I love summer! It’s so nice to be able to spend time outside doing the things you love while burning calories at the same time. My only issue is that I don’t want to work out inside because I’d rather be outside! I’ve definitely been finding myself taking my dogs for longer, faster walks in the morning, followed by shorter weight workouts (and sometimes a HIIT cardio workout) instead of spending my time doing a circuit weight routine or a P90X workout. I’ll admit, my walking probably isn’t as affective as the cardio I get from my regular routine but it’s more fun and my dogs love me for it 
There are so many ways to keep fit through fun outdoor activities!! Here are some of my favorites things I’ve come across this summer.
Workout in the Park!
I went to a soccer tournament a few weeks ago with my hubby and my pups that our friend’s two daughters were playing in. I noticed fantastic outdoor exercise equipment in the field. What a great idea! I’ve come across few different plans for these for future parks during my career at my last employer but seeing it in real life was inspirational. It’s so great to see that cities and towns encouraging people to keep fit while having fun outdoors, not to mention for FREE! The picture posted is not of the actual park that I saw but it’s very similar.
There are plenty of ways to get a good workout in a regular park as well. You just need some monkey bars (hanging leg raises, chins ups), a bench (push ups, tricep dips, step ups, one legged lunges, etc) and maybe a skipping rope or a hill to run up for some added cardio. But you may find yourself feeling a little more self conscious if there are people just playing there with their kids
And then of course there are the fantastic outdoor boot camp 
classes hosted at parks throughout the City. I love this idea! Last summer I participated in a lunchtime boot camp class hosted by a wonderful coworker who is also a registered PT and I loved every minute of it. Even though I was still doing my P90X or Insantiy workouts every morning before work I found it hard to stay away from participating in her lunch time class. It really helped break up the day and keep my energy going in the afternoon. So if you’re lucky enough that a lunch time outdoor boot camp is offered at your work, you should definitely take advantage.
Hit the Greens!
This summer my latest obsession is playing golf. I’m not very good (not at all!) but I have so much fun playing and it’s a great way to spend a few hours outdoors during a beautiful summer day. Though I admit my husband and I like to rent a cart most games, if you are motivated enough to walk a course it’s a great workout! Or hit the driving range if you want to get your heart rate going. Hitting ball after ball is a good workout for your upper body, core and heart! After my first few rounds of golf this season I was so surprised at how sore my arms and entire mid section was (especially my obliques!). I love that feeling!
So many people think golf is a lazy persons sport but it’s really not! 18 holes takes over 4 hours on most courses and if you’re walking it that’s a lot of moving around! Just try not to down too many beers during your round
And though this isn’t an outdoor activity – if you’re a lover of golf but not a lover of this crazy hot weather we’re having, here in the GTA – yesterday my husband and I decided to stop into a Golfzon Park “Golf & Lounge.” We’ve noticed a few of these popping up throughout the City. Have you seen any of these? There is one just up the street from my place (just North of Yonge and 16th). Well when my husband stopped the car I rolled my eyes at first but I am glad we decided to check it out! It’s a really cool place to hang out, having a few drinks, some pub-type food and golfing! But I’ll blog about that another time once I’ve experienced it for myself. It looked like a fun place from our tour though!
Biking!
My husband and I started biking regularly last summer. We do two different types of bike rides – one for the dogs
and one for us. We try to take the dogs out running with our bikes at least 1-2 times a week and then once in a while we’ll leave the dogs at home and go for a longer ride ourselves as the pups can’t handle anything too fast or too long and we don’t get much exercise biking at their pace.
We’re always looking for new trails to try out in the GTA – so feel free to message me with recommendations! Last weekend we went to the Tom Taylor Trail in Newmarket and it was fantastic. This trail is fairly long, it runs from just South of Mulock all the way past Green Lane (almost to Mt. Albert!). Since we were with the dogs we were only able to explore a small portion of it (we biked approx. 7kms in total). Curious as to how we manage to bike with our dogs (especially since one is a beagle)? Check out this springer bike leash – one of our best purchases for the dogs! Our dogs are really great with it and if they do see something and decide to lunge away from the bike, the spring and bungee cord that we use with it takes most of the force and doesn’t have much impact on my bike.
If you live close enough to your work, why not bike there? I walked or biked to work for one summer when my husband was working in the opposite direction (we share a car). It was a great way to start the day. The only thing I don’t like about biking to work is that it either cut my morning workouts short, or I had to get up earlier than 6AM to get in a good strength workout, bike to work and shower before I start my day. My husband has been talking about biking to work this summer but I’ve yet to see it happen. I think he may be waiting to purchase an electric conversion kit for his bike first :)
So what are your favourite outdoor calorie burning summer activities?
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