Blog 3.Playground Workout

Get your Sweat On during regular trips to the playground.

Shoehorned between life’s obligations, sometimes we need to find creative places to exercise. One overlooked venue is the playground.

Stocked with all the equipment you’ll ever need, playgrounds are fantastic. You get outside and they come without a hefty monthly membership fee. Score! Further, once you learn some basic moves you can literally design a workout on the spot, limited only by your imagination. Kids seem to like playgrounds too. Win-win.

There is only one rule. Try to leave the phone at home. But wait, my super cute toddler might do the super cutest thing they’ve ever done, and I won’t capture it. Face it, if your phone is there, you’ll check the scores while they’re playing anyway. Resist temptation by removing it.

Playgrounds: Land of Endless Options

Watch your kids play for a moment. I mean, really pay attention to how they move. Things like push ups and squats, moves we try so hard to master, simply transition them to the next jump, climb, or scramble. So a big part of playground workouts is rediscovering how to move like a kid...again.

How long do we spend at the park? 45 minutes? 60 tops? Ample time to get your sweat on. Further, I’ve found the best workouts are the simplest ones, using no equipment whatsoever. To show you what I mean, give this a try. Push your child on the swing. Then do one air squat. Push them again on the backswing and do another squat. Depending how long they like to ride, this could result in a ton of legwork, so prepare to hobble home.

Pump Those Endorphins

While powerlifters might disagree, nothing beats body weight exercises. Borrowing (stealing) ideas from Cross-Fit, full body moves combined with a reasonable level of intensity hits your strength and endurance systems simultaneously, meaning we get a ton of work done in a short amount of time. Objective nailed.

Remember - focus on what you can do, not on what you can’t. Should you have the full range of motion and the endurance to do every rep, awesome. If not modify the movement and repetitions to fit where you are. Don’t worry, your strength and coordination will improve.

First, check on Junior. They good? Excellent, let’s loosen any tight spots and prepare the body for what’s ahead. To warm-up, do 3 rounds of 10 jumping jacks (remember these?), followed by a quick 20 meter burst, be it a run, jog, or fast walk. That’s it.

The Program

1 Full Round equals:

Air Squats (10 - 25)

Chin-Ups (5 - 10)

Sit-Ups (10 - 25)

Push-Ups (10 - 25)

Try and complete 3-5 rounds of the above exercises with minimal rest between rounds. Again, do your best! The rep counts might look scary, but honestly, start with single reps of each exercise if necessary. Build up from there.

Say you can’t do a full range, ass to the grass, air squat. So what! Go down halfway or a quarter. It doesn’t matter, just get squatting.

Can’t do a chin-up. Fine, hang from the bar for 20 or 30 seconds. Same with sit-ups. Anchor your feet under a ledge to pull yourself through the initial sticking point.

Unless you’re well trained and injury free, push-ups are tough to do out of the gate. They look straightforward, but require a coordinated, full body effort. Placing your hands on an elevated platform or starting with your knees on the ground helps in those early days.

That’s it. Workout done. You got moving, and did something out of the ordinary. So now when someone mentions how good you look, you can honestly say, ‘I just take my kids to the park.’