The Monkey Bars Workout
As a mom, I spend a lot of time at playgrounds. It’s helpful that we live really close to a number of excellent ones-I call our town The Land of One Thousand Parks and I don’t think my count is too far off. Anyway, I think it’s really unfair that kids get to play on all of the fun equipment, but parents are kind of frowned upon from participating other than to catch falling littles. Playgrounds are essentially free gyms (hello American Ninja Warrior training) and as long as you’re not taking kids out or interfering with their fun, playgrounds are a great place to burn some calories while you’re spending time there. Plus we in the Pacific Northwest are just reopening gyms, and you are likely not guaranteed a spot in the limited class sizes available! This is your perfect solution!
I’ve been working on getting the monkey bars down since last summer, and those things are hard! If you haven’t tried it, the first step is just getting used hanging. Then when you’re ready you can try to reach for the next bar. And if you miss, it’s not that far of a fall. Plus your kids will just be excited you’re trying to play with them! This workout is hard enough for me that I’m doing one round right now, and I feel pretty bada$$ about it. I’ll detail it below, but I would encourage you to just chip away at it until you are rocking those monkey bars. We’ll all be ready for Ninja Warrior tryouts by the time they resume.
Other workouts you might like:
The Playground HIIT Fitness Booster
If you want to have maximal workout time with minimal judgement, I have had a lot of success getting to parks at 9 AM. But we will sometimes bring lunch to the park to eat and play, and all of the other kids are at home eating already so more equipment for us! I also think public parks are fair play for ‘kids at heart’ who don’t have kids, so if you want to join the Monkey Bars Workout party, go earlier than 9 AM or better yet, go in the evening! Most kiddos keep to a pretty tight schedule!
Enjoy the burn!!
Related Mom Fitness Articles:
Postpartum Exercise: The first six weeks (with a FREE printable workout)
Postpartum Exercise: Beyond the first six weeks
The Monkey Bars Workout
perform down and back on the bars unless otherwise noted, then repeat sets as many as possible.
Side Swings: This is a good warm up. Reach to the side in comfortable range and swing. Repeat both directions.
Rock Climber Abs: Swing your feet up to the opposite bars. Reach through to the left with your right hand, then cross over at your feet. Reach to unwind yourself then repeat across the bars, both directions.
Pull Ups: Do as many reps as possible, or alternately hang for as long as you can hold on to the bar.
Step ups: Find a platform that is challenging to step up onto. Do as many reps as possible or 1 minute on each leg.
Toes to Bar: Swing those toes up to the bar. The key is to move your head back and forth between your shoulders to help with momentum. Do as many reps as possible. If toes to bar are too much, swing your knees to chest. Try to stay close to the support structure so that the bars don’t flex too much!
Monkey Bars: Finish strong and swing through the bars to end the workout. Go backwards to return to start if you’re super advanced. I’ll keep working on that one!
Hand sanitize, because COVID.
