Outdoor Fitness

By: Doug Holt, CSCS, MFS

Training outdoors has many advantages the gym cannot offer: sunshine, fresh air, and a feeling of freedom. For many, training outside is the only way to go – rain or shine. The problem I hear most often from people when I talk about training outside is that they just don’t know what to do. This is understandable as you don’t often see late night, multi-million dollar advertising campaigns on how to use your own bodyweight to create a sculpted physique. Why should they, as there is no money in that for fitness or equipment companies.

So what can you do? Throughout the Santa Barbara area, there are several parcourses set in small parks. I can already hear your question: What the heck is a parcourse? A parcourse usually consists of several basic exercises or stations placed in a park or school setting.

The more commonly seen stations are a pull-up or chin-up bar for working the muscles of the back and biceps, a dip bar and push-up bar for targeting the chest and triceps muscles, monkey bars that can be used for a variety of creative exercises, and some sort of stretching station. Luckily, many of the courses in the Santa Barbara area are much more complete than just the few exercise stations I mentioned above.

Knowing what a parcourse does is well and good, but what should you do to make sure you get a good workout? First I’ll go over some of the basic exercises you can do at each of the more common stations, than I’ll provide you with a few workouts to play with when visiting the parcourse.

Pull-up / Chin-up Bar: The pull-up bar can be used for both pull-ups and chin-ups. The most obvious difference to most is just the way you place your hands on the bar. If you put your hands on the bar so your palms are facing you, than you will involve more bicep muscle use, which should make the exercise a little easier for most. On the other hand, if you were to place your hands on the bar so your palms face away from your body, than you would involve less of the biceps and more of the brachioradialis muscle or, more commonly, the forearm. The pull-up bar can also be used to perform hanging leg raises for the hip flexors and lower portion of the abdominal muscles.

Push-up Bar: The push up bar is pretty self explanatory. It’s a bar that is usually raised about 6 inches from the ground. Simply place your arms on the bar and proceed to perform a push-up. Since the bar is raised, your leverage is increased and push-ups should be easier to perform.

Monkey Bars: The monkey bars are very rarely used by adults for exercise and which I feel is a big mistake. The monkey bars provide a great way to strengthen the muscles of the upper back and arms much the same way as discussed in using the pull-up bar above. If you really wanted to build up the shoulder and upper arm musculature, doing parallel chin-ups on the monkey bars is a great way to go (palms facing each other). You can also do close grip chin-ups and pull-ups with the monkey bars allowing you to do more in one station. And for many, simply swinging crossed the monkey bars provides a great workout and dynamic stretch for the upper body.

Squat Posts: These look like round metal rods coming out of the ground and usually have a pole to hold onto in front of them. These posts can be used to step onto and step off, which will work the muscles of the lower body. The higher the step, the more glute (butt) muscle you will utilize. Another popular exercise made possible by these posts is a one-legged squat. This is a tough exercise, but critical for all athletes to perform. Simply stand on the post with one leg, the other at your side and held in the air. I suggest holding onto the post until you have mastered this exercise. Slowly squat down to until the supporting leg is at least parallel (your thighs should be parallel with the ground), do not allow your hanging leg to touch the ground, and than slowly come back up. Switch legs after desired number or reps have been performed and than repeat.

Now that you see some of the basic stations at your local parcourse, how can you use this to create a whole body workout? Here is a sample program for someone just getting started. Adjust the intensity, sets, reps, and frequency to meet your needs. For fat loss, try to mover through each station as quickly as possible. The less rest you give yourself the more energy (calories) you will burn.

Workout A: Full Body Circuit
1. Alternating lunges
2. Chin-ups
3. Bodyweight squat
4. Dips
5. Monkey bar cross over – simply cross through the monkey bars
6. Lunges to the side
7. Pull-ups
8. Calf raises
9. Push-ups
10. Sit-ups
11. Low back extensions

Workout B: Intermediate Back workout
1. Wide grip pull-ups (no rest)
2. Close grip chin-ups (rest 45 seconds)
3. Parallel grip pull-ups on monkey bars (no rest)
4. Bodyweight row on low bar (rest 45 seconds)
5. Reverse shrugs on parallel bars (dip pars)
- Repeat this sequence at least 4 times. This is to be used with a complete full body program.

