If you’re like me, when it’s nice outside, the last thing you want to do is be indoors.
And if you’re lucky enough to live in a community that has access to parks containing basic children’s playground equipment, you can utilize a lot of those free tools to get in a great workout.
Not to mention, there’s several bonus points to be had here…
Bonus point: If you have kids, take them with you (duh!). Let them play while you perform the workout below. And provide a positive association for exercise to them as you have fun yourself on the playground.
Bonus point: Aid in your overall health by providing your body with some much-needed vitamin D through beautiful sunshine.
Bonus point: Improve your mental wellbeing not only by exercising, but by providing your brain the visuals of green spaces and filling your lungs with fresh air.
Now that we’ve briefly discussed how much potential fun and extra benefits can be had by taking your workout to the local park, let’s get into some exercises to perform while you’re there.
Park Workout 1
| Exercise | Set Range | Rep Range |
| 1a. Bench Step Ups | 3-5 | 10-20 |
| 1b. Bench Dips | 3-5 | 10-20 |
| 2a. Bodyweight Squats | 3-5 | 10-20 |
| 2b. Inverted Rows (using swing handles) | 3-5 | 10-20 |
| 3a. Glute Bridges | 3-5 | 10-20 |
| 3b. Monkey Bar Neutral Grip Chin Ups | 3-5 | 10-20 |
| 4a. Hip Hinge | 3-5 | 10-20 |
| 4b. Walking Lunge | 3-5 | 10-20 Each Leg |
Park Workout 2
| Exercise | Set Range | Rep Range |
| 1a. Push Up | 3-5 | 10-20 |
| 1b. Park Bench Hip Thrust | 3-5 | 10-20 |
| 2a. Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat (on a park bench) | 3-5 | 10-20 |
| 2b. Incline Push Up (on a park bench) | 3-5 | 10-20 |
| 3a. Bodyweight Single Leg Toe Touch | 3-5 | 10-20 |
| 3b. Pull Up (on swing set or monkey bars) | 3-5 | 10-20 |
| 4. Swing | 1 | 10 Mins |
Park Workout 3
| Exercise | Set Range | Rep Range |
| 1a. Bodyweight Sumo Stance Squat | 3-5 | 10-20 |
| 1b. Chin Up (on swing set bar or monkey bars) | 3-5 | 10-20 |
| 2a. Lateral Lunge | 3-5 | 10-20 |
| 2b. Decline Push Up (feet on park bench) | 3-5 | 10-20 |
| 3a. Frog Pumps | 3-5 | 10-20 |
| 3b. Dips (or Close Grip Push Ups) | 3-5 | 10-20 |
| 4. Bear Crawls | 3-5 | Distance |
Workout Notes
The workouts listed above are simply a template that can be followed and are not intended to be written in a personalized fashion. Please use it at your own risk. Feel free to scale it back or substitute exercises that better fit your experience/comfort level.
The goal for each workout is to stimulate all the muscles in the body using nothing but what is available at a playground/park.
The workouts listed above can be done once per week for a total of 2-3 workouts per week. You would only want to perform one of the workouts listed each time you go to the park. It is advised to take a day off between each workout listed.
If you are unable to perform chin ups or pull ups a good way to help build strength on these is by performing the negative or eccentric motion only. This means only performing the lowering portion of the exercise. For instance, if you were doing a pull up, you would jump up to the starting position and lower yourself down slowly (preferably for a count of 3-5 seconds depending on your strength). That would equate to one repetition.
The rep and set counts are very vague. Depending on your fitness level you may want to begin with the lowest number of sets and reps provided and work your way up. This is a great way to create what is known as progressive overload and is a key factor in muscle growth.
Lettering after the number indicates that these exercises are meant to be performed in a superset fashion. You will perform the exercise with the letter “a” first and then proceed to the exercise with letter “b” immediately afterward without any rest period between exercise. Once both exercises have been completed for a set, you will then rest in between sets.
Rest periods between sets should be however long you need to recover and catch your breath after each set and exercise.
Since parks are public places, please be courteous to others in the park. Be situationally aware and know your surroundings anytime you are adding an element of exercise into a public setting.
For those who decide to add park/playground workouts into their regular routine, I hope that you enjoy the 3 different variations of workouts listed within this article. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below.