Outdoor Training

Now that the worst of the weather is behind us and it's starting to warm up a bit I'd like to think that most of you are considering moving your training (or at least part of it) outdoors.

Granted if you're used to using the gym machines (which by now I hope I've convinced you not to) you may be at a loose end as to what you can actually DO outside other than running.

Well I'm going to use this post to give you some ideas of what you can do to turbocharge your training and increase fitness levels, and fat loss, faster than you could imagine.


The limits of the gym mean there are a huge number of exercises you can't do, or just don't want to do in a busy gym, that you can easily do in the unconfined space outdoors and without so many spectators making you feel like YOU'RE the one doing things wrong (as if sitting on a bike watching telly's going to get results!).


So, for starters, you can achieve almost any result you want using just bodyweight exercises.

These could include push-ups, squats, lunges, sprints, chin-ups (on a bar/tree/rope), burpees, jumping (lots of variations), crawling and climbing, although there is no limit to the movements you can make up and combine.

Make use of the space - this isn't generally available in gyms, so unless you're willing to train in the rain, you won't be able to perform these exercises for a large part of the year.

Use the space for sprints, bounding, skipping, gymnastic type rolls and cartwheels, try some handstands or even make use of obstacles like benches and fences. Challenge yourself.


And with just a few simple, cheap bits of equipment you can add literally thousands of new exercises to your routine.

Buy a bag of sand from your local DIY store, a bit of rope, resistance bands, an old tyre, heavy medicine balls and some dumbbells and you've got yourself a gym that outshines even the flashiest of gyms.

But remember that training is about having fun and pushing yourself to the limit, don't stick to the same exercises you'd do in the gym, take advantage of your surroundings and make up as many movements as you can, however silly they might look.

If you can see potential in ANYTHING, use it!

Change your exercises to take advantage of the outdoors and train HARD. Find a local Bootcamp and make it a regular training session.

If you're local to Dartford, Kent, visit my website Personal Trainer Dartford for times and locations of my Bootcamp classes.


And just so you know that I put my money where my mouth is, check out this video of a workout I did a couple of weeks ago (I haven't got around to editing the more recent ones yet!). It's a great example of a tough workout that you can do in your back garden, or anywhere!

The Workout the World Forgot

Hi everyone,

Welcome to my first blog!

I thought I'd start it off with a video that sums up how training should be, it's a guy called Erwan Le Corre and this is how it should be done - completely natural training with no gyms in sight!

Check it out!