One Fence, Five Ways

If you’ve been following my blog here for a while (well, the 10 weeks that it’s been going anyway), no doubt you’ll be aware that many of my workouts are designed to be undertaken outside in the fresh air. As an outdoor trainer, it’s possible that I’m a little biased, but I do think there’s something special about training amongst nature, with the smell of freshly cut grass, rain and the occasional dog poo.

Now the chances are that right now you probably don’t look at a park and see a fully equipped gym. I plan to change that though, with a new series I’m calling ‘One Object, Five Ways’, where I’ll take an ordinary piece of equipment/random object and show you five different ways to use it. For my inaugural post I’ve chosen this humble low-lying fence that serves as a barrier between the grass and roads around Centennial Park. No doubt you’ll find something similar in most parks around the traps.

I hope you never look at a park the same way again…

The Fence

Incline push-ups
A great step between knee push-ups and toe push-ups. Keep your belly button tucked in and don’t let your hips drop. Elbows should bend backwards rather than out to the side chicken-wing style.

Tricep dips
Great tricep isolation exercise. Keep your butt tucked nice and close to the fence and your elbows bending backwards. Move your feet in or out to adjust intensity.

Fast feet
Great cardio exercise. Tap your toes against the fence each time.

Tuck jump
Awesome plyometric movement. Keep your chest up, shoulders back and tuck your knees up high in front of you with each jump.

Sideways agility hops
Good cardio and agility movement, mixing things up by moving your body across a different plane. Keep your arms and hips steady – all movement should come from below hips. Land on your toes and bounce back across.

There you have it, one low-lying fence, five ways. There are plenty of other exercises you could do too – let me know what else you come up with and have a great week!