An Outdoor Workout on Hampstead Heath Between Studio Sessions
A good Hampstead Heath workout should take about 35 minutes, need nothing but a bench and a gentle slope, and leave you feeling better rather than wrecked. The aim is not to replace your heavier studio sessions. It is to add the things those sessions do less of: brisk walking, single-leg control, a little conditioning and some time outside. A brisk walk to warm up, two rounds of a six-exercise bodyweight circuit, a few relaxed uphill strides and a walk home will do it. Below is the session I give clients who train with me twice a week and want a useful third day of their own.
Why an outdoor day helps your training
Most people who train two or three times a week in a studio are doing the right things there: squatting, hinging, pressing, pulling, with weights that progress. What they often lack is everything around those sessions. They sit most of the day, walk less than they think, and have no movement on the other five days.
A short outdoor session fills that gap. It adds moderate activity towards the 150 minutes a week the UK Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines recommend, keeps your joints moving, and gives you somewhere to practise movements in a lower-stakes way. It also has to be easy enough that it does not leave you sore for your next studio session. That is the main design rule.
The session
Warm-up: walk in (10 minutes)
Walk briskly to your spot. If you can include a gentle climb, such as the approach to Parliament Hill, even better. In the last few minutes, add some arm circles, leg swings holding a tree or bench, and a few slow bodyweight squats.
The circuit (two rounds, about 15 minutes)
Do each exercise for the reps given, moving steadily from one to the next. Rest for two minutes after each round.
| Exercise | Reps | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Step-ups onto a bench | 8 each leg | Single-leg strength and balance |
| Incline push-ups, hands on the bench | 8 to 12 | Pressing without a bar |
| Walking lunges on flat grass | 10 each leg | Hip and knee control |
| Bench hip bridge, shoulders on the bench | 12 | Glutes, without loading the spine |
| Side plank, forearm on the bench | 20 seconds each side | Trunk control |
| Bear crawl on grass | 10 metres forward and back | Shoulders, trunk, coordination |
Check the bench is solid and dry before you step on it. If it moves or is slippery, do split squats on the grass instead.
Strides (about 5 minutes)
Find a gentle grassy slope. Run up it for 15 to 20 seconds at a relaxed, quick pace, about 70% effort, and walk back down. Do four. These are not sprints. They wake up your legs and lungs without leaving you flattened.
Walk home (5 to 10 minutes)
Walk back at an easy pace. That is your cool-down.
Keeping it the right difficulty
The biggest mistake people make with an extra session is turning it into a test. Use this rule: at the end, you should feel you could do a third round. If you could not, cut the reps next time.
A rough guide to adjusting:
- Too easy: add a third round, or slow each lunge and step-up down to three seconds on the way down.
- Too hard: drop to one round, use a lower step, and push up from a higher surface such as a wall.
- Knees complaining on lunges: swap to static split squats, holding the bench for balance.
- Wrists sore on push-ups or bear crawls: make a fist and press through your knuckles, or skip the bear crawl.
Our guide to walking lunges covers the technique if they feel awkward.
When to do it in your week
Place it so it does not interfere with the sessions that matter most:
- Not the day before a heavy leg session. Step-ups and lunges add up.
- Good on a day between two studio sessions, or at the weekend.
- Swap it for a long walk when you are tired, short of sleep or sore. The walk still counts.
In practice, many of my clients train in the studio on, say, Tuesday and Friday mornings, then do this on Sunday. That gives them three structured days and plenty of recovery. If you want to know how much the walking alone gives you, read whether walking is enough exercise on its own.
Being a good Heath user
- Avoid hogging a popular bench at busy times. Move on if someone wants to sit.
- Keep bear crawls and strides well away from paths, dogs and children.
- Stay off muddy or waterlogged grass, both for your footing and for the turf.
- Take everything home with you.
What the studio adds that the Heath cannot
Body weight is a good tool, but it runs out. After a few weeks, most people need more resistance than a bench and their own weight can provide, especially for the legs, back and hips. That is where load matters: a barbell for squats and deadlifts, dumbbells for rows and presses, and cables for the pulling work bodyweight training struggles to cover. Those are the sessions we do together at the studio in Highgate, and the outdoor day supports them. If you would like a plan that ties the two together, 1-1 coaching in Highgate is built around exactly that kind of week.
Before you start
This session is moderate for most healthy adults. Check with your GP first if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, are pregnant, have a current injury, or have not exercised for a long time. Stop if you feel chest pain, dizziness or sharp joint pain.
Questions we get asked
Do I need any equipment?
No. A sturdy bench and a gentle slope are enough. A small towel for wet grass helps.
Can I do this in winter?
Yes, with a longer warm-up, more layers you can take off, and shoes with grip. Skip the strides if the grass is frozen or slick.
Will this be enough on its own?
It is a good habit, but most people need progressive resistance to keep building strength. Prices for coached sessions are on our personal training page.
How often should I do it?
Once or twice a week alongside studio training is plenty.
Book with The Highgate House
Ready to start training properly? Email us at [email protected] with the service and the day that suits you, and we will come back to you with times.
Visit The Highgate House · Private personal training
The Highgate House, Archway Road, Highgate, London N6.
