All Activities
Physical Education

Outdoor Fitness Trail

Overview

Students move through a course set in the outdoor environment, using natural features as fitness stations.

Learning Objective
Students complete a fitness trail using the natural environment, developing fitness and appreciation for outdoor activity.

Resources needed

  • School outdoor environment
  • Natural features: trees, slopes, walls, logs

Lesson stages

0 / 7 done
  1. 1 Identify 6 natural features around the school: a slope, a tree, a wall, a long straight path, a grassy area, an open space.
  2. 2 Assign an exercise to each: run up the slope, step up on a low wall, sprint the straight path, press-ups on grass, squat jumps in the open space, balance walk along a line.
  3. 3 Walk the trail together first.
  4. 4 Students complete the trail at their own pace.
  5. 5 Repeat the trail a second time.
  6. 6 Cool down by walking the trail slowly.
  7. 7 Discuss: how is exercising outdoors different from indoors?

Tap a step to mark it as done.

Variations

  • Students design their own trail using different features.
  • Run the trail in pairs — must stay together.
  • Time trial: record completion time and try to improve.
More information

Teach: trail, station, feature, slope, natural, complete. Walk the trail and name each station before students run it independently.

Students choose their intensity level at each station. A wall touch instead of a step-up, a walk instead of a sprint.

Are students completing all stations with genuine effort? Can they describe how the outdoor environment adds to the exercise experience?

Uses only what exists in the school environment. No equipment purchased or brought. The outdoors is the gym.

Students think fitness requires a gym or equipment. An outdoor fitness trail directly challenges this assumption and builds love of outdoor activity.

Outdoor fitness trails are used in military training, parkour, and forest school education. They develop creative physical thinking alongside fitness.

Activity details
Secondary Medium 30 minutes 15 minutes prep Whole Class, Small Group Outdoor
Topics
Fitness Outdoor Circuit