Stepping on and off the bench is a great way to tone up the hips, bums and thighs.

I’m sure I’ve read that name somewhere before. It could be a moped model, a scooter, or maybe even a small car.

The last time it popped into my head, however, wasn’t to describe a machine; it flashed through just as I arrived home from another evening jog. I’ve been doing a lot of it lately, running around town, a sort of fitness resourcefulness for lack of previously available resources. Although it wasn’t planned, I must admit I haven’t enjoyed my exercise routine this much for a very long time indeed.

I had a very different style of training not long ago, much more specific and very dependent on particular equipment only available in a handful of gyms. When access became difficult, I had to rethink my personal fitness philosophy. ‘Anywhere, any time’ became the new requirement, so I promptly took to the streets.

A jog doesn’t have to be a plain old jog, unless you want it to be of course. Sometimes I just hit the road and run, one foot in front of the other, on and on until the mind is balanced and the body cleansed.

But when I’m looking for a tougher workout, something a little more interesting, there’s a few tricks up the old sleeve available, just like special ingredients in a spice rack. A little sprinkling of this, a pinch of that and you can create a far tastier dish.

There’s a lot to be said for mixing things up. Instead of working the same muscles in the same way all the time, as you would do if you always did the same movements, mixing things up and introducing more movements allows you to target other areas of your body, perhaps problem areas you’d like to improve on.

Psychologically, variety keeps things more interesting, making you less likely to get bored. Let’s have a look at how you can easily use some of the things you will find along your way.

Lamp posts. This might sound a little strange, but lamp posts make excellent markers. You could use any marker, but lamp posts are normally equidistant from each other and plentiful, making them the ideal choice. Set a pattern: slow jog, jog, run, sprint. You could maintain this sequence for an entire stretch of road or promenade using the lamp posts as markers to change speed as you pass them. As you get fitter, you could devise tougher sequences, or even vary them according to the day of the week, organising your entire programme into easy, medium and hard days. A hard day could be jog, sprint, run, sprint, and repeat.

Stairs. Along some promenades you find plenty of staircases leading down to beaches or parks. If you can plan your route to bypass some of these, sprint up and down them when you reach them and carry on immediately afterwards with your run. Be careful on the way down for risk of falling or fumbling, and climb back up as fast as you can. This will drive your intensity up and work those leg muscles and hips.

Playground rubber flooring. If you can pass a playground en-route, you will find your very own free-to-use high-quality gym flooring. The rubber tiles arranged around slides and swings are pretty much the same as you’ll find in weightlifting and crossfit gyms. You can use these shock-absorbant cushioned surfaces to perform impacting body-weight movements like tuck jumps, star jumps or burpees. If you don’t mind getting down and dirty, you could even perform some floor work, like crunches or any other core exercise performed in a lying position.

There’s a few tricks up the old sleeve available, just like special ingredients in a spice rack

Benches. You’ll be surprised how many benches you can find out there when you’re specifically looking out for them. If you can plan your route to take you past a bench even just two or three times, you might like to schedule a little sequence of circuit training exercises on the bench to break up your run. Step-ups to the bench are a great way to ratchet up the intensity. Step on and off the bench alternating feet, go for 15 step-ups on each foot and you can get a great workout for those large muscles of your legs. A great way to tone up the hips, bums and thighs.

If you want to target your arms, try some triceps dips. Position your hands by your hips, sit on the edge of the seat and lower your buttocks down to the ground and back up, using your arms. The further away you keep your feet from the bench, the harder this will be.

Swings. While you’re in the playground, get in the swing of it, literally. Provided they’re not already in use by children for their originally intended purpose, swings provide a rich range of possibilities to the creative and innovative fitness enthusiast. Have you ever heard of the TRX suspension trainer? If not, search for it on You Tube, check out some of the basic exercises and just as I discovered not long ago, see how a simple swing can double as quite a sound suspension trainer substitute.

Used in isolation or mixed together in the same session, these ideas won’t just spice things up but they could very well help you get in seriously good shape. Add in a final sprinkling of enthusiasm and willpower and let the beach beckon you this summer.

matthew.muscat.inglott@mcast.edu.mt.