Well, there you go; a few exercises you can easily do outdoors. Total cost to you for use of the facilities: $0.00

The Top Reasons Why Starting an Exercise Program with a Group or Partner Can Be Much More Effective

Many of us start out our day with great intentions of incorporating a workout, gym session, or a brisk walk into our daily routines. However, there are times when work, school, family, and other daily activities seem to get the best of us. An easy solution to assuring that exercise becomes part of your daily life is by finding a workout partner or group to join. Not only will this hold you accountable, but you are much more likely to stay on a steady and consistent program. Here are some key benefits to why working out with a partner or with an organized group can be fun and rewarding:
1. Starting a program isn’t so daunting: Deciding not to start an exercise routine is often based out of fear. Having a partner and/or a group environment allows those seemingly scary exercises to be a lot less threatening and a lot more fun.
2. Motivation is self-reinforcing: Each time you complete a workout with a partner and/or group, you know you are getting one step closer to your health and fitness goals. Motivation from a partner or group can also help you get through those days when staying on track seems impossible.
3. Limited Opportunities for Excuses: This is a big one and it is directly tied to motivation. Not only do you have to be accountable for yourself and your workouts, but you also have to be accountable for someone else. It is easy to make personal excuses, but a lot harder to come up with excuses to say to others. You know in the back of your mind that you are not only letting yourself down but your partner and/or group as well.
4. It is Social and FUN!: Training with a partner and/or group offers a high level of energy and social interaction that you would not get on your own. There is always more laughing, and individuals seem to have more fun in this type of format, even when they are working hard. Many times stronger friendships and bonds form, which again, enhance the experience you have with exercise. This directly relates to making fewer excuses because nobody wants to skip out on his/her friend or the rest of their group.
5. Learn Something New: Often times working out with a partner and/or group will allow you to learn new skills and exercises you may have never tried on your own; adding to the variety of your workouts. It will also allow you to go outside your comfort zone in relation to these new exercises, getting you further towards you health and fitness goals.
6. Cost Effective: Lastly having a workout partner or joining a group fitness class will allow you to receive all the benefits listed above without having to spend big bucks. Most group classes, for example, will run you approximately 10-20 dollars depending on the class and service received.
Alright it is time to hit the ground running! Now that you have the steps to getting you on a consistent workout plan it is time to apply them - no more excuses! Not sure of how to apply them? Grab a few friends, form a group, and check out small group training opportunities - most personal trainers offer a major discount for parties of 2 or more. Group Fitness classes are offered here at Conditioning Specialists on Monday and Wednesday nights at 7:00 pm. Whatever way you decide to stay consistent you can rest assured that someone will be there to keep you smiling, accountable, and on the way to achieving your health and fitness goals!

21 Day Challenge

Could you imagine a world that was free of complaining? I mean, a world in which instead of complaining about things, we stopped and thought about the good things in our lives and worked to change those things we didn’t find beneficial. How much more powerful would you be if you could live a complaint free life? Most of us complain a lot more than we think. As a trainer, I hear it all the time … and I do it all the time as well.

We all know that complaining and gossiping are “bad” and most of us would like to rid ourselves of these bad habits. But how?

A client told me about Will Bowen's concept and book “A Complaint Free World,” and I was immediately intrigued. One man had decided to create a habit out of NOT complaining – and not just complaining – of not gossiping or criticizing as well. He challenged himself to 21 days – the amount of time that is said to make a said activity habitual. The concept is simple:

1.You first make the decision to live a complaint free life (this can be anything really).
2.Place a band on one wrist.
3.When you catch yourself complaining, you simply take the band off, put it on your opposite wrist, and your 21 day challenge starts over – that’s right, it starts back at day 1.

Most people find that this process takes several months to complete – some a year or more. But all agree that this is a life changing process. Simply taking the time to think about this process changes the way one sees the world. Of course, there’s a bit more to that and I’m paraphrasing the story and the process, but you get the idea.

At Conditioning Specialists, we challenge ourselves to be 1% better every day, in order to avoid complacency, develop new ideas, and step outside of the comfort zone. Going 21 days without complaining, gossiping, or criticizing only seems appropriate in the quest to be 1% better every day. So we are taking this challenge on with full force and inviting YOU to do the same.

We’ve decided to design our own bands – “1% Better Every Day” – after reading blogs of people that have gone through the challenge in the past. Many of them found the process to be so life changing that they decided to take on other 21 day challenges after they completed the complaint and gossip free challenge. The options are endless, but we’re starting with the original and moving forward.

Simply put on one of our “1% Better Every Day” bracelets, and stop complaining, gossiping, and criticizing. That's it. And every time you catch yourself doing it (verbally), switch your bracelet to the other wrist, and begin your 21 day count all over again. Recognize the way you feel. Are your relationships stronger? Do you still have as much to talk about? Does dinner taste better? Do you laugh harder? We have created a safe, and private, place to write about the difficulties you may find throughout this challenge as well as the peace you encounter – all entries can be anonymous and allow you to get encouragement and feedback from other participants.

Let's add some positivity to those who surround us and let them do the same to others. Challenge your friends, your family members, and your co-workers to get involved; slowly as we each improve our own conscious minds and outward energy, the world will catch on, and it, too, will be one percent better each and every day!

Order your band here!

“Constant complaint is the poorest sort of pay for all the comforts we enjoy”
 Benjamin Franklin

“As selfishness and complaint pervert and cloud the mind, so love with its joy clears and sharpens the vision”
 Helen Keller