As you roll out of bed, you are met by the warm sunshine of spring. Finally! After months of oppressing rain and cold, warm weather is finally here.
So what to do first? I know! How about we go and sit in the dark, dingy gym to work on our summer bodies we have all procrastinated on.
Sike! Walking on a treadmill while peering out of the gym windows at the blooming flowers and chirping birds is right next to jumping off a cliff on my list of things I would like to do with my time. However, something must be done about the several mugs of hot cocoa and cookies being used as insulation to keep warm during the winter months. Very strategic. But, now it is time to unveil the holy beach bod and it appears the only choice we have is to drag ourselves into the gym if we want to get a workout intense enough worthy of a bikini ready booty.
What’s that, you say? Tight and toned without a dumbbell? That’s right. Those extra few pounds may just be enough resistance to build a bit of muscle. Now, let’s go to the park for a full body workout!
Upper Body
Monkey Bar Pull-ups: Use the monkey bars just like you would a pull-up bar at the gym to sculpt your back.
Swing rows: Grab onto each chain of a swing or the seat, which ever feels more secure, and use it to perform an inverted bodyweight row.
Bench Pushups: Place your hands on a bench seat to perform an incline pushup to hit your chest, or for more of a challenge, put your feet on the bench with your hands on the ground to increase the weight on your upper with body with decline pushups.
Lower Body
Bench step ups: Isolate one leg at a time by stepping up onto a bench, and alternating legs to tighten and tone them.
Single leg lunge: Keep one foot on the ground 2-3 feet in front of either a bench or a swing, and use it to elevate your other foot behind you. Perform single leg lunges, keeping constant tension to really burn the booty.
Hot seat: Stand about 6 inches in front of a bench facing away from it, and with one leg held in front of you. Lower yourself slowly in to a seated position on the bench behind you and then drive through your heel to return to standing, similar to a single leg squat.
Bench Squat Jumps: Get in some cardio while hitting your legs by using a park bench for squat jumps.
Abs
Swing Plank: Put your feet on a park swing with your hands on the ground in front of you and hold for a killer ab workout. To increase the difficulty, tuck your knees into your chest 15 times.
Hanging Leg Raises: Hang from the monkey bars and lift your legs up straight, or tuck your knees in to your chest to target the abs. Be careful not to let yourself swing.
There! And before you know it, she wore an itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka-dot bikini- and didn’t even have to go to the gym to do it!