How to Find the Perfect Training Site
As a parent, I have a mental map of many of the playgrounds in my area. Which ones are closest, which ones are darkest on a sunny day, which ones have the equipment that is best for young children. But it takes time to accumulate such knowledge.
Several readers have written to let me know about an app that speeds up this process: Playground Buddy . You can use it to find playgrounds near you. Some are simply points on a map, while others contain photographs and detailed lists of available equipment. It’s not detailed enough to tell you which ones have good monkey bars , but it does let you know what surface is under the equipment, if there are bathrooms, and other useful information.
Of course, this is not just for training. You can use the app to find play areas for the kids, or best of all, a play area where your kids can play while you exercise. (If you don’t have children and prefer to practice on your own, I would recommend going early in the morning or late at night, or just choosing a play area that doesn’t get in the way and isn’t very popular.)
So what if you still can’t find a playground with the equipment you need? Instead, try these moves, which you can do on a park bench or any other similar high-rise object:
- Bench push-ups , hands on the bench behind your back, feet on the ground.
- Step-up or box jumping for ATV training
- Bulgarian split squats with one leg behind you on the bench. This is a challenging leg exercise that is great for balance.
You can get creative with variations of them. Try doing push-ups on a bench with only one foot on the ground, side lifts, or burpees where the jump part is replaced by a box jump. And let us know in the comments what playground workouts you did this month.