Who needs weights when you have a cooler?
While you might be cry-laughing to all the memes of overweight (albeit adorable) dogs regretting they didn’t work for their beach bodies in February and May, the reality is that summer is friggin’ here, even if your Baywatch body isn’t.
It’s not too late to get your burn on and veer away from cultivating a summer dad bod – you’ve got a lifetime ahead of you to grow into the Leo frame— so while you’re chilling on the local beach this weekend or enjoying your vacation on the shores of Puerto Rico, turn to your trusty cooler and get sweating with this beach workout.
Our favorite part: you don’t need dumbbells, squat racks, benches, or a gym shower. Mother nature (and your beach-day accessories) provide everything you need.
Just ask Reebok Trainer and seven-time CrossFit Games Athlete, Spencer Hendel, who designed this beach workout just for dudes like you who want to stay healthy… but also enjoy the summer surf.
Make it a habit that for every beach party or hang you’re invited to, you show up 20-30 minutes before the shindig begins to complete this circuit.
Bring only your beach gear like a chair, cooler, and towel to dry off after a post-workout dive!
Hendel’s workout goes like this:
Do workout 1, 2, and 3 in order. Towards the end of the summer, start bumping up the circuit and complete twice in a row.
WORKOUT 1
Rep scheme: 21-15-9 (i.e. first do 21 reps of each exercise. Rest 30-60 seconds, and complete 15 of each. Rest 30-60 seconds and finish off with 9 reps of each.)
- Cooler Cleans: Adapted from traditional weighted cleans— the first move you learn if you’re training for Olympic weightlifting— start with the cooler on the sand. Squat to grab either side and straighten your legs. Return to a squat to lift the cooler to your chin and stand straight.
- Burpee Cooler Jump Overs: Start facing the cooler on the side it opens toward. Bring your body down to a push-up (chest on the ground!) then power back to standing and jump over the cooler to repeat the move on the second side. Each side is one rep. Remember: form is more important than speed.
WORKOUT 2
Rep scheme: 21-18-15-12-9-6-3
- Air Squat to Beach Chair: Who would have thought a beach chair can also be used as the perfect target to ensure your squat breaks parallel? Stand to face away from your chair and move as if you’re going to sit down for a cold one. Before letting your butt hit the seat, return to standing. Keep your torso upright during this move, and head up.
- Cooler Push-Ups: Torso facing on the sand, position your body so that your cooler is by your feet with your body extended like a plank. Hop those feet onto the cooler and with your hands directly under your shoulders complete a push up (elbows by your sides). Awwyeah.
- Beach Towel Sit-Ups: Nothing fancy about this old dog. Sit on your beach town as if you’re preparing to get some sun, bend your knees, and roll back to the ground, raising your hands above your head. Immediately once your fingers touch the sand, engage your abs and bring your body fully upright, allowing your knees to open slightly. That’s one rep.
WORKOUT 3
- 10-Meter Walking Lunge (aka The Beach Slo-Mo): Using objects you already have with you, measure roughly 10-meters out from your chair and lunge back and forth between the two objects. Like the squats, keep your torso up with each lunge and knee in line with your ankle (don’t bow out or cave in.)
- 100-Meter Sprint to The Water: This is the final hoo-rah! Measure out about 100 meters from the waves and with all your explosive power sprint towards the great blue yonder. Either go balls-to-the-wall and drive right in, or stop just before the surf, turn around, and repeat these sprints until the guys show up with beer.
