Outdoor Fitness Games

My name is Anthony Mayatt and I am a personal trainer with over 19 years experience in the health and fitness industry based in London, England and owner of Breathe Fitness. I run outdoor bootcamps that are games themed so adults get to feel like a kid again and play games from their youth plus workout hard and sweat at the same time. Each class has a huge amount of enjoyment and clients always come back for more.

Bootcamp Games

CONE TURN

Equipment – 30-50 cones

2 teams of equal numbers
Spread over the exercise area have half the cones turned upside down and the others the right way up.
One team has to try and turn all upside down cones the right way up and the other vice versa.
The game is fun and brings out a little competitiveness as the losing team normally has a small forfeit exercise. The game is continuous so its generally about which team can be quickest.
The game is suitable to all ages and fitness levels but best avoided for people with lower back issues as there is lots of bending down whilst running.

HEAD, SHOULDERS, KNEES, TOES AND CONE

Equipment – 1 cone per pair

Video link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwUsWTE3KXQ&t=5s

– Get into pairs, place a cone on the ground and each person takes 1 big step backwards facing the cone.

Based on the kids game head, shoulders, knees and toes this adds a really fun and different element to fitness games.
Great to stimulate the brain and good for all ages and fitness levels.
All participants run on the spot and at random points a “coach” will shout commands of head, shoulders, knees or toes at which point they need to touch them but continue running. As soon as the commend CONE is yelled, the pair have to try and grab the cone. First to grab it is the winner and gets a point. The game is repeated for a set number of rounds.
This is by far one of the most popular games to play as its simple, keeps you moving and works your brain so improve reaction time, agility and movement.

CARD GAME

Equipment – Large pack of playing cards

By far the most popular game as it’s different every time you play it and the one thats always most requested.
Choose 10-15 exercises and write them on every card in the deck repeating a few times. Shuffle the pack and randomly choose cards that people have to complete. Each time a joker is picked you can have fun choosing either a forfeit exercise or nominate someone else to do an exercise.
This is a great game for health, strength, flexibility due to the variety each time you play and the fact you can choose exercises to match a person(s) goals.
If you pick a face card (Jack, Queen, King) then you perform more repetitions.
You can do this game for a set time or randomly select a number of cards from the deck and stop once they are completed.

STEAL

Equipment – 30-50 cones

Video link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4mg_–t8Oo&t=1s

Place all the cones in an area together then evening spread the participants around it evenly at an equal distance.
The game last for 1 minute and the goal is to be the person who has collected the most cones by the end, but there is a twist.
Each person can only collect 1 cone at a time BUT they can either go to the middle to collect one from the pile or go to another participant and steal one from their area.
Without a doubt this is the game that gets the most laughter and gets the heart rate up quickest Normally I give an incentive to the person who ends with the most as it makes everyone work that little bit harder.
Great for all fitness levels and good for mental health. You are doing a high intense exercise without thinking you are doing so.

These games literally only require a set of cones or pack of cards and you get as good a workout as any but have a ton of fun at the same time with a group of people. As adults we tend to focus on the gym, or a run, something that feels like exercise. Taking you back to games like a kid is stress free, fun and hard work all at the same time.

Anthony runs bootcamps from the rooftop at Decathlon Canada Water in London. If you would like to find out more and maybe even join one then further information can be found on the Bootcamp in Canada Water page.