Looking for a good workout without going to the gym? Look no further than your living room, yard or the nearest park.

Finding activities you love — especially outdoors — is the first step toward a good workout, says Michelle Brownrigg, an expert on incorporating physical activity into everyday life and a member of the faculty of health at York University in Toronto.

“People often do exercise in a way that is like work rather than what they like,” she says. “If you do an activity that you don’t like, you won’t sustain it.”

Canada’s Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living recommends you accumulate 60 minutes of physical activity every day. But that shouldn’t mean 60 minutes of drudgery.

Besides being fun, workouts should be varied, adds Arie Vanderreyden, a certified personal trainer and Ontario operational manager for Survivor Bootcamp, a company that organizes outdoor fitness classes.

“To achieve balance,” Vander-reyden says, “you need to incorporate a full-body workout through flexibility training, resistance training, cardiovascular training, proper nutrition and proper sleep.”

The Physical Activity Guide recommends endurance or cardiovascular training, such as walking, cycling or running, four to seven days a week; flexibility training, such as stretching and yoga, four to seven days a week; and strength training, such as lifting weights or doing push-ups, two to four times a week.

“Physical training outside definitely has its benefits, such as fresh air,” says Vanderreyden. “And you don’t have the intimidation from other clients you might find in a gym atmosphere.”

Besides, Brownrigg says, there is clear evidence that staying connected to Nature and good health are related.

As well, Brownrigg adds, you don’t have to do all your exercise at once. Activities can be focused, so you do them all in one session; or, they can be incidental, so you acquire your exercise in small amounts throughout the day.

Examples of incidental physical activity include taking a brisk walk at lunchtime, getting off the subway three stops early to walk the rest of the way to your destination, taking the stairs and walking down the hall instead of sending an e-mail.

Even focused physical activity can be incorporated into your day without having to stress out about getting to a gym, says Brownrigg. She recommends walking, hiking, running, cycling, Tai Chi, Pilates, yoga, dance classes or just getting outside to play active games. You can now join leagues for volleyball, basketball, badminton and other sports.

“Find something that’s not ‘should/would/need to’ or ‘have to’,” she says. “It’s about enjoying your life.”

One way to decide which activities will work best for you is to figure out what is missing from your life. If you crave time alone, running or walking — perhaps with an iPod — will provide the space and time you need. If you spend a lot of time alone on the job, group activities might suit you best. Work and workouts should be distinctly different.

“Not to be in the gym is a nice climate,” says Brownrigg, “because the gym environment can mimic the work environment.”

One way to get started developing your own fitness plan is to join one of the groups that meet in local parks and go through structured workouts. Survivor Bootcamp, for instance, offers four-week or six-week programs of early-morning workouts led by certified trainers in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Instructors lead small groups through mat exercises, sprints, hiking, yoga stretching, Pilates and calisthenics — all in the great outdoors.

“The best way to begin is by just doing it!” Vanderreyden says. “If you are someone who has no motivation, then by committing to a bootcamp, you’re giving your word and financial commitment to show up. Once you start to see results, then you get addicted to working out and you are always looking for the next plateau of results.”

Here are some of the numerous exercises Vanderreyden recommends that you can do without going to the gym.

> For a cardiovascular workout, try walking, hiking, jogging or running.

> For resistance exercises, try:

• push-ups;

• crunches. Lie on your back with legs bent. Raise your shoulders, forcing chest muscles toward your legs and pull your hips forward;

• burpees. Do one push-up. Bring feet forward to a squatting position, jump into the air, bringing your knees up to your chest and raising your hands above your head. Drop to a squat, then bring feet back to a push-up position. IE