Create Your Own Outdoor Workout + Nike Epic React

Keep this Create Your Own Outdoor Workout on hand for the days when the weather is absolutely perfect and you’re itching to take your workout outside! Thank you so much to Nike for sponsoring this post and for the awesome new Nike Epic React sneakers!

Last week we had TWO days in a row in Charlotte where the temperatures eclipsed 70 degrees. In February! I think the entire city was doing a happy dance and spent as much time outside as humanly possible on Thursday and Friday. (Let’s not talk about the fact that it was back in the 40s and rainy on Saturday, mmmkay?)

There’s something about warmer weather that makes it feel so much easier for me to be active. I love being outside and when I can enjoy some of my favorite outdoor activities like hiking, swimming in the lake, running and long walks around our neighborhood without freezing to death, I’m all about it! Last week’s spring preview got me thinking about exercising outside again and since running long distances and pregnancy do not go hand-in-hand for this girl, I am planning to get a little creative this spring when it comes to taking my workouts outside.

And if this little lady can be included in the fun, that’s all the better!

I’m excited to be partnering with Nike again this month to bring today’s Create Your Own Outdoor Workout your way! Nike sent me the Epic React sneakers to test out before they launched (they’ll be available this Thursday, February 22 – more on that later!) and I thought they’d be a perfect fit for this workout.

It’s the kind of workout to keep on hand for the days when you HAVE to get outside because it’s just too beautiful to stay cooped up inside and the sunshine and blue skies are calling your name. Bonus: It doesn’t require anything other than a pair of sneakers and your bodyweight! I tried my best to make this workout the kind of workout that will keep boredom at bay, so it’s a workout that will keep you on your toes… but in a FUN way.

Create Your Own Outdoor Workout

To complete the workout, you’ll walk or run outside for five minutes before stopping to choose an exercise from the master list of bodyweight exercises to complete for one minute. Once you’re done, it’s time to walk or run again for another five minutes before pausing to complete a different exercise from the master list of exercises. Repeat this pattern until you’ve made your way through every exercise on the master list! (If you are unfamiliar with any of the exercises listed in this workout, please scroll to the bottom of this post for detailed exercise descriptions.)

Here’s the best part about this workout: You can play around with it a LOT. Don’t have much time? Cut the running or walking down to two minutes instead of five and only complete half of the bodyweight exercises from the master list. Not in the mood to walk or run at all? Complete three rounds of the bodyweight exercises for a quick 18-minute total body workout you can do anywhere!

Also, if you don’t have a fitness watch, there are a ton of interval timer apps you can download that you can set up to keep track of the intervals in this workout for you. If that feels like too much work to set up or a bit of a pain, don’t sweat it and simply run or walk for the duration of one of the awesome songs you’re jamming out to before completing one of the bodyweight exercises.

Nike Epic React

Now let’s talk about the sneakers you may have noticed in the above pics!

When Nike reached out to me about their new Epic React sneakers, I was so incredibly psyched because this shoe is their “biggest performance innovation” since the Flyknit and it’s no secret that I am basically the Flyknit’s number one fan.

The Epic React is springy and lightweight and felt comfortable on my foot the instant I put it on. I’m not sure if that has ever happened to me – it usually takes me at least a week or two to break a new pair of sneakers in before they feel decent on my feet – but the Epic React felt comfortable the minute I pulled them on. They’re flyknit, so the shoe hugs my foot in the way that I love. They feel supportive enough to wear during workouts where I’m jumping around but the cushioned foam technology makes them ideal for walking or running intervals as well.

They have a bouncy feel and I mean that in a good way! It’s almost like they come with built-in energy that adds a spring to your step which I suppose makes sense since they spent three years developing a new foam sole for softer, springier, lighter and more durable cushioning. It shows!

And then, on the surface level, the shoes are beautiful and I had two people stop me at my gym on Friday to compliment them during my workout. I have the navy Epic React but they are also available in white. (FYI, I typically order my Nike sneakers in a half size bigger than my normal street shoe size and the Epic React sizing appears to be similar to my other Nikes.) The shoes officially launch February 22 and will be available for purchase THIS Thursday! Keep your eyes peeled!

Create Your Own Outdoor Workout Exercise Descriptions

LOWER BODY

Squat Jumps: Begin with your feet shoulder-width apart, arms hanging at your sides. Squat down until your knees are bent about 90 degrees and immediately swing your arms up overhead while simultaneously engaging your core and jumping as high as you can. When you land, take care to gently bend your knees and lower your body into the squat position.

Alternating Curtsy Lunges: Stand with your hands on your hips or clasped in front of you and step your left leg behind you and to the right so your leg is crossed behind your body. Bend both knees as if you were curtsying and slowly lower your body before returning to your starting position and completing the same movement with your right leg stepping behind you.

UPPER BODY

Pulsing Triceps Dips: Begin with your hands shoulder-width apart on the floor and your knees bent in front of you with your weight in your heels. Push up as though you are going to straighten your arms and bring your bottom off the ground. (Do not fully extend  your arms… Keep a little bend in the elbow to keep pressure off your joints!) Slowly bend your elbows to lower your body back toward the floor but right before your bottom hits the floor, repeat the extension/lowering motion in tiny little pulses.

Staggered Pushups: Begin in a regular push-up position, but stagger your hands, so one is forward in front of your shoulder and the other is in the usual position. Complete one pushup. Switch arms so the opposite arm is forward in front of your shoulder and the other arm returns to the usual pushup position. Complete another pushup.

CORE

Plank Walk Outs: Begin standing with your feet shoulder-width apart. Keeping your legs straight, bend over toward the floor and place your hands on the ground. Walk your hands forward slowly until your body is in a high plank position. Keeping your hands on the floor, walk your hands back toward your body and stand up. Repeat.

Shoulder Taps: Begin in a high plank position with your wrists under your shoulders and feet hip-width apart. Touch your left shoulder with your right hand and return to high plank position. Touch your right shoulder with your left hand and return to high plank position.

Question of the Day

What is your favorite way to stay active outside?