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5 Socially Distant Full Body Workouts You Can Do Outside

Working from home during quarantine means that you’re likely spending a lot of time on the couch—which is comfortable and all, but it definitely isn’t great for your body. In fact, sitting down for extended periods of time without exercise is linked to a number of health concerns. But getting outside and moving around, even for just 45 minutes a day, has a ton of health benefits, including helping to prevent high blood pressure, disordered sleep patterns, diabetes, and depression. 

That being said, we are in a pandemic right now, and getting to the gym is not an option for many people. If you want to stay (or become) active, there are plenty of ways to do so without heading to your local petri dish gym. These five exercises can be done in your backyard, at a local park, or in any other area that allows for safe and adequate social distancing. Designed by Meghan Hayden, an expert personal trainer, the moves are quick and simple—meaning you’ll definitely have time to squeeze them in between your Zoom meetings.

 

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Hayden studied exercise physiology at the University of Miami and is the director of training at GHOST Brooklyn, a luxury fitness space in Williamsburg. Formerly a top personal trainer at both Equinox and Performix House, Hayden is well-versed in various training techniques and loves sharing them. She’s particularly passionate about resistance, mobility, and injury recovery. You can follow along with Hayden’s customized outdoor workout below.

1. TUT Strength

The best way to strength train with no equipment is to utilize the principle of “Time Under Tension”. As you lengthen the amount of time that stress is placed on the muscle, more needs to be recruited to help get the job done. This mimics the amount of muscle needed to be recruited for heavily loaded lifts, therefore creating similar adaptations and results. For this circuit, move at a slow 4-4 second count to really feel the burn. 

Split Squat

Begin in a lunge position and slowly lower yourself into a squat, bringing your knee to the ground each time.

Push-Up

For this classic push-up, assume a plank position, bend your arms, and bring your chest close to the ground. Make sure to keep your back straight.

Lat Lunge Glides

Standing with your legs a bit wider than one shoulder-width apart, alternate bending each individual leg into a lunge. Make sure that your lunges are lateral—keep your body facing forward without twisting it to the side.

Handstands

Kick with your dominant leg and keep your hands straight as they approach the ground. Then, straighten your legs and body upward. Do this for 30 seconds.

2. Power EMOM

If you want to become explosive, you need to train explosively. The recipe is to work at near max intensity for a short duration, followed by a long rest, usually three to five times longer than the exercise bout. EMOM stands for every minute on the minute. Work for only six reps for each move at max intensity, then rest for the remainder of the minute. The faster you go, the more rest you’ll have. Before moving explosively, make sure you start with a solid warm-up that warms up the specific movement patterns and primes you for each exercise. 

Squat Jumps

Jump upwards with legs straightened and land in a squat, bending your knees. Then, use the momentum from the squat to power the following jumps.

Lat Skaters

While maintaining a lateral position with your body facing forward and your legs parallel to each other, alternate jumping onto one leg and crossing the other behind you, bending it when it touches the ground.

Plyo Push-Ups From Bottom

In this push-up variation, begin from the ground. Lift your hands briefly, then quickly plant them firmly into the ground to push yourself up into a regular push-up position.

Alt Beast Kick Through

Beginning on all fours with your knees bent, kick one leg below the other and twist your body to face in the direction the leg is pointing. Your kicked leg will be straight while the other remains bent.

3. Full-Body Dynamic Circuit

If you’re someone who loves adventure, has kids, or likes to break it down to your favorite songs, this circuit is for you. You don’t live like a robot, so your movements shouldn’t mimic one. Have fun with this multidirectional circuit that will test your core and athleticism. If these moves are new to you, work slowly and focus on form, then start to speed it up and test yourself. Do three to four rounds with 45 seconds of rest between exercises, and do each exercise 10 times per round.

Push-Up To Forward Kick Through

Do a traditional push-up; then, when your body rises from the ground, hop into a squatting position, and kick one leg forward while keeping the other straight.

