Today’s Gym: Burgess Park, London

Current location: Burgess Park in the Peckham neighborhood of London, UK. Weather: Sunny and 22 degrees, great workout weather!

It’s spring and the sun’s shining bright, clear blue skies and good vibes… time for an outdoors workout!

Exercising outside is awesome. I travel often and found the best solution for finding new gyms in new cities is to just go for a run and find a good park with plenty of trees.

I created this workout today for a good full body pump and to break a big sweat.

The Cycle

1. Tree pullups (max)
2. Pushups (75% max)
3. Run

That’s 1 set.

Load up a good playlist and repeat each set for the duration of one song. So when the next song starts, you find a tree and do pullups, superset with pushups, then run.

Take a walking rest after 4 sets, then hit up another cycle. Do 15 cycles. Haha jk but 2 or 3 should be pretty good if your intensity is high.

Tree Pullups

Find a strong branch and do pullups – the fatter the branch the more challenging. Switch up your grips and choose different types of trees if possible.

Pushups

Do about 75% of your max and stop before total fatigue on your working sets. Then on your last set for each cycle, max out until you collapse in the grass.

Running

Right after pushups, jump up and quick sprint to start your run, then bring it to a good stride pace and switch it up here and there with some sprint bursts. I like to sprint when I come across a hill or an open section.

Cool Down and Grounding

A cool bonus to working out in nature is chilling out in the grass after your workout.

Take your shoes/socks off and get some good stretches in. Do a little yoga if you want. Breathe deeply and enjoy the accomplishment of a good workout.

What is Grounding?

Grounding is basically connecting to the Earth with skin to ground contact. Pretty simple concept but if you live in a city you might go weeks or months without touching the Earth with your bare feet.

It feels good – you know the feeling when you plant your feet in the sand or feel the grass on your soles. It also harmonizes your energy with the Earth and can reduce stress and inflammation, make you smile, and contribute to overall good health.

Grounding is natural. In an increasingly unnatural world, it’s important to remember where we came from and add more natural activities to our lives.

If you want to get more into the science of grounding, this article has a case study and additional resources.

Take a Hike! (or a run)

Give this workout a try, I bet it makes you smile and feel suuuuuuper good… especially during the post-workout buzz while you’re connecting with the Earth and thinking about how happy your body feels in this state.