Life can get really busy, especially during the busy spring and summer when kids are off of school. One activity most kids enjoy is playing at the playground. It might involve the swings, monkey bars, slides among other things. But unfortunately you may find yourself sitting on the bench watching, feeling guilty since you have missed another workout. The answer to your dilemma is simple. Join your kids to release the sweat!
Below are great exercises that you can perform on a classic children’s playground equipment at the park. They provide an excellent way to burn some calories while also enjoying time with your kids!
To make things better, get your children to be involved. They are not only going to enjoy it but they are going to keep on asking to go to the park and do it again. And with that, you are going to have your very own little trainers!
Monkey Bar Climb
For sure, you have experienced this climbing when you were young; however, you may be surprised on the challenge to swing and climb across a monkey bar ladder now that you are a full-grown adult. The amount of grip strength and core it needs to gracefully make it across the bars may elude you if you didn’t tried monkey bars when you were a kid.
It may require some momentum initially; this is ok. With constant practice, you are going to get better at crossing over, gaining more control and getting stricter on swaying. Once you get that feel on moving forward, labor on moving backward across the bars.
Parallel and Straight Bar Dip
If the playground has parallel bars, you can use this bars to do dips, which is one of the best workouts for shoulders, triceps and chest. A full range of motion gives you a lot benefits so make it a point to go all the way up and down on every repetition. Always remember to support your trunk and slightly lean forward as you go down to keep stability to your torso.
If there are no parallel bars around, you can just do dips on the top of straight bars. This is likely to require more strength, and you can also use it on progression if you have plateaued in the parallel bar dips.
Pull Ups
It is no secret that your basic pull-ups are among the finest exercises for the upper-body. However, playgrounds can also provide many ways to develop that basic pull-up with a range of heights, surfaces and grips.
Most playgrounds have at least a single high and low bars to do pull-ups on. Simply perform a pull-up on one of the bars.
Note: If you are unable to do a full pull-up unassisted, try to bring a elastic resistance band with. Tie the band to the bar and let it hang. Put a loop at the bottom of the band and put your foot through it. The band will provide assistance as you perform the pull-up.
Swing Set Knee-Tuck
Suspension training is prevalent these days, and that is for a good reason. Knee-tucks that are performed on suspension trainers need a distinct kind of balance and stability, making them more interesting and challenging than other typical floor workouts used in targeting the abdomen. What a lot of people don’t know is that several of the moves you practice with high-previsioned training straps can be done also on simple swing sets.
To do a knee-tuck on a swing set, put the top of your foot or your toes on the seat of a swing, and have your hands place on the ground fronting you. Then raise your hips and gently pull your knees to your chest, bringing the swing onward with you. Concentrate on keeping your whole body engaged as you gently return to the starting position.
Swing Set Split Squat
This exercise applies the same idea on using a swing instead of a stability trainer to work on your legs and glutes. Start by standing with your back facing the swing and put your foot on the top. Just like the swing set knee-tuck, you can be on the top of your foot or the tips of your toes.
When you have your footing, put your hands on your hips, and lower yourself slowly down in a split squat position, letting your back leg to drift slightly back. Then return to the starting position and repeat the move.
On doing alternating set, remember to switch legs and make sure to evenly hit both sides. And also through the entire range of motion, make sure that your front foot stays completely flat.
