Spring is the right season to move our workouts outdoors.

Exercising outdoors offers besides the undisputable benefits – of which the importance we have repeatedly stressed – some additional, very important indeed:

 - valuable fresh air

- serenity, relaxation and rest for the eyes and the mind

- the beneficial influence of the sun on our moods

- triggering of precious vitamin D production. Lack of adequate vitamin D can negatively impact us in many ways.

- avoidance of crowded gyms. Ample room to move freely.

 This is a workout I like to perform in the hilly, Thessaloniki surrounding forest of Sheikh Sou (the forest of Sheikh).

WARM UP (5 MINUTES)

Spend 5 minutes to warm up your muscles and joints, elevate your temperature and gradually raise your heart rate.

Warming up is crucial to prepare the body for a strenuous workout.

You can do some jogging, brisk walking, jumping jacks, walking lunges, rope jumping etc.

Raise your heart rate to about 140 bpm.

STRENGTH TRAINING (10 MINUTES)

Here you will need some weights. Since it is mostly impracticable to carry your dumbbells – or whatever else – with you, you will have to use something else: By far your best choice is to use your own body’s weight.

Yes, you can perform a nice and vastly effective total body workout.

I consider this cruel, functional, versatile workout as the best investment for my limited time. It helps me preserve my muscle mass while in synergy with other exercises it allows for the control or even reduction of my body fat percentage.

Actually it’s a circuit of compound, multijoint exercises that involves all important muscle groups.

 You will execute three types of exercises:

LOWER BODY EXERCISES

Emphasis is given on squats and lunges. There are practically limitless versions.

CORE (BACK + ABS) EXERCISES

You will perform exercises as:

 * spiderman lunges

* mountain climbers (many variations) and especially mountain climber twists

* from a push up position: touch your right foot with your left palm in a coordinated movement. Go on.

 In this workout you should avoid static exercises: planks etc.

 End of 1st part

 Chris Strogilis

Civ. Eng. – MBA – DipM

http://totalfitness-christos.blogspot.com