canfitpro Official Magazine | May/June, 2023

FUNCTIONAL OUTDOOR TRAINING

A CONVENIENT AND AFFORDABLE DOUBLE DOSE OF HEALTH

By Kathleen Trotter, MSc., FIS, PTS

TAKE YOUR CLIENTS OUTSIDE FOR A DOUBLE DOSE OF HEALTH. BOTH EXERCISE AND BEING IN NATURE POSITIVELY IMPACT THE BRAIN AND BODY — A ONE-TWO PUNCH.

Canadians are looking for fitness programs that support accessibility

and efficiency, as seen in the canfitpro Fitness Trends Report. The number one trend was Functional Fitness, including bodyweight training. Think multi-joint exercises like squats and lunges that emphasize core and whole-body integration. Body-weight training does not require any equipment, so it is ideal

for outdoor fitness. Nothing to buy, carry, or remember. Plus, training in the fresh air is convenient and fun. Both elements are critical because for any program to be sustainable, it must be realistic and, at a minimum, palatable. The benefits of any program are moot if you cannot make yourself do it.

Functional moves not only increase overall strength and fitness, they also simultaneously prepare the body to perform activities of daily living. By programing movement patterns that are required for daily life, you give your clients the strength and patterning to lift a heavy suitcase and/or do yard work with greater proficiency and ease, and lower risk of injury.

The Outdoor Gym

Amp up the walk. Nothing is more functional than walking. If accompanying your client to the park, do not just saunter — try fartlek intervals. Fartlek is a Swedish term that means “speed play.” It is an unstructured form of interval training. Pick a landmark — like a stop sign or crosswalk. Speed up to get there. Once you hit your landmark, slow down and recover. Repeat until you reach the park, increasing your intensity as you go.

Make the park your gym.

Consider a “fun” warm-up pyramid. Pick two functional exercises based on your client’s fitness level and injury profile. A low-impact version could be walking kneeups and sit-to-stands on a bench. A more intense version could be high knee runs and squats. Start with two of each, then four, then six, then eight, then 10.

After the warm-up, use a park bench to do functional core and strength moves. For example, step-ups, V holds, and/or push-ups.

• Step-ups: Place the entire right foot on the bench. Core engaged. Use the glute muscles of the leg on the bench to bring the left foot up to meet the right. Watch

the hips. Do not let the right hip jut out to the side. Step right leg down. Repeat, then switch sides.

• V holds: Sit bum on the bench, feet on the ground. Chest out. Hinge back slightly. Make sure your client engages their core and hinges from the hips, not through the lower back. Do not let the shoulders round forward. Breathe. For added fun, add a twist side-to-side.

• Push-ups: Hands on the bench. Toes on the ground. Bend the elbows and lower the chest toward the bench. Exhale to push back up. For an extra challenge, after each push-up, try jumping the feet out like a horizontal jumping jack.

Or create a circuit. Program a few functional moves followed by a run around the perimeter of the park or a cardio move like burpees.

If you can find an outdoor playground, try pull-ups and/or an incline plank with forearms on a swing.

Combine hill runs or stairs with strength work.

Mix in stairs or hill running with a functional strength move like squats or hinges. What is more functional than squats and stairs? Everyone needs to go to the bathroom and climb stairs!

Examples:

• Run the stairs five times. Do two squats. Repeat the same number of stairs. Each round, increase the number of squats by two until you get to 12.

• Find a hill. Pyramid the hill and a functional strength move. Run the hill two times. Do two hinge lunges. Each time, increase the number of hill runs by

two and the number of hinge lunges by two until you get to 10 hill runs and 10 hinge lunges.

The hinge lunge integrates two key functional moves: the lunge and the deadlift. Instruct client to start in a lunge. Right leg in front. Feet forward like train tracks. Bend knees: back knee moves towards the floor. Hold. Hinge torso forward like a deadlift. Chest out. Use the right glute and core muscles to bring the torso back to vertical. Straighten legs to stand.

Final Thought

Give homework. Set a daily steps goal, a minimum water and vegetable target, and/or write down a functional outdoor program clients can do on their own. If they have a dog, suggest they do fartlek intervals with the pooch, or at the dog park do functional moves such as squats or lunges while their dog retrieves a ball. Ultimately, we want clients to be independent; give them the tools to make healthier choices throughout their life, not just during sessions.

Kathleen Trotter, MSc, is a fitness expert, life and nutrition coach, media personality, motivational speaker, trainer, writer, and author of Finding Your Fit and Your Fittest Future Self. Kathleen’s mission is to inspire people to adopt a healthier lifestyle (in an intelligent way). Connect via kathleentrotter. com or FitbyKathleenT on all social channels.