A 30-Minute Outdoor Workout for Highgate Wood and Waterlow Park

You don't need a gym to get a proper session in. If you live in N6, an outdoor workout in Highgate, in Highgate Wood or Waterlow Park, can work your whole body in 30 minutes with nothing but your own body weight and a bit of space.

I'm Artem, a Level 2 and Level 3 qualified personal trainer with more than 10 years of 1-to-1 coaching, based one stop down the Northern line in Archway. This is the kind of session I give clients for days they can't make it into the studio. Save it on your phone and take it with you.

Before you start your outdoor workout in Highgate

• Pick your spot. Highgate Wood, managed by the City of London, has plenty of shade. Waterlow Park, beside Lauderdale House on Highgate Hill, is handy if you live nearer the Village. Find a flat patch of grass or path out of everyone's way.
• Check the park is open. Parks have their own gate times, so check before you go, especially early in the morning or in winter.
• Bring a small mat or towel for the floor exercises, and water.
• Be considerate. Share the space with walkers, dog owners and families, and don't block paths.

Use a timer on your phone. Every block below is timed, so you don't need to count reps.

The 30-minute session

Warm-up (5 minutes)

Walk briskly into the park, then do one minute each of: arm circles, leg swings, bodyweight squats at an easy pace, walking lunges and a gentle jog on the spot. You should feel warm and slightly out of breath.

Block 1: lower body (8 minutes)

Work for 40 seconds, rest for 20 seconds. Go round the four exercises twice.

1. Squats. Feet shoulder-width apart, sit back and down, chest up, stand tall.
2. Reverse lunges. Step back, lower the back knee towards the ground, push through the front heel to return. Alternate legs.
3. Glute bridges. On your mat, feet flat, squeeze your glutes to lift your hips. Pause at the top.
4. Squat pulses or jump squats. Pulses if you want to stay low impact, jumps if your joints are happy.

Block 2: upper body and core (8 minutes)

Same format: 40 seconds on, 20 seconds off, two rounds.

1. Push-ups. On your knees, on the floor, or with your hands on a sturdy raised surface if you find one, to make them easier.
2. Plank shoulder taps. Hold a high plank and tap each shoulder in turn without letting your hips rock.
3. Dead bugs. Lying on your back, lower opposite arm and leg slowly while keeping your lower back down.
4. Bear crawl. Hands and toes on the ground, knees just off it, crawl forwards and back a few steps.

If you want more ideas for this part, my guide to core strength exercises has plenty of progressions.

Finisher (4 minutes)

Alternate 20 seconds of fast effort with 10 seconds of rest, eight times. Choose one: high knees, skaters, or short shuttle runs on the grass. Keep it hard but controlled.

Cool-down (5 minutes)

Walk slowly for a couple of minutes, then stretch your hips, hamstrings, quads, chest and calves. Breathe out slowly and let your heart rate come down.

Make it easier or harder

Easier

• Change the timing to 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off.
• Do one round of each block instead of two.
• Swap jump squats for normal squats and the finisher for brisk walking.

Harder

• Add a third round to each block.
• Slow the lowering phase of squats, lunges and push-ups to three seconds.
• Walk or jog part of the way up Highgate Hill before you start, for a tougher warm-up.

When you have nowhere to go at all, the same structure works in your living room. I have a full version in my home workout with no equipment.

Where an outdoor workout in Highgate runs out of road

Bodyweight training is brilliant for consistency and fitness. The limit is progression. After a while, squats and push-ups stop being enough of a challenge for your muscles to keep adapting, and you need to add load in a controlled way.

That is where structured strength training comes in. Most of my clients are busy professionals over 30, and on a 12-week programme combining strength training, nutrition and weekly check-ins, typical InBody results are losing 6-10kg and gaining 1.2-3kg of lean muscle. The outdoor session then becomes a useful extra day, not the whole plan.

There are good personal trainers in Highgate who train clients outdoors. My approach is different: private 1-to-1 sessions in my studio, which is about 2 minutes' walk from Archway station, with early-morning slots before work. If you want a personal trainer in Highgate to build your training properly, take a look at my personal training prices. SYP Hybrid is £200 a month and includes an InBody scan every 4 weeks.

Frequently asked questions

How often can I do an outdoor workout in Highgate?

Two or three times a week, with a rest day in between, is about right. On the other days, walk and recover.

Is 30 minutes enough to get fitter?

Yes, if you do it consistently and push yourself during the work periods. Thirty focused minutes beats an hour of half-hearted effort.

What if it rains?

Do the same session indoors. Every exercise works in a small space at home, and the finisher can be done on the spot. If you would rather train outdoors anyway, the tree cover in Highgate Wood helps a little in light rain.

Train with a personal trainer in Highgate's neighbourhood

SYP Fitness is a private 1-to-1 personal training studio at 2-4 Navigator Square, Archway, London N19 3UB, one stop from Highgate on the Northern line. Rated 5.0 from 100+ Google reviews.

Book your free assessment · WhatsApp Artem · Call 07301 512215 · See prices