Fun Ways To Burn Calories! 4 Easy Outdoor Activities & Games That Help You Stay In Shape

When the weather is pleasant, I like being one with Mother Nature and engaging in some healthy outdoor activities.

Sure, I love walking, biking, and swimming — they are great exercises that I try to do as often as possible. But what about other fun ways to stay active?

I like breaking up my outdoor activities so I don’t get bored with my exercise routine.

You too, right?

Fun & Healthy Outdoor Activities

There are many great activities and games you can play yourself or with others that are easy, fun, and can help keep your outdoor workouts exciting and energizing.

Following are 4 fun ways to burn calories and stay in shape.

The best part: they can all be played in your own backyard!

These outdoor activities can involve both kids and adults alike. They’re ideal for building dexterity and improving your health all while having fun.

#1 – Cornhole

Cornhole, also largely known as bean bag toss, is a game that has origins in 14th-century Germany.

This lawn game entails throwing bags of corn toward a raised board with a small hole at the far end of the board.

Cornhole bags that slide into the hole are worth 3 points each, while bags that land anywhere on the platform are worth 1 point. The player with the most points wins the game.

While cornhole is a competitive game that can involve multiple players or teams, it’s also a great outdoor activity you can do by yourself. After all, practice makes perfect, and who better to compete against than yourself — and beating your personal best score?

Even kids are playing cornhole in school gym classes.

You can find cornhole boards online. You can also build cornhole game boards yourself.

Calories burned playing cornhole: 180/hr for a 155 lb person

Three ways make cornhole even healthier:

Icorporate some distractions.

Move more. Don’t sit in between rounds.
Drink water (instead of beer).

Here’s how to play cornhole.

#2 – Horseshoe Toss

Horseshoe pitching (or horseshoe toss) is a classic backyard game that involves throwing horseshoes around a metal spike sticking out of the ground. The object of this game is to have as many tossed horseshoes catch the iron spike.

Many variations of this game exist.

The most common type of horseshoe game is a simple yard game in which players try to latch as many horseshoes as they can around the spike.

However, like virtually all yard games, there are versions of horseshoe toss that involve far more official rules requiring certain court dimensions, minimum distances players should stand from the spike, and other specific rules for official play.

It’s fairly simple to build a horseshoe pit in your backyard. You may even want to make lightweight horseshoes from PVC that younger kids can easily toss.

Calories burned playing horseshoes: 211/hr for a 155 lb person

Three ways to make horseshoes even healthier:

Use heavier horseshoes (up to 2 lbs. 10 oz. max).

Speed up the pace of the game.
Warm up first to open up your muscles and get the feel of the shoe.

Here’s how to play horseshoes.

#3 – Lawn Bowling

Don’t want to trek down to the nearest bowling alley? Live too far from one? Maybe you’d rather not pay lane fees?

Well, here’s the answer: lawn bowling.

This fun variant on bowling can be played using 10 pins and a ball, with the pins arranged just as they would be on a typical bowling lane.

The object, as in full-scale bowling, is to knock over all 10 pins in 2 attempts, with grassy lawn (or parking lot pavement, patio pavers, or whatever) serving as the surface of your “lane.”

Outdoor lawn bowling can be played by yourself or competitively with family and friends. Kids of all ages enjoy knocking down pins.

Wooden lawn bowling sets can be found at many stores and online. Or, for a more competitive game, try lawn bowls. It’s bowling minus the pins.

Calories burned while lawn bowling: 211/hr for a 155 lb person

Three ways to make lawn bowling even healthier:

Use heavier pins rather than lighter ones.

Use biased bowls (balls), which are slightly lopsided so they roll differently.
Do these lawn bowling exercises ahead of time to warm up the muscles that are commonly used.

Here’s how to play lawn bowling.

#4 – Badminton

Usually, badminton is played between 2 people (singles play) or 4 people (doubles).

The object of this racquet sport is to knock the shuttlecock (a feathered or plastic projectile that flies much differently than a ball) over a net to the opponent’s half of the court.

Each team (or singles opponent) volleys the shuttlecock back and forth over the net, taking just 1 strike at the shuttlecock every time it passes over the net.

The game is typically played to 21 points, with each side scoring a point after their opponent fails to return the shuttlecock.

There are official badminton tournaments, and the game has even been played at the Olympics!

Badminton rackets are very lightweight, so it’s a great activity for kids as well.

To set up a badminton court in your backyard, use these dimensions.

Calories burned while playing badminton: 317/hr for a 155 lb person

Three ways to make badminton even healthier:

Play singles badminton, instead of doubles.
Stick to regulation game length of 90 minutes.

Do these badminton exercises beforehand to work the muscles that are most used.

Here’s how to play badminton.

Other Healthy Outdoor Activities

Fun Outdoor Games For Kids’ Parties

Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez( Senior Editor )

I want everyone to live their best life… for as long as possible. So I often write about the health screenings that we all should be getting — to help catch potential health issues early. (Yes, I get my screenings too.) I also share my knowledge and experience with specific health problems that I am personally familiar with.