West Park running circuit
From the moment the gates open first thing in the morning, to late in the evening when the park closes, you can always see someone running or walking the one mile lap of West Park.
Running is a great way to exercise: it increases endurance and stamina, builds strong bones, and helps to maintain a healthy weight. Regular running is also the best form of cardiovascular training and the best way to burn calories. Someone who is 10 stone can expect to burn roughly 300 calories in 30 minutes of running.
However, there is one downfall to running: it doesn't tone muscle mass. No matter what you do in life, everyone should have some muscular strength, enough to make life a little easier. And to do that you don't need a gym and lots of equipment. All you need to live a healthy fit lifestyle is your own body and some basic knowledge of bodyweight exercises. There are countless bodyweight exercises for every body part. If you stick to working with bodyweight exercises you will develop the ideal body shape and tone for your figure (assuming you eat correctly).
Mixing cardiovascular training with bodyweight resistance will keep you fit indefinitely. Here is a workout for West Park that is simple, yet effectively works out the entire body. While running or walking around the one mile circuit there are three check points, at each check point is a different bodyweight routine.
Check point one - gate entrance from Southgate
15 incline push ups (this works the chest muscles, the muscles on the fronts of your shoulders, and your biceps).
20 kick outs (this works your abdominals, lower back, and your quads).
Repeat this two or three times with 30 seconds rest in-between sets.
Check point two - Gate entrance from Kingsland Road
Walking lunges - starting at the gate entrance, aim to do lunge all the way up to the bridge crossing the lake (lunges work your quads, hamstrings, calves, and glutes).
Do this once or twice with a minutes rest in-between.
Check point three - the bandstand
15 bench dips
20 thrusters
Repeat this two or three times, with 30 seconds rest inbetween sets.
You can make this workout a one lap circuit, or you can add as many laps as you like. The same goes for the repetitions of the exercises, increase them or decrease them to suit your needs.
Remember that this can be done anywhere at any time. Set out a route, put in some check points for bodyweight exercises and you have a running circuit, or if you don't enjoy running but love cycling, cycle instead. I sometimes go swimming and after a certain amount of lengths in the pool, I would climb out and so a simple bodyweight routine. The possibilities are endless!
Everywhere is your gym
