Get Outside! Trenholme Park Workout!

Today was beautiful. Since I was up early enough and it was so sunny out, I went to Trenholme Park in NDG this morning. (I heard it's supposed to snow tomorrow, but for now, it's spring, so I had to take advantage.) Not only did I get some fresh air, but I got to workout a bit. 

Working out in the park is a great treat for the warmer months; each park is like a new adventure with different climbing, balance, cardio, and strength features. This one was pretty nice due to one awesome feature: this spider webby-netty thing. <3 <3 <3
More on that later.

 Spider Webby Netty Thing- A good workout tool

So how did I take advantage of this great free space to workout?


1. Dress Well

Seriously, being cold, or feeling naked sucks.  So, above all, cover those parts you've got to cover (it's a park after all). I went for sweatpants and a hoodie; it seemed to work. If, like me, you go and the ground is still frozen or it's even a bit chilly, then a hat and gloves are helpful. Those metal bars get cold- and slippery, so you'll want to make sure that the gloves have a good grip or stay away from them. Stay safe!
 
One thing I would do differently from this morning is either bring different headphones or none at all. Their cord was way too long for me to be a safe monkey and not quite snug enough to stay on when I was upside down, but it was pretty awesome nonetheless.


Parks are awesome.

2. Warm-up
It was a little chilly, but I had a good time. I started with some walking and practicing my aerobic warmup homework for my new certification.  I would definitely recommend a 5-10 minute warmup to get your blood pumping.

Extra benefitof this- dealing a little bit with self-consciousness was on the menu. There were a few people around! At first the only people nearby were students from a nearby highschool sneaking over to smoke (depressing), but eventually there were more dog walkers and a lady jogging and jumping. Yay! I would definitely recommend going early enough so that you've got them around and not a park full of children. :P

3. Know Your Challenges
Just like when preparing to go to the gym, you want to bring a plan. It might be a little difficult to know exactly what you can do the first time you go to the park, but you can scope it out beforehand. If not, come with an idea of basic exercises you want to do and see which elements you can adapt to what you have. (I would recommend checking out How To Pick Exercise That Are Right For You to help decide on your exercises.)

For example, if you know that want to do step-ups, you might have access to stairs, park benches, or other surfaces that give different challenges. Like this awesome wobbly toy.

A wobbly toy for step-ups to challenge balance.

4. Choose Your Gear 
I looked for gear that would let me do what I wanted safely. If it's not safe, it's not worth it. One reason I like the webby-netty-thing is because it's rope and it's easy to hold onto. It's also great because it allowed me to put my hands in the correct position for the exercise I was doing and to modify the intensity.

I used it for a few things:
  • Inverted Row- easy to change the challenge by moving higher or lower on the rope.
  • Modified Pushups-easy to change the challenge by moving higher or lower on the rope.
  • And just generally climbing around on it to challenge my balance.
  • I'm sure there are many more things, but this was my morning.
At the tops of the toys, there were also platforms with just enough space for crunches, supermans, and bridges (since the earth was so cold) and squats went on the ground.

A fun climbing feature.
So that was fun, and is nice while the weather's warm. I topped it off with a walk and I felt so good the rest of the day!


Alright awesome people, I hope you have a wonderful time in the warm weather. For more inspiration, you might also want to check these out:

And, if it snows, this might be helpful:


If you've got any favourite park workouts, or parks to work out in, comment, cause sharing is pretty sweet. And, as always, if you like what you read, don't forget to share, subscribe, or connect with me on Twitter, Pinterest, or Facebook.

Live well and remember to play, Charlotte :-)






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