Backyard Fitness

Written by Branda Polk

If getting to the gym is a scheduling challenge with the kids home for the summer, or if you are just tired of the same old indoor workout when the weather is wonderful, turn your backyard or a local park into a fun fitness area. 

Setting up a station-based workout involving a variety of exercises to raise your heart rate and strengthen the major muscles of your body is a great way to exercise with the whole family or a group of friends. Use your environment, equipment you have around the house, and some imagination to get the workout started. Below are ideas for possible stations. Make adjustments based on your specific needs and preferences.

Fitness Circuit Station Options:

• Step up and down. Use a step or stair and step up with both feet and down with both feet. Pump your arms while stepping for added intensity.
• Jump rope.
• Run, skip, gallop, or speed walk between two points. Choose points, like trees, fences, or posts that are 50 to 100 feet apart and move back and forth between them. Vary the way you get from point A to point B to make this function as several stations.
• Jump side to side over a line. Place a long piece of masking tape on the sidewalk or use an existing line or crack to hop side to side over the line.
• Do push ups on a bench or railing.
• Sit and stand. Stand in front of a sturdy patio chair. Sit down lightly on the chair and stand back up.
• Shoot a basketball. If a basketball and hoop are available, use it in your circuit to repetitively shoot and rebound as many baskets as possible.
• Bicep curls. Extend arms down at sides while holding hand weights or equally sized rocks in each hand. Bend your elbows and lift the weights up to your shoulders. Return to the extended position.
• Lunges. Take a giant step forward with the right foot. Bend both knees and lunge down. Stand up and step back. Switch feet and repeat with the left leg.
• Hula hoop.
• Milk jug shuffle. Equally fill six old gallon milk jugs with water. (A full milk jug weighs about eight pounds, so determine the amount of water in the jugs based on the strength of those participating in the circuit.) Establish two points about 100 feet apart. Set four jugs at point A and two milk jugs at point B. Carry two milk jugs as quickly as possible from point A to point B. Put those down and pick up the other set of jugs and carry them back to point A. Continue the process for the time limit. Participants should bend their knees to pick up and put down the jugs each time.

Fitness Circuit Set Up

1. Select stations based on your space and available equipment.
2. Make signs naming and describing the stations so everyone will know what to do when they get there.
3. Lay out the stations around the backyard so participants can easily move from one station to the next in a sequential pattern.
4. Determine the amount of time spent at each station. One minute is a good amount to start with. Gather a stop watch and select a person to keep time and tell everyone when to change stations. Remember, the time doesn't have to be exact. When the minute is up, everyone moves to the next station.
5. Determine the number of times you will complete the circuit. Ten stations repeated three times is a 30 minute workout.

The beauty of a circuit-type workout is that the most fit and least fit family members can move together and reap the benefits without the pressure of keeping up with others. Have fun and motivate each other throughout the workout with encouragement and positive feedback. Remember, this is not a competition! This is an opportunity for everyone to get moving at his or her own pace.

Branda Polk, B.S. Exercise Science, is a certified personal trainer, wellness coach, conference speaker and health writer in Lebanon, Tennessee. Sign up for Branda's newsletter, Wellness Connection, to receive encouragement and coaching in the areas of nutrition, exercise, and stress relief. Follow Branda on Twitter.