Summer is the perfect time to freshen up your workout by taking it outside with activities like outdoor yoga, hiking, rock-climbing, and more. Grab a girlfriend and hit up a new class, workshop, or an all-encompassing outdoor adventure like REI’s Outessa Summit to rediscover the joy of fitness. Outessa is a weekend getaway created exclusively for women who love the outdoors. This year it hits Olympic Valley, CA on August 2-5 and Waterville Valley, NH on September 13-16.
If you can’t make it to one of those outdoor weekend getaways, here are a few ideas to take your workouts outside this season.
6 Fun Outdoor Summer Workouts
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Outdoor Yoga
Take your practice to a new level with an outdoor yoga class. The view from down dog is much more exciting with the ocean or a scenic mountain range behind you (even your backyard will do for a change of scenery). Plus, a strong yoga practice complements your weightlifting by promoting muscle flexibility, increasing range of motion, and relieving tension in connective tissue while working your core strength and improving you posture.
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Paddleboarding
Require more from your core with a water sport, like stand-up paddleboarding. It’s a low-impact, full-body workout for athletes at any level that can help you work on balance while building upper-body and core strength. You don’t need an ocean to paddle if you live near a lake or river. Consider incorporating SUP experiences into your next vacation this summer.
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Trail Running
There’s a peaceful mindlessness that takes place in nature that running on the treadmill just can’t give you. If you’re a marathoner, road warrior, or a treadmill junkie, trail running may be perfect for you. The soft resistance of a natural path is easier on the body than pavement, and the winding unpredictably of a mountain trail challenges your body in new ways by increasing balance, strength, and building endurance. Look for shoes that are labeled all-terrain or specifically for trail running to get the support you need when you take your run off the road.
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Jordan Siemens/Getty Images
Mountain Biking
Now you have a reason to thank your indoor cycling instructor for pushing you so hard in class—put your stationary cycling endurance to the test with off-road biking. The inclines, turns, and tough resistance of biking outdoors make for an unforgettably intense leg workout (and mental challenge) you can’t get from a stationary bike. Cycling is also a great way to strengthen the skeletal muscles around the knees to strengthen joints for squatting and pressing.
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Jordan Siemens/Getty Images
Backpacking
Get off the treadmill and dive into nature feet-first with a full-fledged backpacking excursion. Hiking trails are naturally butt-boosting workouts, and your weighted pack helps you build leg strength and burn fat while you climb. There are 407 national parks across the U.S., and the National Park Service turns 100 this August. Visit FindYourPark.org to locate the national park closest to you (or plan a road trip to one that looks intriguing), and see if they offer guided backpacking excursions or hiking trips you can try.
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Rock Climbing
Give free range to the thrill-seeker in you and take on a rock-climbing class with your friends. You’ll laugh and cry your way up with this vertigo-inducing workout that strengthens your grip, reach, and balance while you work your arms, shoulders, lats, and quads.
Take your practice to a new level with an outdoor yoga class. The view from down dog is much more exciting with the ocean or a scenic mountain range behind you (even your backyard will do for a change of scenery). Plus, a strong yoga practice complements your weightlifting by promoting muscle flexibility, increasing range of motion, and relieving tension in connective tissue while working your core strength and improving you posture.
Paddleboarding
Require more from your core with a water sport, like stand-up paddleboarding. It’s a low-impact, full-body workout for athletes at any level that can help you work on balance while building upper-body and core strength. You don’t need an ocean to paddle if you live near a lake or river. Consider incorporating SUP experiences into your next vacation this summer.
Trail Running
There’s a peaceful mindlessness that takes place in nature that running on the treadmill just can’t give you. If you’re a marathoner, road warrior, or a treadmill junkie, trail running may be perfect for you. The soft resistance of a natural path is easier on the body than pavement, and the winding unpredictably of a mountain trail challenges your body in new ways by increasing balance, strength, and building endurance. Look for shoes that are labeled all-terrain or specifically for trail running to get the support you need when you take your run off the road.
Mountain Biking
Now you have a reason to thank your indoor cycling instructor for pushing you so hard in class—put your stationary cycling endurance to the test with off-road biking. The inclines, turns, and tough resistance of biking outdoors make for an unforgettably intense leg workout (and mental challenge) you can’t get from a stationary bike. Cycling is also a great way to strengthen the skeletal muscles around the knees to strengthen joints for squatting and pressing.
Backpacking
Get off the treadmill and dive into nature feet-first with a full-fledged backpacking excursion. Hiking trails are naturally butt-boosting workouts, and your weighted pack helps you build leg strength and burn fat while you climb. There are 407 national parks across the U.S., and the National Park Service turns 100 this August. Visit FindYourPark.org to locate the national park closest to you (or plan a road trip to one that looks intriguing), and see if they offer guided backpacking excursions or hiking trips you can try.
Rock Climbing
Give free range to the thrill-seeker in you and take on a rock-climbing class with your friends. You’ll laugh and cry your way up with this vertigo-inducing workout that strengthens your grip, reach, and balance while you work your arms, shoulders, lats, and quads.
