7 tips for working out in the park

6. Core/abs exercises

Core and abs exercises are essential.  For a whole-body workout, make sure you incorporate abdominal exercises.  I like to do upper and lower body on one day and focus a whole workout on abs mixed with cardio on another.  Increasing my core strength has really changed my life.  I have no back pain and can do everything easier.  So for a great full-body workout, let’s add core/ab exercises.  A great core workout looks like this:

5 minutes cardio (jogging, hill runs) as warm-up, followed by 1 minute stretching

3 minutes of upper body (1 min each exercise)

3 minutes of lower body (1 minute each exercise)

3 minutes of abs/core (1 minute each exercise)

2 minutes cardio

3 minutes of upper body (1 min each exercise)

3 minutes of lower body (1 minute each exercise)

3 minutes of abs/core (1 minute each exercise)

2 minutes cardio

3 minutes of upper body (1 min each exercise)

3 minutes of lower body (1 minute each exercise)

3 minutes of abs/core (1 minute each exercise)

2 minutes cardio

1 minute cool-down

Voila…40 minutes at the park and your workout is done!  If you want to extend it, add more upper/lower body or abs exercises, more cardio. Just get creative and have fun! You can change it every week.  Why not bring a kettlebell, resistance band or skipping rope, or use a large rock? The options are endless! Most of my best workouts are simple and effective with minimal equipment.