Spring is in the air! I don’t know about you, but I’m finding it hard to stay inside. Especially for us in Edmonton – as summer might only last 3 more days, you gotta get out while you can. This can make strength training a little bit tough in these warmer months when moving the squat rack outside is not an option. However, this time of year is perfect for taking your metabolic sessions outdoors. You need minimal equipment and want to sweat, so you might as well do it in the sunshine!

One of the best parts of Edmonton is the massive sets of stairs in our River Valley system. It makes it really easy to get a great interval workout, in a short amount of time. You don’t need stairs to get a great workout, but it can add some variety. If you don’t have access to stairs, a hill would work perfectly too. Below I’m going to give you 2 options for complete outdoor workout sessions, 1 using a set of stairs/hill and 1 without.

#1: Stair/Hill Metabolic Training Session

Warm-up – 1 set 

• Walking knee hugs – 6 reps each side
• 1-legged romanian deadlifts – 8 reps each side
• Bodyweight squats – 10 reps
• Lateral lunges – 5 reps each side
• Inchworms – 8 reps
• Fast Runs – 6 reps (Run 10 -20 metres, progressively faster with each rep, walk back, *Can always walk the run part)

Circuit – 3-6 sets 

• Fast Walk or Run up stairs or hill (20-45 seconds of work), Walk or Run back down.
• Pushups – 1o reps (on ground from toes, or hands raised up on a surface)
• Lateral shuffles – 30 seconds (5m distance, shuffles back and forth between points)
• Forward walking lunges – 10 reps each side
• Mountain climbers – 15 -20 reps each side

#2: No Stair/Hill Metabolic Training Session

Complete the same Warm-up as workout #1.

Circuit A – 2-3 sets

• Side plank – 20-40 seconds hold each side
• Squat jumps – 10 reps (reach arms up in air on the jump)

Circuit B – 2-5 sets 

• Alternating reverse lunges – 10 reps each side
• T-pushups – 5-10 reps each side (Pushup modifications as workout #1)
• Jumping jacks – 30-50 reps
• Front plank – 20-45 seconds hold (squeeze body as tight as possible, pull elbows to toes and toes to elbows *Should be shakin’ like a leaf.)

As always, foam rolling should be done before your workout, and after if time permits. Do any static stretching for the chest, glutes, hamstrings and hip flexors, if needed. If you need more advice on how to incorporate these workouts into your schedule or how to modify them for your needs, contact me here: http://jmgfitnessconsulting.com, or here: info@jmgfitnessconsulting.com.

Send me pics of your outdoor workouts or tag yourself on Facebook!

JMG