Creative Outdoor Workouts for Your Next Trip

Getaway Well Without Ever Needing a Gym

Exercise is an important part of our daily regimen, but you may not always have a lot of space, a peaceful location, or even any equipment to use in your routine.

Thankfully, Getaway Well is here with some useful, creative outdoor workouts that you can try the next time you need to get up and get moving when you’re traveling away from home.

Before we dive into those suggestions, let’s talk about the benefits of maintaining an outdoor workout routine, some basic equipment you can incorporate, as well as some tricks for physically and mentally preparing to do a creative outdoor workout.

The Benefits of Maintaining an Outdoor Workout Routine on Vacation

The biggest benefit that you’ll achieve by maintaining an outdoor workout routine on vacation is that you’ll avoid the typical ‘vacation laziness’ that we all have to battle when we’re enjoying ourselves away from home.

It’s really easy to spend time sitting around your hotel room watching television or laying around in bed snoozing. It’s even easier to start letting ourselves overindulge in unhealthy food and drink choices because “we’re on vacation, and we deserve it”.

The reality is that a week or two of letting bad habits run wild can undo weeks or months of hard work establishing a healthy daily routine at home. Not only does that negatively affect our health, but it also makes it that much harder to get back to healthy habits when the vacation is over.

Maintaining a regular outdoor workout routine while you’re on vacation ensures that you’re continuing to carry those healthy habits with you no matter where you go, which means you’ll have better overall health and wellness.

What Equipment Do You Need for Creative Outdoor Workouts?

In truth, you don’t need any workout equipment to do creative outdoor workouts. After all, part of their appeal is that they’re creative and different from the types of workouts you do at the gym.

However, if comfort during your workout routine is extremely important to you, there are a couple of things you should consider taking with you on your trip.

Comfortable Shoes

You can’t get into or enjoy a creative outdoor routine if your feet are screaming at you the whole time.

Makes and brands are really up to you, but comfort and functionality are the two factors that should always take precedence when you’re buying comfortable shoes to use in your workouts.

Workout Mat

Another way you can add comfort and safety to your creative outdoor workouts is to bring a workout mat with you.

This non-slip workout mat from Hemingway works well both indoors and outdoors, so you can get that little bit of added cushioning under your feet during your routine.

Exercise Cones

Not only are these exercise cones highly visible, so you won’t leave them behind on your early morning or late-night outdoor workouts, but they’re fantastic for setting up drills for yourself.

Sold in packs of 10 or 20, you’ll have plenty of cones around to perform lots of creative outdoor routines, without spending much money buying supplies.

Music

Music is one of the greatest motivators that we can give ourselves, especially when we’re away from home and lacking our normal motivation to work out. Take your mind off of all the troubles in the world, the work and stress waiting for you back at home, and lose yourself in your routine. Some great music can turn a boring, mediocre workout into a full-body blast.

How to Physically & Mentally Prepare for a Creative Outdoor Routine on Vacation

It’s not a good idea to jump into a workout without taking some time to prepare yourself first.

This includes both physical and mental preparation, so you’re prepared to tackle your creative outdoor workouts head-on.

Physical Prep for Creative Outdoor Workouts

Stretch. Stretch. STRETCH.

We cannot emphasize this enough – you need to stretch well before your workout.

You are much less likely to injure yourself while working out, as long as you take the time to stretch out the muscles that you’re going to be working out.

Apart from stretching, it’s important to take time and clean up the area around where you’re going to be doing your routine.

The last thing you want is to trip over a stick lying in the grass and twist your ankle or stub your toe on an errant rock, while you’re trying to do a creative outdoor workout.

How to Mentally Prepare for Creative Outdoor Routines

Putting yourself in the right mindset to get the most out of your creative outdoor routines is another important factor that’s often overlooked.

For some people, that could involve starting with a tai chi morning routine or some guided meditation, but there are no right or wrong answers when it comes to mental preparation.

