As a mom, I spend my fair share of time at playgrounds and I love them. A well-built playground means that my kids get to run around and be crazy, and also that I get to play along too! And if you’ve tried any of the regular play structure equipment as an adult you know it’s really hard! Kids make it look so easy, sailing by on the monkey bars and running up slides and stairs a thousand times. It’s a bit disappointing, and a definite lesson in humility, when you first try some playground equipment after 15-20 years of being ‘too old’ for it.

But that doesn’t mean that playgrounds are off limits forever! As long as you’re not shoving kids out of the way to take a turn, I think parks and play structures are an awesome place to get a workout in. A really hard workout. So I made up this HIIT workout based on what we have available at this particular playground, but feel free to adapt it to whatever equipment you have available. This is a challenging workout, so enjoy and be ready to sweat. And pant. I have the best luck going to playgrounds right before dinner time. I give my kids some snacks and set them free-with supervision-and it’s a win-win because we all burn off some energy and build up an appetite. And then we hope that someone planned dinner already.

I hope you enjoy this workout (detailed below), and I’ll work on making a few more variations because there are so many different playground equipment styles out there. Do you have a way you like to use playground equipment to workout? Comment below!

The Playground HIIT Fitness Booster

Do 1 minute of each exercise, repeating for 3-5 rounds

1. Monkey Bar Pull-ups

   If you can do pull-ups, then repeat for the allotted time. If you can do some, but not complete for the entire minute then do what you can and then jump up and lower yourself down in a controlled manner and repeat this until the time ends. If you are able/interested in pull-ups, then you can use another piece of playground equipment to do something along the lines of a reverse push-up (grabbing on to a ladder or stairs handrail).

2. Squat Jump Squat

   Find a platform or step you are confident you can jump up to. Do a full squat, then jump on to the step and do another full squat. Jump down and repeat. To modify, you can do a squat until thighs are parallel to the ground, or you can jump into the air vs. onto a step, or a combination of the above.

3. Parallel Bar Push-ups + Swing Through

   If your playground has parallel bars this is super fun (but only do it if you’re comfortable with this). Get toes and hands comfortably on the bars, do a push ups keeping your torso in a straight line (no sagging at the waist). After you come back to the starting position, hop your feet off the bars and swing forward with enough momentum to allow your feet to return to the bars on the way back. If you don’t have parallel bars, you can do a push-up and then jump feet up to your hands and then back into push-up position.

4. Swingset Pike + Knee Bends

   Hook your feet in to a swing and walk hands forward until you are in a plank position. Bring your feet toward your hands, lifting your hips into a piked position then lower down. Then bring knees to chest and return to plank position. Repeat, alternating each move, until time is up. If there is not a swing, then you can place feet on a park bench and walk hands in and out to alternate between pike and plank position.

5. Parallel Bar Swing

   ‘Swing’ through the parallel bars without putting your feet down. Repeat until time is up. If you do not have parallel bars do tricep dips on a park bench.

6. Repeat the sequence until you feel the burn!

These moves are all very challenging for me, and I will continue to work on my form and repetitions with these exercises. Good luck!

Thumbnail image courtesy of Aaron Burden via Unspash.