NOT JUST KIDS' STUFF Playground workout

Don't mind the odd looks. You're the one benefiting from not joining the other parents on the bench.
By LESLIE GARCIA
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
DALLAS -- Check out any playground, and see who's getting all the exercise. The kids, of course.
Well, maybe it's time for the adults who bring them there to start incorporating a little childlike behavior.
Start by whining, "It's not fair that they get to do all the fun stuff!" Then hang by your knees on the trapeze. (No kicking gravel onto the slide, please.)
Or better yet, try out these exercises. They're courtesy of Marilyn Levitt, group-exercise coordinator at the Baylor-Tom Landry Fitness Center.
For most exercises, do two to three sets of 10 to 15.
Don't mind stares
OK, you may get some odd looks from some of the other grown-ups there -- the ones eating the rest of their kid's lunch and drinking Big Gulps, for instance. No matter. Just close your eyes and envision a more taut, toned you -- one who'll have the energy to play a little catch with the kids when you get home.
UWalk around the playground.
Yes, this is the obvious one. But it's good for a warm-up, too. Walk briskly 15 minutes or so. It'll help raise your body temperature and get your muscles ready for resistance-type exercise.
UUse the bench for Squats.
Bring your hips back and lower your fanny toward the bench as if you were going to sit down. But no sitting! Instead, straighten up just before your tush touches.
This targets most major muscles of the lower body: glutes, quads, hamstrings. If you keep your spine in "neutral" and hold in your abdominals or belly, you'll also help work your core muscles.
"You'll notice your heart rate increasing a little," Levitt says. "Any time you do exercises involving your lower body, it's not cardio as such but does get that heart pumping."
UDo walking lunges, to work hips and thighs and stretch hip flexors.
Take a big step and, bending your knees, lunge forward or backward. Hold the position. Then return to standing position and do the same on the other leg.
Do them on the grass for an even better workout. Move in a circle, forward or backward.
UUse the slide for your abdominals.
Position yourself so your head's on the high part of the incline. Raise your feet and knees to a 90-degree angle.
Bring your left foot down to touch the slide. Then bring it up, using your abdominal muscles as stabilizers. Repeat with the other foot.
UUse the monkey bars for pull-ups.
These define the back muscles as well as your deltoids (shoulders) and biceps. Hold on underhanded or with palms facing forward.
UUse the bench for push-ups, which strengthen the major chest muscles and triceps.
Stand a few feet from the bench. Bend over, grasping the edge of it with both hands, keeping your elbows straight but not locked. Bend your elbows, lowering your body until your chest almost touches the bench. Then push yourself back up.
You can do the same exercise pushing yourself off a wall.
UTo strengthen your triceps (those muscles that, if not worked, keep moving after you've stopped clapping) try dips off the edge of the bench.
Sit down on the edge of the bench, palms at your sides, grasping the edge. As you bend your elbows, slowly lower your body. Keep your bottom close to the bench.
Straighten your arms slowly and return to the starting position.
USwing!
Bend and straighten, bend and straighten. It's great for your quads and hamstrings.
Push your child on a swing for a good arm exercise.
UUse a curb for step-ups.
Stand in front of it or a rock. Step up, bring your foot back down. Do a set of 10, then repeat with other foot.