For the past few months, your fitness routine has consisted of going for walks on your treadmill, following workouts on your TV or computer screen, or shoveling snow. But with the weather getting warmer, you're more than ready to take your workouts outside. These fun outdoor spring fitness activities you can do in your own backyard will change things up and motivate you to put on your good leggings once again.
If you're the type of person who likes to work out with a group of friends but can't be with them in person, you can do these outdoor spring fitness activities with your BFFs via FaceTime or Zoom. Like you, they can toss on a comfy pair of leggings and sneakers, head out to their own backyard on a sunny day, and set up their phone or laptop on a nearby chair. Your roommates can also join in on the fun, and laugh with you while tossing a frisbee, putting on their very own miniature golf course, or speed-gardening.
Notably, these outdoor spring fitness activities don't require much. You can participate in most with just a yoga mat, a set of free weights, and your shiny attitude. All the details are below, so change up your workouts once and for all.
Your sweet pup is always ready to play, so get them involved in your spring activities ASAP. Grab a frisbee, or a tennis ball, and toss it to them in your backyard. Train them to bring it back to you after they've caught it, and finish with yummy spoonfuls of peanut butter for both you and them.
The items you have laying around your house and garage are perfect for setting up a DIY mini golf course in your backyard. To start, gather up four, medium-sized cups for each hole. The cup will be your ultimate target — the spot where you want to land your ball after making it through a series of mazes.
Once you have these cups, gather up items that could serve as roadblocks, like pool noodles or wooden boxes. Grab anything that could serve as a complex obstacle, too, like a paper towel roll that could be turned into a tunnel, or a cutting board that could be turned into a ramp when propped up on a bowl.
Set up your holes throughout your backyard or rooftop before putting around the course and having a ball.
What would spring be without a little gardening? The season is the time to purchase new plants, and give them a new home. In spirit of the warm weather, and prepping your space for spring as quickly as possible, you and your friends can turn gardening into a fun-filled race.
First, decide on how many plants you want to plant and a list of approved gardening tools. Then, FaceTime your friends and let the race begin. If you can't all hop on FaceTime, since you're busy with work or school, time yourself. Send your final time in the group chat to compare.
When you were a kid, you might have spent spring afternoons playing kickball with your friends during recess. Create teams with your roommates, and bring this classic game back to life. Use cones, cutting boards, or rocks to mark off your bases. Be sure to coordinate a team color to wear, too.
You'll be sweating and smiling in no time, especially if you put on a 2000s-inspired playlist to listen to while walking up to the plate.
If you have a Nintendo Switch Lite that you use to play Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Just Dance, plan to take it outside this spring and play Ring Fit Adventure ($80, Best Buy).
This game uses Nintendo's Ring-Con™ and leg strap to track your movements. Those movements are used to conquer each level of a fantasy-driven adventure, where you're up against a powerful dragon and his loyal minions. Some levels coach you to jog, while others ask you to do some yoga poses. You won't want to put your controller down.
Believe it or not, hula hooping can be a really good workout, since it activates your core. Take a hula hoop to your driveway, rooftop, or backyard, and see how long you can swivel the hoop around your body. You can either count how many times it rotates, or use a stopwatch on your phone.
While you do this, have an upbeat playlist going, or one of your friends on FaceTime, who's trying to reach their own goals. It'll encourage you to keep going and focus on having fun.
Have you seen the videos on TikTok where you can test your knowledge of dances like "Renegade" and "Savage"? If so, waste no time putting on your dancing shoes, and challenging yourself to a virtual dance-off of sorts. You can practice each dance ahead of time if you want your video to be seamless, or see how you do right off the bat.
To start dancing, put on the original sound by @bennettcurran.
Bags of potting soil are heavy, so they can also double as free weights on a spring day. If this is the type of fitness activity you're looking for, bring a bag of soil, sneakers, and yoga mat to your backyard. Lift the soil while doing other exercises like squats, lounges, and hip lifts.
In the spring, your workout buddy can be the sun, and you can give it supportive high-fives by doing a sun salutation. This is a type of yoga flow that features many poses inspired by the sun, including upward facing dog and reverse warrior.
If you aren't sure how to come up with one on your own, there are plenty of videos you can follow on YouTube, including this 30-minute sun salutation by Deliciously Ella, and this amazing flow with meditation by Abiola Akanni.
Meditation, although not as active as other activities, can be a refreshing and calming activity to participate in. During spring, you can tailor it to the season by listening to the birds chirp in your area, and focusing on the sound of the breeze.
If you live in a city where there are more cars than birds, you can opt to meditate outside using an app. Calm, MyLife, or Meditation Nest are all great options, and will allow you to dig deep right in your backyard or in a local park.
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