So you want to have fun this summer and don’t want to spend your free time exercising? Newsflash: there are many activities you can participate in to help you stay fit while enjoying the summer! Here are our tips for having fun and staying fit!
- Find a Fitness Trail or Parcourse
Looking for a free, engaging outdoor workout? Type “fitness trail” or “parcourse” and your hometown into your web browser to find a park that has one of these. Chances are there will be one near you. These are cleverly designed courses that combine walking and running with strength-building equipment located along the route. Most parks have a course map located at the starting point so you can see what all of the different stations are. If you are a beginner, start by picking 3 to 5 stations. Graphics and instructions should help you determine stations within your fitness level. Toe touches, knee raises or modified push-ups with elevated bars are good for a fitness trail novice. Try doing the course 2 to 3 times per week and build-up your endurance by adding more stations. You may start out walking, but as you get more fit, challenge yourself to complete the course faster by jogging or running between stations.
- Toss a Frisbee for a Total-Body Workout
Whether for fun or competition, playing regular or “Ultimate” Frisbee can be a vigorous workout disguised as a fun summer game. The running, jumping and unpredictable movements are great for total-body fitness. To avoid injuries, it’s always a good idea to do a 10-minute active warm-up routine before participating. Start out with athletic movements such as squats as well as forward, back and side lunges. Add arm drivers by reaching with both arms, extending them in different directions with each lunge.
- Turn Workouts into Games with Fitness App
“Gamification” is when you take a necessary, sometimes unappealing task and make it more interesting by adding points, competition or a reward system. Although frequently used for kids, adults can certainly benefit from having more fun while exercising too. For example, there are running apps that come complete with narrative stories. Some allow you to use your own playlists and track data such as heart rate and intensity too. If stories don’t motivate you, try sharing exercise goals with others. Many apps encourage users to form groups and engage in friendly competition. For instance, two groups can race by running, biking or swimming to an imagined destination or accumulate a specified number of miles, steps or other fitness goals. You can invest in a tracking device or simply participate using your phone’s GPS. You get a sense of reward and accomplishment, thus reinforcing your good exercising habits.
- Get in The Zone
If you’re stepping out of your comfort zone on the fitness front whether you’re a first-timer or switching up your routine, it becomes even more critical to stay consistent with the Zone Diet. The omega-3s help combat that next day soreness, the polyphenols help to reduce free radicals naturally produced during intense workouts, and having a post-work snack balanced in protein and carbohydrate like the ZoneRx bars helps replenish muscle glycogen.
Whether the overall reward is fun, points or camaraderie; you have a better chance of sticking with activities when you look forward to doing them and getting the results you want if you stay in the Zone. Summer is the perfect time to incorporate fun into your fitness routine. And remember the closer you can stay to the Zone the better the results.
Do you like to sneak exercise into your day in the summer? You may also like: Increasing Energy Levels Through Exercise