Crab Toe Crunch Under Switch Tap

Assume a crab-walk position on all fours with your stomach facing upward. Raise a foot and reach for it with the opposite hand, then twist your body to face the ground while keeping that foot slightly raised.

Rotating Plyo Lunges

Perform these lunges in quick succession, but rotate your body slightly so that the lunges performed on your right and left leg are done facing different directions. Do ten per leg before advancing to the next move.

Squat Jump To Reverse Lunge

Jump with straightened legs and land in a deep squat. Then, step into a lunge on both your right and left legs, making sure to hit both sides before jumping again.

4. Mobility Circuit

Life is unpredictable. Without thinking, we do so much as humans to hunch over, tighten up, and create muscular imbalances. Mobility is a beautiful tool to check in with our body, assess the range of motion, and open back up.

Flexibility is how far our body can move passively, where mobility is how far our body can move with control. The difference between the range of motion our joints can passively and actively move is an opportunity for injury. 

This full-body mobility circuit is perfect for your morning/bedtime routine, or as a warm-up before a dynamic workout. Do these moves 1one to two times through.

Shin Box With Step

Begin in a kneeling position with your legs about one shoulder-width apart. Swing one leg from the kneel into a lunge before moving it back into its original position; then, alternate legs. Do ten sets of this exercise, ten reps each time.

Forward Long Lunge With Shoulder CARs

Starting on all fours, perform six sets of six reps, each rep beginning by kicking one leg upward and bending it toward your shoulder. When returning it to the ground, move it under your body toward your chest before assuming a forward lunging position.

Scorpion Reach To Glute Stretch

Lying face down, raise one foot straight into the air and bend it before bringing it over to the opposite side of the body. Alternate legs, doing six sets of six reps for each leg.

Half-Kneeling T Spine Rotation

In a kneeling lunge position, hold your arms parallel to each other in front of you and then slowly move one arm to the side, rotating your body laterally as your arms open. Perform ten sets of this rotation, doing ten reps each time.

5. Advanced HIIT

Like efficiency? HIIT, or High-Intensity Interval Training, is an amazing way to burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time. After 45 seconds of heart-pumping work, reset for 15 seconds before the next move. 20 minutes later, you’ll be drenched on the floor. Do 45 seconds on, 15 off, one minute of rest between rounds. Four rounds total.

High Knees To Tuck Jumps

Individually kick your knees up toward your chest, then spring into a tuck jump, bending your knees and bringing them to meet your chest while you jump upward. You’ll do five sets of five reps, each rep containing two tuck jumps.

Push-Up To Beast Plyometric

Begin in a regular push-up, but while rising up from the ground, bend your knees and move your hands inward. You should be using a slight springing motion to move from the ground into the beast position.

Side Plank INT Rotation To Side Crunch

Begin in a plank, then balance on one arm to perform a side plank. Rotate your body and bend one leg upward to meet your raised arm.

Lateral Shuffle

Move one leg toward the other in a quick sideways shuffle, but make sure to keep your body facing forward and your legs parallel.

Image: Julia Ballew / Unsplash

All videos courtesy of Ana Snyder

Meghan Hayden
Meghan Hayden
Meghan is a Division 1 soccer player turned athletic strength and conditioning coach and 1AND1 LIFE expert based in NYC. She is the Director of Training at GHOST in Williamsburg and is passionate about educating and guiding others on optimizing at work and in life. She believes everyone should train to be able to do the things they love for as long as possible. Growing up with parents older than most grandparents, she was constantly reminded from a young age how precious life is and how important it is to live in a body that functions for you and enhances your life rather than hold you back. Specializing in mobility, dynamic movement, and athletic strength and conditioning—Meghan strives to help people reach their goals and strives to educate people at a high level. She prioritizes educating people and providing them with tools to optimize their movement, spatial awareness, and performance.