotonin levels – meaning a happier, healthier, more chilled you.

Five to thirty minutes of sun exposure twice a week will also boost vitamin D levels, helping build stronger bones and a more robust immune system.

Just remember to slap on a minimum of factor 15 sunscreen if you’re outside in the summer (even in the UK!) and make that factor 30 for the kids.