Try these 10 bodyweight workouts below, and turn them into a circuit to get into amazing shape this summer.
Are you prepared to flaunt your beach bod under the sun? Look no further, we’ve got the perfect outdoor workouts to get shredded this summer! Bidding farewell to packed gym atmospheres, take advantage of the great outdoors and soak up some fun in the sun.
Why are we advocating for the outdoors? The gym is usually packed with many people getting ready for swimsuit season at this time. Plus, studies show that getting outdoors is great for your body and reduces your risks of cardiovascular diseases (1).
For the perfect outdoor workout this summer, we’ll advocate bodyweight training. We can’t quite picture you lugging out all that heavy gym machinery outdoors. You can also do bodyweight exercises anywhere, which means less incentive to skip your training. So get right on these and stay committed even if you go on vacation.
Are you ready to get that aesthetic physique and banging body this summer? Then check out the routines and other training tips below. Here’s our guide to the perfect outdoor workout to get shredded this summer.
Full Bodyweight Workout – Circuit
All you need is your own bodyweight to build muscle and burn fat to build your summer physique. This study shows bodyweight exercises are enough to get in stellar shape (2). After spending lots of days in the gym, it’s a great addition to mixing things up. Doing these routines outdoors also means you can soak up some much-needed vitamin D while burning those calories, which has many benefits, including strengthening your immune system.
This summer bodyweight workout circuit contains exercises that’ll hit every muscle, sculpting your physique. It’s also perfect for those who don’t have access to a gym. It consists of 10 different exercises with minimal rest in between movements. Do this workout 3-5 times a week alongside other great tips we share below, and you’ll see significant results.
Exercises |
Pushups |
Squats |
Walking Lunges |
Burpees |
Planks |
Chair Dips |
Wall Sits |
Lying Leg Raises |
Mountain Climbers |
Lying Glute Bridge |
*Note: Do 1-5 sets for this circuit, doing each movement as many reps as possible for 30-second intervals. Beginners should only stick to one to two rounds. You can do four to five rounds at an advanced fitness level.
Pushups
Pushups are an effective upper body movement this summer for building strength and targeting your chest, core, abs, and lower back. They build your pecs, triceps, delts, abs, and other core muscles.
Squats
Squats target the muscles of your core and lower body. These include quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, abs, and hip adductors.
Walking Lunges
Walking lunges are great for your range of motion and build your core and lower body muscles, such as the quads, glutes, hamstrings, abs, hips, and calves.
Planks
Planks are a total body finisher; this routine will benefit your upper body, lower body, and core. The muscles affected include the abs, obliques, traps, rhomboids, lats, pecs, delts, triceps, biceps, quads, glutes, and hamstrings.
Burpees
Burpees are a mix between a pushup and a leap into the air. They help to improve your endurance and work on the muscles in your legs, butt, hips, abs, chest, arms, and shoulders.
Chair Dips
Chair dips are great for your upper arm; people sometimes call them tricep dips because they build your triceps. Chair dips also build your pecs and traps.
Wall Sits
Wall sits are wonderful quad burners and also target your glutes and calves. But ensure that you do this in proper form, with your hips and knees forming a 90-degree angle to get the most out of them. Your back should also be flat against the wall with your heels on the floor.
Lying Leg Raises
The lying leg raise is a compound exercise that targets the muscles in your core and legs. These include abs, quads, hip flexors, obliques, hamstrings, and erector spinae.
Mountain Climbers
Mountain climbers work on your upper, core, and lower body muscles. These include your shoulders, abs, chest muscles, triceps, glutes, hamstrings, quads, calves, and hip flexors.
Lying Glute Bridge
The lying glute bridge is a challenging exercise that targets your posterior chain muscles. These are your adductors, glutes, and hamstrings. The transversus abdominis of your core are also activated.
Other Summer Workout Tips
Alongside using the above outdoor workout to get your shredded summer body, here are other important tips to follow – since workouts aren’t everything!
Consume Protein
A diet high in protein is important for building lean body mass. It helps you build muscle while you burn fat. So while exercising, eat protein-rich meals like plenty of meat and fish. You could also take a post-workout shake high in protein since consuming enough protein from food alone can be challenging.
Cut Calories
The best way to get lean and shredded is to lose fat by getting into a caloric deficit. This means you have to burn more calories than you take in each day. You could also look into intermittent fasting, which research demonstrates could be an alternative to getting into a caloric deficit to lose weight (3).
Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated during the summer is important but becomes even more imperative when doing a summer workout outdoors. It’s critical that you drink enough water to replace the electrolytes lost to prevent injuries such as cramping (common from being dehydrated) and for maximum athletic performance. A good pre-workout shake can also help with this.
Use Sun Block
Finally, always use good sunblock to protect yourself from sunburn and skin cancer. You should also ensure that you regulate your time in the sun. As aforementioned, getting sunlight in moderation is great for your health, but too much sun exposure without protection can lead to ailments.
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References
- Jimenez, M. P., DeVille, N. V., Elliott, E. G., Schiff, J. E., Wilt, G. E., Hart, J. E., & James, P. (2021). Associations between Nature Exposure and Health: A Review of the Evidence. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(9), 4790. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094790
- Scoubeau, C., Carpentier, J., Baudry, S., Faoro, V., & Klass, M. (2023). Body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, and neuromuscular adaptations induced by a home-based whole-body high intensity interval training. Journal of exercise science and fitness, 21(2), 226–236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesf.2023.02.004
- Aragon, A. A., & Schoenfeld, B. J. (2022). Does Timing Matter? A Narrative Review of Intermittent Fasting Variants and Their Effects on Bodyweight and Body Composition. Nutrients, 14(23), 5022. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14235022