This park WOD will get you shredded without needing a gym membership or equipment.
Have you heard of park WODs, aka workout of the day? If not, park workouts are resistance-training routines with one thing in common — they can all be done at a park. All you need is your bodyweight (minimal exercise equipment is optional). While that might sound a little strange compared to working out in a gym, working out outside has ample benefits. Plus, it gives you the excuse to skip the gym but still get in fantastic shape.
Commutes to the gym aren’t fun and are time-consuming. Having a local park within a few minutes walk can save you time. In addition, it’s free, and you don’t have to worry about waiting for the person who’s always on the squat rack to finish his 20 sets before you can use it. Moreover, working out at a park requires you to workout outside. And there are ample benefits to working out in nature.
Park WODs can help you become stronger and improve your overall health. This article will discuss the best bodyweight exercises you can do at the park to burn fat, increase your endurance, and improve your overall fitness.
Outdoor Workouts Benefits
When it comes to getting a great workout outdoors, your local park is one of the most underutilized tools. So it’s time to ditch the gym and get in shape at your local park down the street. Doing a park WOD is the easiest and most convenient thing you can do to stay in shape. You can do it anywhere, anytime, and therefore, it’s more likely that you will follow through with it.
In addition, a park WOD is done outside. The benefits of exercising in nature are numerous, especially when doing bodyweight exercises. So if you’re looking to find a way to get fit that doesn’t involve spending hours in the gym, there’s no better way than to take your workout outdoors.
Being outdoors is good for your physical and mental health, so why not make it a part of your daily routine? Here are some benefits of outdoor workouts:
Improved Sleep
Spending time outside can help you sleep better at night. The bright light of day can suppress melatonin production, the hormone that helps regulate our circadian rhythm — the 24-hour cycle in which our bodies function (1). When you’re exposed to sunlight during the day, it signals to your brain that it’s time to wake up and get going. Working out outside in natural light at least three times per week could help regulate your sleep cycle better than working out indoors after sunset or before sunrise.
Fresh Air
Breathing in fresh air is good for you in many ways, including exercising. It helps your body get more oxygen, which improves endurance and performance. In addition, breathing fresh air can also help clear your mind and reduce stress levels, making you happier overall.
Sunlight
The sun has many benefits for your health, such as supplying vitamin D, which has powerful benefits for your health (2). In addition, exposure to sunlight can make your workout easier. Exposure to sunlight triggers the release of endorphins in the brain — chemicals that make you feel good — which can help relieve stress and improve moods during exercise.
Bodyweight Movements
There is a multitude of calisthenics exercises that you can do at the park. Some of the best are push-up, lunge, chin-up, box jump, plank, and bear crawl.
Push-up
The push-up is an excellent push movement that engages your chest, triceps, and shoulders.
Lunge
The lunge is effective for targeting your lower body. It also improves your stability and balance.
Chin-Up
The chin-up is excellent for engaging your back. What separates it from pull-ups is that it requires a supinated grip (palms facing you), which targets more of your biceps.
Box Jump
The box jump is an explosive lower-body movement that targets the glutes, quads, and hamstrings. The box jump also improves your power output.
Plank
It targets your entire core and improves your core strength and endurance. This exercise also protects your back and improves your posture.
Bear Crawl
The bear crawl is a full-body strength and endurance exercise that, as the name suggests, requires you to crawl like a bear from one point to another.
The Park WOD
Although you can do park WODs with light dumbbells and resistance bands if you have the equipment, here’s a park WOD you can try, assuming you don’t have any workout equipment.
| Exercises | Reps |
| Push-up | 15 |
| Lunge | 12 |
| Chin-up | Max reps |
| Box Jump | 10 reps |
| Plank | 1 min. |
| Bear Crawl | 40 yards |
This exercise will be performed circuit style, meaning you rotate from one movement to the other with minimal rest. Once you complete the circuit, that will count as one round. Performing the workout as a circuit will allow you to simultaneously improve your strength and endurance. Complete five rounds as fast as possible. And if you do this workout often, try to reduce the time it takes you to complete it each time.
*Note: If you can’t perform a chin-up, you can replace that movement with bench dips. And a modification to box jumps (which can be performed on a bench) is to step onto the bench. And a modification you can make for push-ups is to perform knee push-ups.
Alternative to Bodyweight Park WOD Workouts
If you want to perform workouts with more than just your bodyweight, you can opt for portable resistance bands, light dumbbells, kettlebells, and a jump rope that is easy to bring to the park. Then, you could include weighted exercises to your park WOD, such as dumbbell squats, dumbbell bench presses, resistance band curls, and kettlebell sumo squats.
Takeaway
There are dozens of effective bodyweight exercises one can do at a park to get shredded. From push-ups and lunges to chin-ups, there’s no shortage of potentially beneficial movements one can do in the great outdoors. This is where the multitude of benefits truly comes into play with taking your workouts outside. Depending on your training goals and how often you have the opportunity to train, working out at a park may help you reach them.
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References
- Burns, A. C., Saxena, R., Vetter, C., Phillips, A. J. K., Lane, J. M., & Cain, S. W. (2021). Time spent in outdoor light is associated with mood, sleep, and circadian rhythm-related outcomes: A cross-sectional and longitudinal study in over 400,000 UK Biobank participants. Journal of affective disorders, 295, 347–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.08.056
- Queirós, C. S., & Freitas, J. P. (2019). Sun Exposure: Beyond the Risks. Dermatology practical & conceptual, 9(4), 249–252. https://doi.org/10.5826/dpc.0904a01
