Your Red-Hot Summer Of Fitness

Beach season is here. But rather than take your foot off the gas, elevate your conditioning to the next level with our pick of outdoor workouts. Whatever your preferred training method, we’ve got you covered

- Emily Abbate

1 MINUTE

Drop and Give Us 20 (or More)

- Push-ups are a quick, efficient way to target the pecs, deltoids and triceps – and you won’t look silly on your lawn. See how many you can crank out in 60 seconds. Lead with your chest rather than your hips or your neck, suggests Zack Daley, training manager at Tone House gym. You’re working quickly, so get the most out of your minute with good form: avoid tilting your head up and keep your neck aligned with your spine. Work on grass if you can, too; it’ll be softer on your hands than concrete.

Try the Tree Sit

- Yes, like the wall kind. Make sure your back is flush to the trunk of a tree, sit until your thighs are parallel to the ground, and stay there for 60 seconds of hamstring and quad hell. Watch your form, says trainer Ben Sweeney, a trainer at Brick gym. Press through your heels and squeeze your glutes so you don’t let your knees cave in.

Hit the Bench

- Find yourself a beachside bench, but don’t take a seat. Instead, get ready for a box jump with a twist from Kenny Santucci, coach and general manager at Solace gym. Rather than jump forward onto the bench, try the lateral version: line up with your right side near the bench, then jump up and onto it. Land softly, then jump off it on the other side. Repeat for 60 seconds. If the bench has a back, do this facing one way for 30 seconds, then face the other way for 30 seconds.

Sprint in the Sand

- Running on sand can expend 1.6 times as much energy as on a hard surface. Translation: sick kilojoule- and quad-burning!

Take off your sneakers and set them about 20 metres apart. Run from one sneaker to the next for a minute; see how many runs you can finish before time is up.

Do Tree Chin-ups