Okay, here’s the last outdoor workout I’ll post from this weekend.
We have a steep hill that I took advantage of. (You know how I’m always wishing for a way to get a hill into the soccer center for boot camp!) I did hill repeats for 10 sets after I got warmed up. It’s super important to make sure that you’re really warm (calves!) before you do any hill training. Find a hill anywhere and give this a go.
Sprint, jog or power walk up and then walk down. The decent is your active recovery. I don’t suggest running down the hill if you have some knee issues. Today my knees felt pretty good, even though normally I have to limit any running I do. The key to avoiding overuse issues is to add so much variety to your workouts that your body doesn’t strain certain joints/muscles daily.
The rest of my workout consisted of skip hops, squat walks, lunge walks across a huge field with a body weight exercise at the end before I turned around and went again. I kept this up for about 30 minutes. (You can see some more photos on Face Book.)
When you’re on holiday, or training alone, try to maintain a high intensity for a shorter duration. It’s not likely that you can maintain the sort of intensity that we can in boot camp for an hour. There you have the energy of the group and me barking at you to get a move on. You should be able to keep at it for a solid 20-30 minutes and it’s easier mentally to come at a workout knowing that it’s short. Also, always start with a PLAN!
I’m here to remind you that small efforts that you make daily add up to big overall changes in your physique. Often life conspires against you to prevent your ‘ideal’ training conditions. Your fitness journey is always a work in progress. Any movement is better than none, but if you’re really going to make a difference in your body, get some sweat going. Don’t just go for a ‘walk’.
I’m not opposed to making a public spectacle of myself exercising in practically any setting and I hope you feel the same. (My teen-aged children have a different opinion about this I have to say!). While someone may chuckle at you as you skip hop down the street, they’ll secretly be wishing they had the energy and motivation to get out there too.
Never miss a workout with my travel workout plans. You’ll get 20 ‘done for you’ easy to follow workouts HERE.
