One of your favourite playground games just made a comeback! Turn exercise into a game with this fun hopscotch workout.

Before there was virtual reality, Pokemon Go or even Candy Crush Saga, a piece of chalk and your own two feet could keep you entertained for hours. Hopscotch was a playground favourite during junior school break times; now the game that taught you to hop between the lines is making its fitness debut with this super-fun hopscotch workout by personal trainer and Next Fitness Star top 10 finalist Phia-Lee Rabe. It’s a great workout to do at home with your kids – exercise and “Mommy, I’m boooored” taken care of all in one. Boom!

How It Works

All you need is a piece of chalk and a strip of floor that you can draw on, like say, your driveway. The rules are simple: Draw a board with each block representing a different move. Then start at one end and move to the other, performing each move as you get to the relevant block. This board, created by Phia-Lee, was designed to be one station in a bigger circuit. Slip it into your regular workout as a dose of explosive cardio or add more blocks and rounds to make a stand-alone workout.

Why It’s Great

The explosive jumps in this workout get your heart rate up and strengthen your leg and tummy muscles. Hopping on one leg is good for improving your balance and bending to touch the floor will also help with your balance, plus increase your flexibility. Another bonus: Focusing on the goal (reaching the end of the course) takes your focus off the individual moves you’re performing. So, while squat jumps usually send you into FML grumpiness, you may find them less offensive in the context of completing the game.

Workout Wednesday Challenge

Add a round of hopscotch into your workout sesh. You can either do this course or get creative and come up with your own. Tag us on Twitter and Instagram to let us know how it goes!

Looking for more workout challenges to take up? Try this hoola hoop workout  or try your hand at the cup stack challenge.