Dragging yourself into the gym is the hardest exercise of all – one that’s compounded by warm, sunny weather. Thankfully, you can perform a varied and effective workout outdoors and without the plethora of equipment – or cost – of your typical sweatbox.

“You’ll probably do a more effective workout outdoors,” says Mr Sam Burrows (@samburrowspt), an east London-based trainer and lululemon ambassador who teaches various bodyweight disciplines such as calisthenics and Animal Flow at small-group studios such as Blok and Fieldworks. “In gyms, you’re constantly distracted by other people, music, phones.” Whereas outdoors, out of sight and earshot of the sodcasting swelfie-takers, you can dial into what you’re doing. “You feel the workout a bit more,” says Mr Burrows.

Open-air training confers other benefits that even the fanciest air-conditioned facility can’t boast. A report published last year by UK researchers, based on data from 20 countries, linked time spent in green space to better overall health and reduced risk of stress, high blood pressure, type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and premature death. In Japan, shinrin-yoku or “forest-bathing” (walking, sitting or lying in the woods, fully clothed mind) is a popular therapy. In the US, some doctors have started prescribing the outdoors like a drug. Just a five-minute dose of nature is proven to boost your mood.

This al-fresco workout from Mr Burrows will also lift your strength and mobility. “And as long as you minimise your rest intervals, then you’re going to get a cardio element,” he says. With the exception of the bear crawl, perform 10 reps of each exercise before moving on to the next. On the next round, do eight reps, then six, then four, then two. Then work your way back up to 10. Well, we did warn you it would be effective.

The front of your body or “anterior chain” is typically overworked and overtight from conventional gym moves and sitting at your desk all day. Crab reaches counteract that while activating your neglected posterior chain, plus they incorporate rotation and shoulder stability. Sit with knees bent, feet flat and hands behind you, so your body forms an M. Push your hips up as high as you can while twisting and reaching with your right arm over your left shoulder, so your body forms an upside-down U. Then lower. That’s one rep.

“So many people constantly do pull-ups badly, then they wonder why their shoulders are hunched,” says Mr Burrows. That’s if you can do pull-ups at all. Inverted rows, however, can be regressed – the more upright you are, the easier and vice versa – and will improve your posture (and pull-ups). Assume a reverse press-up position under one side of the parallel bars, abs and glutes tensed so your body is a straight line. Squeeze your shoulder blades back then row yourself up until your chest touches the bar, then lower.

This far-reaching stretch targets your shoulders, back, hips, knees, ankles, even wrists; it’s also a beast of a core exercise. Set up as if in a yoga child’s pose, arms straight out in front, but with your knees wide and off the ground, toes curled and connected. Drive forwards so that your shoulders are forward of your hands and extend your body, simultaneously bringing one knee to the same-side elbow. Then return to the start, aka “loaded beast”. That’s one rep; don’t let your knees drop to the ground at any point.

Plyometrics or explosive exercises such as these develop your power (strength applied at speed, or the goal of most athletes) and sprinting. But don’t power through the reps like a Duracell bunny. “It’s about building control in the landing,” says Mr Burrows. Squat down then, swinging your arms for momentum, jump forward. Land as gently as you can, immediately sinking into another squat to absorb the impact force, then jump again. Don’t attempt to travel too far to begin with: the important thing is to really own that landing.

Lesser-spotted quadrupedal or four-limbed movements have become popular in more evolved training circles for mobility, conditioning and coordination. “When you crawl, you understand how to move a bit more, and how your body feels when it moves: if your hamstrings are tight or your shoulders stiff,” says Mr Burrows. “It’s about awareness.” Keep your hips high and your arms and legs straight, like a travelling downward dog, so you feel a stretch down the back of your pins. Just 10m each round will be grizzly enough.