15-Minute Full-Body Outdoor Workouts for Beginners

As the weather begins to perk up, it might be time to move your workout sessions outside. If you’ve never taken your workouts into the great outdoors, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how outdoor workouts can help break up the monotony of your cold weather fitness plan, especially if you’re a workout newbie. Read on to find out about all the benefits and joys of outdoor workouts for beginners. Spending time in nature brings about many benefits, such as diminishing stress and anxiety, improving gut health and generally boosting mood and well-being. Combine these health gains with the extensive perks of exercise—which include improved longevity and cognition and a decreased risk for disease—and you may never want to step foot inside a gym again. If you’re sold on the benefits, but not quite sure where to start with your outdoor workout, keep reading. There are very simple, yet fun, exercises that you can do outside without any equipment and at any fitness level. Grab a towel, some sunscreen and a pair of headphones and head to your backyard, beach or local park for a beginner’s workout that will work all of your major muscle groups and leave you feeling strong and happy. RELATED: 5 Important Reasons to Exercise That Have Nothing to Do With Weight Loss 15-Minute Full-Body Outdoor Workouts For Beginners This is a short, full-body workout that integrates both cardiovascular and strength training without equipment, which means you can do it almost anywhere. You can perform these exercises on their own or in a series. As always, it is important to check with your physician before starting any exercise program. If you feel sharp pain or lightheadedness while exercising, stop and check in with your MD or DO. If anything feels too difficult, you can simplify the workout by cutting back on reps (number of times you perform each exercise) or making modifications as outlined below. Lastly, before you get started, make sure to hydrate, especially during the warmer months, and fuel your body with wholesome foods both before and after your workout. RELATED: Morning vs. Evening Workouts This workout includes approximately 5 minutes for warmup and approximately 10 minutes to cycle through the exercises for a 15-minute workout. You can repeat the sequence up to 4 times. Why Warm Up? Warming up increases blood flow to your muscles, which helps prepare your body for exercise and prevents injuries. You should warm up for 5-10 minutes. This can include movements such as jogging or marching in place, walking lunges, standing windmills and yoga. Consider starting your warmup with five fast-paced sun salutations, which increase blood flow to the whole body, connect you to your breath and give you the opportunity to express gratitude for your natural surroundings—what a blessing to be outside moving your body! The Best Outdoor Ab Exercises Often overlooked because it’s viewed as either challenging or boring, core work is the foundation of all movement, including motions that you do on a daily basis such as walking, lifting and sitting. Taking time to focus on strengthening your inner and outer core can help you feel stronger in your day-to-day life, become less susceptible to injury and improve your posture. Let’s get moving! Dead Bug Perhaps appropriately named for an exercise you perform while lying in the grass, dead bug works a variety of abdominal muscles. This includes the lesser-worked inner core muscles, such as the transverse abdominis and pelvic floor muscles. These muscles help stabilize your spine and are key for pain and injury prevention. How to perform dead bug: 1. Start lying on the ground with your legs in the air, knees bent at a 90-degree angle with your shins parallel to the ground. 2. Extend your arms up towards the sky. Keeping your lower back pressed gently into the ground, extend your right leg forward so that it is hovering over the ground. At the same time, extend your left arm straight behind you so that it is hovering above the ground as well. 3. Come back to center and repeat the exercise with the opposite leg and arm. For the outdoor workout for beginners: Perform 10 dead bugs, five on each side. Plank The plank is an exceptional exercise. Not only does it work your inner and outer core muscles through isometric contraction (contracting your muscles without moving), it also works muscles in your arms, back and legs. Plus, you only need to perform a plank for under a minute, and you can do it anywhere, including during your outdoor workout. How to perform a plank: 1. Lower yourself down to the ground in a prone position. Make sure your feet are together and your elbows are under your shoulders. 2. Engage the glutes, and rise onto your toes. 3. Lift your hips up. You want your body to be parallel to the ground. Make sure your tush is not too high (you won’t be activating the core properly), nor too low (this puts too much strain on your lower back). 4. As you hold the position, feel that you are wrapping your transverse abdominis (inner core muscles) in a corset around your core. Think about actively driving your elbows toward your toes and keeping your body in a straight line. Beginner tip: If you are recently postpartum or have a back injury or pain, it might not be the right time for a plank. Rather, stick to inner core exercises until your strength returns. For the outdoor workout for beginners: Start by holding your plank for 30 seconds and work your way up to 60 seconds. RELATED: How to Do a Perfect Plank Outdoor Leg Exercises Without Equipment Squats Squats are the queen of do-it-anywhere leg exercises. They are one of the best, and simplest, workouts for your glutes and quadriceps. Working the glutes to strengthen them is important for many people who do not work out often since weakness in this area can cause lower back pain. How to