Outside Yoga

As the summer comes to an end have you had a chance to take your workouts outdoors?  If no why not?  Mixing up your workout scenery not only helps you get a change of pace for your workouts, gets you new found motivation and lastly is usually a lot more scenic than working out indoors.  For instance most people prefer going for a bike ride outdoors rather than inside on a spin bike.  Yoga can be the same way.

I personally have taken my yoga practice outdoors this summer on numerous occasions.  Some went well others not so much.  The first time I took my PiYo class outside we were at a park that did not cut its grass very well.  It was fine for our bootcamp class a few days earlier but yoga in the tall grass we found out not as inviting.  We than changed our park locations which made a huge difference.  We went by a pond with a water fountain in the middle, it had mowed grass and had a beautiful experience.     Bugs were the only issue we have ran across doing it by this lovely pond.  My last experience with outdoor yoga this summer was in the sand.  Now this seems like fun but your mat sinks, the sand starts to get hot, balancing becomes an issue.  So after hearing my outdoor yoga examples whats a girl to do?

Well my suggestion for you is to research where you will be doing the outdoor yoga class at?  Is it scenic, what time of the day will the class be held, is there water nearby (thinking about mosquitos for those Minnesotans) and is the class on sand or grass?  With those thoughts in mind take care and have fun doing your outdoor yoga classes this summer.

As always check out more information at www.safiretraining.com 

In Good Health,
Andrea

Take your workouts outdoors

Take your workouts outdoors

Now that it is finally getting warming up and the sun is starting to occasionally shine it’s time to mix up your fitness routine.  I know I’m not the only one who gets tired of being indoors for their workout 8 months out of the year.  A lot of people get stuck in the what to do outside workout regime.  Most people resort to steady state cardio when outdoors.  There are many other possibilities for yourself to try to give your workout a good boost.  I recently have been taking my workouts outdoors and am loving the variety and change of atmosphere.  My personal favorite outside workouts are interval training, playing tennis, using the TRX and getting in a total body workout.  Below are some great ideas for you to mix up your workouts this summer season to give a little spice back into your workout routine.

Outdoor Workout Ideas

1. Head to the trails and give intervals a try.  Mix up your pace by going fast for 1 minute than walking 1 minute.  As you get in better shape change your time to 1-5 minutes of a fast pace run and a 1 minute rest. 
2. Sign up for a 5K and start training.
3. TRX workouts- see the picture at right.  There are great TRX exercises and workouts check out youtube for great ideas.
4. Try out an outdoor bootcamp class.  Check your local gyms and papers for classes near you.  You can also check out Hustle & Muscle bootcamp class if your in the Twin Cities area.
5. Bring your weights outside.  Mix it up and bring a set of dumbbells outside to have the outdoor scenery as your backdrop.
6. Go for a bike ride.
7. Break out the rollerblades.
8. Go for a swim at your local watering hole.
9. Try a playground workout.  Check out http://safiretraining.com/playground-workout/ for a workout routine.
10. Take your dog for a walk.  Keep your pooch happy and get an extra workout in for the day by taking your dog for a walk around your neighborhood.
11. Outdoor yoga.  Head to your local beach, or yoga studio and ask when there next outdoor yoga class is.  Most yoga studios will have connections to point you in the right direction.

As always check out www.safiretraining.com for more information on fitness and nutrition.

Playground workout

Well my intention was to create this blog and we would have wonderful weather and you could actually do this workout ASAP but Minnesota weather has a different thought process. So below is a great workout to do with your kids at the park or if you want a change of pace on your usual routine.  Check out this workout at the park. 

 1. Swing Squats: Holding onto swing above shoulders sit down like sitting in a chair and stand back up. 

 (See Picture)

2. Plank on Swings

 

Place feet on a swing and rest ankles or feet on top of swing.  Place hands on ground and hold body straight, arms, shoulders & wrists right on top of each other.

3. Dips on a a bench 

 Place feet straight out in front of body or a 90 degree bend to make it a little easier.  Hands should be placed on the bench behind the body.  Slowly lower body towards ground and lift body back up .  Repeat. Above picture depicts a slightly more challenging version with a straight leg in the air. 

4. Single leg slide squats: Place one foot on a slide and drop down to form a 90 degree with both bent legs and slowly raise back up.  One foot staying on the slide straight behind the body the entire time.  Make sure the knee never goes past the toe. Do 10-12 reps each leg.  Repeat 2-3 times. 

5. Monkey Bars: Try crossing the monkey bars for a great upper body workout.  No trick to it just try and get across them once if that is easy down and back.  It is a killer upper body workout.  Repeat 2-3 times.

6. Running through the sand: Throw in a cardio twist by simply trying to run threw the sand from one side of the park to the other.  Do this a total of 1 minute to get the heart rate going. Repeat 2-3 times. 

This workout can last anywhere from 10-30 minutes depending on how much time you have and what you want to work on while you mix up your workout! 

As always check out www.safiretraining.com for more information.