Gyms are designed to help you get the best workout possible. There are dozens of machines, group classes, and pieces of equipment from which to choose, placing fitness at your fingertips. But, gyms can also be places where people want to talk your ear off instead of letting you work out, home to a number of infection-causing germs, and sometimes too overcrowded to serve their primary purpose of convenience. Thankfully, you can always take your workout outside.

To maintain a healthy lifestyle, all that's required is 30 minutes of activity per day -- whether it be jogging, walking, shooting hoops, gardening, dancing, etc. And, to keep muscles and bones strong, doctors suggest also incorporating 20 minutes of resistance training exercise two or three times a week.

With summer still here, there's no better time to break free of the confines of your gym walls and take your workout into the great outdoors. No longer will you have to wait for equipment, wipe sweat off a weight bench, or even have to worry about making it there before they close. Now that sounds pretty convenient to me.