It’s a classic summertime lunch break dilemma: you want to eat and do a quick workout, but you also want get outside. The answer? Eating your lunch on a park bench … and then turning that bench into a mini gym.
Perform this three-exercise workout like a circuit, one exercise after the other, with little to no rest in between. Once completed, take a one-minute break and then perform again. Repeat four to eight times.
Step-Ups
Target: This exercise is great if you’re training for a hike. It trains the muscles of the lower body, with emphasis on the glutes and your balance.
- Stand facing the park bench.
- Step on the bench with your left foot. Step and drive the right knee up toward the chest and place the right foot next to the left so you are standing on the bench.
- Step down with the right leg and then the left, returning to the starting position.
- When you complete one set of 15 reps, repeat, starting by stepping on the bench with your right leg.
Single-Leg Bridges
Target: A bridge is a trainer’s number-one favorite move to train the glutes.
- Using a yoga mat, lie down with your feet flat on the ground and pointed toward the park bench and your knees bent at 90 degrees. Place the bottom of your right foot on the edge of the bench and extend your left leg up into the air.
- With your arms by your sides, lift your bum as high as you can into a bridge.
- Slowly lower, but don’t allow your bum to completely touch the ground.
- Complete 15 reps and then switch legs for another set.
Bench lunges
Target: Bench lunges are perfect for improving balance and muscle strength.
- Stand with your back to a bench, roughly 1 meter (3 feet) in front of it.
- Place your right foot on the bench, laces down, so the bottom of your foot faces the sky.
- While maintaining a tall upper body and leaning backward slightly, lightly push your hips forward while you relax your right knee and allow it to sink toward the ground until you feel a stretch in your quads.
- After a brief pause, stand up and resume starting position. Complete 15 reps and then repeat the set, placing your left foot on the bench and using your right leg to lunge.