One of the misconceptions about workouts is that they have to happen at the gym or at home. I sometimes wonder why that is. I’ve often blogged about workouts at other places such as a hotel room. So why not extend that a bit further? If I can workout in a hotel room, can’t I also work out at the park? How about at the beach?
It’s All The Same
All of these places are excellent for working out. They keep us interested and motivated. Even better, many of them come equipped with exercise machines. For example, the local park around my work has an exercise track with 12 exercise stations set up along it. You can run or walk from station to station and simply follow the directions at each station that will explain what you need to do.
Bring Equipment
How often have you seen people go to the beach and bring a whole car load of “stuff”? It can be anything from towels to beach balls. Well, why not include a few small weights, a resistance band and maybe a jump rope. It’s not that much compared to that hibachi grill you’re lugging around.
Change It Up
Change is one of the key ingredients for a healthy life. You don’t want your body to get used to a routine, even if that routine does have some exercise in it. That’s why it’s great to change things up every once in a while. Do a calisthenics workout at the beach, do the track workout at the park. Whatever it is, take a break from your normal routine and challenge your body in a different way.
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This weekend I’m planning to go hiking. If you happen to be in the same park and see me doing some pushups in the middle of the trail, now you know why. 
The flourishing concept I see among fitness trainers in my area is the Beach Workout. Those in my region are fortunate because we live near the water. The typical beach workout I see take place is one which may include the trainer leading people on short runs, mixed in with some lunges, pushups, squats, crunches, and sometimes even swimming in the ocean. These workouts can be very productive and challenging when pushed. However, the best element which could be used in a beach workout is almost never used by the trainers who I see do this. That’s too bad because it’s my favorite component of a beach workout.
In fact, this one element alone can account for an entire cardio-intensive, whole-body workout; the sum of agility training, balance, strength, stability, cardio, lower and upper body strength conditioning all at once — done spontaneously and in a natural setting. The workout in question? Climbing the jetty; that rocky structure jetting out into the ocean from the sand, built to control both tide and erosion. The jetty is a perfect apparatus. The act of randomly climbing a variety of patterns on an ocean jetty for a determined amount of time can provide all the elements previously mentioned, will definitely include some spontaneity, take place in a natural setting, and nobody gets wet – hopefully, unless they choose to.
Make it a timed workout – whatever duration you are comfortable with; 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, 10, whatever suits your fitness level — decide that for yourself. Simply find a jetty and climb. Up, down, over, across, transverse, and back again and again in whatever patterns you choose at the moment. Break it up by running a few sprints on the beach — we all know the value and the affect of running in sand.
Try climbing with no hands – let your goal be to move up and down the jetty X amount of times, without touching your hands to a single rock. That can help develop good lower body strength, balance, and coordination. Then, go quadrupedal and climb bent over for a period of time — both up and down the jetty face, bearing as much weight on your hands (and upper body) as possible.
Climb backwards, sideways, and front-ways, and back again. Jump from low rocks to higher rocks on an ascent to the top, and back down again. Jump latterly from rock to rock. Lunge from rock to rock. Stop and do some free squats along the way. Add in some push-ups against rocks. Let your knowledge and your improvisation skills combine to create fitness jazz – beach style. When you’re all done, you can even jump in the water and swim to cool off, or swim for more body work.
It should go without saying that there is an element of risk here. This is not something to attempt unless you possess a reasonable fitness level, and are instinctively confident prior to all actions. A jetty is a profoundly uneven surface, can be slippery, sandy, and if you’re not paying attention, waves can catch you from behind and pull you into the sea in an instant when your back is turned — and then you have to thank the two older women who rescued you and offered to take you to the emergency room to have your bleeding forehead examined. Okay, that was me, probably won’t happen to you. Be careful. Proceed with caution. Do this with a partner, or at least let someone know where you are going and when to expect you back.
The beach remains as one of the prime locations for performing numerous activities. I would agree that it is a possible haven for fitness, and add that it has the moving water as a backdrop, and passing beach-goers can add to the workout environment.