Statistics show that almost 50 million Americans own gym memberships, (close to 20 % of us), and that the vast majority of training these days occurs within the walls of one of over 30,000 fitness facilities. While it’s great that people are at least trying to take an interest in their health and make an effort to improve it (stats also show that most people don’t actually use those gym memberships), what is the obsession with needing to be inside a gym to train? When we were younger, the kids who were in the best shape were the ones who spent most of their time outdoors playing sports. Staying active and doing things like running, jumping and wrestling all day kept our bodies lean and muscular. What happened to those good old days? It seems like most people dread going to the gym and breathing in stale, smelly air while lifting weights on colored benches, having to deal with a bunch of stupid people who are just as unenthusiastic about being there as they are. It seems like for most people, training--or at the least doing what it takes to be in shape--has lost the fun that it had when we were kids. If this hits home for you, there is definitely a solution: find exercises that get you out of that ugly gym and get yourself some manly toys to play with that simulate things that manly men do. Here are five activities that you can do outside the gym that’ll make you feel like a schoolboy on the inside again, but will make you look and feel like a real man on the outside.
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It’s quite possible that you have some of these things lying around in your tool shed or garage, but if not, it doesn’t hurt to invest in some. You can find all of these items easily enough around town, whether you go to a used sporting good store, your local hardware store or you can even be creative and find your own substitutes. You can also find them really easily online if you don’t mind the price. I’m talking about finding some toys that real men play with:
- A thick rope or some really big boulders
- A big ass tire
- A sledgehammer or an axe (with some cords of wood)
- Some sort of sled to drag heavy things on
- A jump rope
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Climbing
Get yourself a thick rope like the ones they used to make us climb in gym class, or take up rock climbing as a hobby. Regardless of whether you go with the rope or the rocks, climbing is a great activity that will take the place of your pulling exercises like pull-ups, and help to strengthen your grip and your core. If you have a tall tree in your backyard, or a really well supported balcony that you can hang the rope from, you can set it up fairly easily and climb it whenever you want. Try to progress to climbing without using your feet for help. If you go with the rock climbing, I suggest you find a rock climbing gym, or visit your local outdoor sports store and get some climbing shoes, chalk and a local "bouldering" guide book.
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Tire Flipping/Tossing
This one could potentially be a little pricey, but find some tires to throw around or flip. You can go for huge monster truck tires, or normal sized tires, whatever you think you can handle. Flipping huge tires is like squatting, dead-lifting and pressing exercises at the same time, and it’s pretty much impossible to “break” the tire. Strength athletes and football/track guys have been using this method for a long time to build up strength and conditioning, and it’s a hell of a lot more fun than using a barbell in a stuffy gym.
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Wood Chopping/Sledge Hammering
Using a sledgehammer or axe is a great way to not only work grip, shoulder and core muscles, but it also provides a hell of a cardio workout as well. I’m not encouraging you to take the hammer and go to town on your concrete driveway (unless you want to make some renovations), but finding some cheap scraps at the dump or hardware store shouldn’t be that hard. You can also hammer the crap out of those tires you bought. Chopping wood gives a similar workout, but usually at a different angle. An added benefit if you have a fireplace could be to talk your wife/girlfriend into giving you a massage in front of a fire that you built with wood that you chopped yourself, which should be fairly easy since I can almost guarantee that your oozing wood-chopping machismo will get her juices flowing.
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Sled Dragging/Pushing
Get yourself a sled that you can drag heavy crap on. You can have your own sled made for home weights if you have them, or just create a makeshift one with some sort of rope leash and something that’ll slide on grass or dirt. Pile a bunch of heavy stuff on it (or your wife/girlfriend), and drag it around like a sled dog instead of doing your sprints. If you’re man enough (or crazy/stupid enough) you can even try putting your car in neutral and pushing it around an empty parking lot Strongman Competition style. Note: I did say “empty parking lot,” so don’t try this while your wife is picking up diapers at Walmart on a Sunday afternoon. Or if you are really a glutton for punishment, you could also invest in a Prowler, which will kick your ass or your money back.
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Jumping Rope
I’m talking about Rocky style boxing jump rope, not skipping down the street like a 5-year-old girl or doing Double Dutch. Jumping rope is a great way to build up your calves/core, increase your explosiveness/burst, and it’s an amazing cardio workout if you use a fast pace. You can use this in your gym between sets to ramp up the intensity, or you can go straight to your driveway after climbing out of bed in the morning and throw in a few sets to get your cardio for the day.
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There are plenty of similar activities you can find using things like sandbags, medicine balls, or even over commercialized kettebells and bosu balls, just don’t be afraid to get creative and find some manly stuff to do outside the gym to get in shape while having some good clean (or dirty) fun.
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David Spitz – David is the founder of California Strength Academy in San Ramon. This former high school football player was also a USA Junior National Team thrower in track and field. He is currently working towards his CSCS certification. Clients he has recently trained include Chris Cooper (just resigned with the Oakland Raiders), TJ Ward (second round 2009 / 2010 NFL Draft pick) and Cameron Colvin (former Oregon Ducks and San Francisco 49ers player).