Summer equals fun and swimsuits. Avoid boring treadmill workouts and check out these 10 summer shape up ideas that are guaranteed to tone up your arms and legs and won't cost you an arm and a leg.
1.) Don't Pay Go Play – If you have a health club membership, freeze it for the summer and take your workouts to the park or nature center close to home during the week and then venture out to a different place when you have more time on the weekend. You'll not only save some $, but it will force you to get creative with your workouts and bring you back to playing again like a kid. Playing is so missing in our lives today. Movement should be fun! Not a boring sentence on the treadmill for hours and hours.
2.) Get Your Groove Back Stella – Remember the Hula Hoop? This classic fad is back now with a fitness vengeance. Check out http://hooping.org. Hooping is a great way to work your core and challenge your neuromuscular coordination. Not to mention it's a great tool for interval work.
3.) Hey Batter Batter – Summer = Baseball and Softball Season. Join a league or if you're not interested in being tied down to a schedule, hit the batting cages or just pick up a bat and practice swinging both directions. Yep even your non-dominant side needs the work. Swinging a bat is a great full body toner, especially for the waist, butt and thighs.
4.) Roll your way Fit – Get the cob webs off your skates or rollerblades and roll with it again. Remember your safety gear (helmet, knee and elbow pads) and maybe check out a safety clinic if it's offered in your area? Here's a link to IISA.org an inline skating resource center.
5.) Dare Yourself – Find a partner and do something crazy like and urban adventure race. Check out (link) and see if there's a race in your area. Choosing a fun event like Urbandare not only gives you something to train for, but it also gives you something fun to look forward to.
6.) Climb High – You may not think that spending time on a rock wall is only an upper body workout, but it's actually a great full body activity that also targets core stability and strength. If you don't know of a wall in your area check out this great indoor climbing resource.
7.) Cool Running – Most people think of the water as a great way to cool off and swim a few laps, but it's also a great place to do some water sprint intervals. Water is very joint friendly and it also gives you some pretty incredible added resistance to give the ol' heart and lungs and extra challenge. Be sure to remember your water shoes or Teva sandals if you have tender feet.
8.) Be Square – Four Square or Square Ball was one of my favorite playground games as a kid. Change it up a little and get back to your roots. Recruit 3 other friends or family members and get square. All you need is a playground ball and a 4ft x 4ft flat hard surface area like a driveway or patio and some chalk. Here's a link to the rules in case you need a refresher.
9.) Jump on it – Jumping or skipping rope in my opinion is one of the best ways to get fit. Rope jumping is also one of the most portable and versatile exercises. All you need is a rope and a surface that gives a little like a wooden or padded floor. These types of surfaces are much easier on the joints and spine. More info on ropes and techniques can be found here http://www.jumprope.com
10.) Take a Hike – Literally. Get yourself outdoors and soak up some nature while you're cranking out the activity. Hiking not only gives you the extra challenge of varying terrain, but you also get to take advantage of the awesomeness of nature while you're getting fit. Double bonus.
Summers should be a blast and there's no reason why you can't get fit and at the same time be easy on your wallet. If I didn't mention your favorite summer activity, please share it with us in the comments section. Also, if you find these ideas helpful share them, it's easy. Just click on the icons below for Facebook, Twitter, google, digg or delicious.
Awesome suggestions.
Get out have some fun and if you have a dog you've got a great workout partner always ready to go on the outdoor activities like running, walking hiking and rollerblading.
Wag!
Thanks K9 Coach. You’re so right! The 4 leggeds are always more than ready to go