Whatever you can do to put yourself in the mindset to give your workout everything you have, as well as take the enjoyment out of spending time focusing on your physical health, that’s what you should focus on.

Creative Outdoor Workout Ideas for Your Next Trip

Now that you’re ready to jump into a creative outdoor workout, where do you start? If you’re traveling in a group, you can always start by suggesting some outdoor fitness games that everyone can play together.

When you’re alone, we’d suggest trying out some of these simple workouts, at least to start. Once you’ve gotten used to these, you can start incorporating more difficult routines or creating your unique workout regimen.

Upper Body Workouts 

One upper body exercise that most people have done at some point through their fitness journeys is good, old-fashioned push-ups.

But you don’t need to drop to the ground and give us 20 to make creative use of the push-up exercise. Consider finding a bench or a large rock near your hotel and using it to perform bench push-ups.

How many push-ups can you do in a single set? Push yourself further than ever before by making a game of it. Go for a new record trying to set a new personal best. See if you can do bench push-ups for the entire length of your favorite song.

Regardless of how you keep yourself motivated, this exercise not only works well on your upper body as an effective outdoor workout routine but also helps strengthen your core muscles as well.

Lower Body Workouts 

If you do have access to a bench or a stable raised surface to use in your creative outdoor workouts, step-ups and plyo jumps are great ways to get active outdoors.

Just use the stable surface to step up and step back down. After 15-20 reps, consider switching to 10-15 plyo jumps. Then, return to step-ups and repeat.

Not only is this a great outdoor workout routine, but it allows you to take advantage of any outdoor equipment that you often find around hotels, like picnic tables and benches.

This means making the most of your workout, without the need for any additional equipment like workout mats. Just be careful if it’s been raining. It’s easy to roll an ankle or pull a muscle losing your balance on a slippery surface.

Full Body Workouts 

We’ve talked before about how effective burpees are as a full-body workout, and that makes them a great addition to your creative outdoor workouts.

This exercise is a fantastic way to work up a good sweat since it incorporates working for every major muscle group alongside cardio for a thorough full-body burn.

It might be a good idea to have a workout mat nearby if you’re planning to do a lot of full-body exercises since you’ll most likely be switching regularly from standing to sitting to lying.

This way, you can focus on your movements, instead of worrying about being comfortable as you change positions.

Cardio Workouts 

There are a million different ways to get a good cardio workout, so you can let your imagination run wild with outdoor workout routines.

For vacation spots that give you access to outdoor pools, lakes, or ponds to take a dip, consider going for a swim as your cardio. It’s a great form of exercise, as well as a nice way to cool down after other parts of your exercise routine.

If you did grab yourself some of the exercise cones that we suggested earlier, then you’re already well on your way to some fun cardio exercises.

Create new, challenging drills for yourself that can incorporate other major muscle groups into your movements to make the most of every exercise.

Build a course to follow, where you stop to do lunges or squats at each intersection. After each loop through the course, give yourself a breather from running while you get down and hold the plank position.

You can even add in other exercises we’ve talked about, alongside your cardio. Drop and do some push-ups or burpees at one end of the course, before making your way back to the start.

As long as you’re stretching first, wearing safe clothing, and being mindful of wet or slippery surfaces, there’s no wrong way to get your cardio.

Avoid Lethargy by Sticking to Your Creative Outdoor Workouts

A Healthy Fitness Regimen is Important to Getaway Well

As you can see, the options for creative outdoor workouts available to you are only limited by your imagination. Whatever you might choose to do, give yourself the freedom to make your outdoor workout routines fun and exciting.

Don’t settle for the same old routines you’re doing at home, because you’re only setting yourself up to be unmotivated. You won’t want to give it your all if you’re bored by the routine.

Once you find creative outdoor workouts that work for you, you’ll be ready to Getaway Well on any vacation – no matter where your travel journeys take you.