Not only will it help beat the winter blues away, but it is a ridiculously good workout for your entire body, especially your core and lower body. It’s a sport that requires a ton of balance and overall body strength to stay upright and prevent injury during steep drops and sharp turns.

The skiing itself is a great workout, but it’s only available for a few months of the year and therefore requires some off-season training to stay in shape for most of us. 

Learn what kinds of cardio and strength training will suit you best so that when the time comes to hit the slopes, you’re fully prepared to take on what the mountain throws at you. 

Cardio

Cardiovascular exercise is vital for your health generally – it keeps your heart healthy, lowers risks of almost every type of disease, and keeps your fitness levels reasonably high. 

Skiing requires quite a bit of cardiovascular energy, so you should be performing medium-high intensity cardiovascular activity throughout the off-season to stay in shape. 

Perform one or a combination of these cardio exercises 2-3 times per week to reap the benefits you’ll need come ski season. As your cardio improves and you grow ever nearer to ski season, amp up the cardio sessions to 3-5 times per week.

Running

Running is one of the most intense cardio forms and requires no extra equipment to perform, besides a decent pair of running shoes. 

Your best bet for great results is to stick with interval training, which means cycling between your maximum effort and a more manageable recovery period at approximately a 1:2 ratio. The time can vary, but this means that for every 1 minute of maximum action, you recover for 2 minutes at a pace that is relatively easy to sustain.

Studies on interval training show that it is better at increasing “stroke volume” (blood pumping), increasing the mitochondria levels in muscle, and can have the same results of steady-state cardio in shorter periods. 

You’ll only need to run for 20-30 minutes in each session if you’re using interval training wisely to reap its benefits.

Stair-climbing

The stair-climber is a star when it comes to ski training. Why? It combines lower body strengthening with cardiovascular exercise. If you don’t have access to a stairmaster for skiing training, get outside and find a big set of steps you can use instead.

The stair-climber impact helps keep your bone density at a healthy, high level, and improves the climber’s V02 max, which is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during exercise. It is also a good way to strengthen your thigh muscles which are key to long days on the slopes.  These will all go along way when it comes time to dust off your skis.

Elliptical Training

We’ve already discussed how to do some interval training, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore steady-state cardio altogether. It’s still an essential part of training, specifically for recovery.

You don’t want to go hard all of the time and risk over-training and injury. On a day when you want to get in some cardio and get your blood pumping, but your body is sore and tired, do some steady-state exercise on the elliptical for 30-60 minutes. 

This low-impact exercise will aid recovery, keep you moving, and get the blood flowing until you’re ready to push hard on your next workout.

Weight Training

Now that you have a cardio plan let’s talk about weight training.

Skiing requires a lot of balance. The best ways to improve balance are practising and building an overall healthier body composition, focusing on the core. 

For this, you will want to get into resistance training. Instead of traditional weight-lifting using dumbbells and barbells, use resistance bands (like these https://victoremgear.com/products/booty-bands). 

Resistance bands are not only a smaller, more inexpensive option, but they build core strength no matter what exercise you do. Unlike weights, the band creates even tension on your muscles throughout the exercise and works your core to provide stability while you perform the move.

Perform a combination of these resistance band exercises 2-3 times a week with at least 48 hours of rest in between. 

Best Upper Body Moves 

• shoulder presses
• bicep curls
• tricep kickbacks
• resisted push-ups
• assisted pull-ups

Best Core Moves

• planks
• bicycle crunches
• v-sits
• side planks
• oblique crunches

Best Lower-Body Moves

• squats
• one-legged deadlifts
• lunges
• monster walks
• clamshells
• donkey kicks

Final Word

By adding the right combination of full-body strength training using resistance bands and interval/steady-state cardio into your off-season training routine, you will see significant gains by the time ski season rolls around again. 

5 affordable luxury ski deals

The post Best Types of Workouts for Skiers appeared first on Active Outdoors.

As I come across more team building activities for teens, I will add and update this post so that you get the best ideas for your team building exercises.
You will find out:

1. The best approach for delivering team building activities for teens
2. How to keep teens engaged during team building activities
3. Safety Considerations
4. Types of Team Building Activities
5. 53 team building activities for teens

This step by step guide on how to run more than 50 fun team building activities for teens makes your job easy. The free printable worksheets show how to avoid disasters and keep things on track, with instructions, rules, equipment, aims and outcomes. The team building exercises go way beyond just the usual obstacle course ideas, swamp crossing, water bucket and rope pulley swap, and the favourite toxic waste canister.

Types of Team Building Activities

There are a few different types of team building activities that you can use to develop teamwork for teenagers.

• Problem solving,
• physical challenges,
• Team Bonding Activities,
• Military team building activities

There are also the good old team building games that everyone loves to do time and time again.
There are plenty of more specific team building activities guides for teens including the popular team building activities for teenage athletes.

If you are planning your team building activities for outdoors or summer camps, I’ve compiled 40 of my best outdoor team building activities in one post for you.

The real benefit of teen team building activities is providing youth with those essential life skills of problem solving, working as a team, understanding others, and youth leadership. These character building activities need to be run in just the right way to elicit the very best from each teenager.

The Best Approach for Team Building Activities for Teens

If anyone tells a teenager to go and do some task, often the response is “No” or “Why?” However, if you present the task as a challenge you are pretty much guaranteed a positive response.

The second key factor is to ensure that every teenager can clearly see what they will get out of the team building activities. If you sell it purely on improving their teamwork or youth leadership skills, then you aren’t going to win their attention. Present it as fun, provide some reward for succeeding, or even give them the opportunity to feel that they have achieved something.

The aim of a team building activity is that there is some goal that is worth the effort to attain, but it should be achievable. If your group of teenagers perceive the team building activities to be impossible, they won’t even bother and will be completely demoralised.

You have to make the challenge attractive. Rather than ask if they can get a bucket of water from one end of a field to the other, ask if they can do it faster than another team whilst negotiating an obstacle course. Teenagers will definitely be up for that.

Teenagers are at a stage in their lives when they are trying to work out who they are and where they fit into society. The effectiveness of outdoor team building activities for difficult youth is proven, as long as those organising it are encouraging and supportive. Help them to rise to the challenge, giving them support and encouragement to develop as they discover their true potential.

Safety

As with any team building activities, make sure that you take care that all of the teenagers are safe during the challenges you set. The spirit of competitiveness may cause some teens to over stretch themselves and do something too adventurous just to win. Clearly state to the youth group what the rules are and make sure that they stick to them. You will always get those who innovate, cheat or break the rules just to beat the opposition.

The List of Team Building Activities

This list is not the usual boring team building games for teens that you will find all over the internet. You won’t find “lining up in birthday order” here!

Whether you want It’s a Knockout type games or Crystal Maze activities, these outdoor physical team building activities are for teens to really get to develop what they’re made of.

1. 1. Human pyramids

      Teenagers seem to love the physical element of this is they are good friends. How high can you build a human pyramid or tower?

   2. Run Mats

      

      Run mats makes a great team building activity. The team stand inside the fabric loop and have to move forward together as a team. The sturdy material works well inside or outdoors. This has been field tested by over 500 students in a single day without any snagging, tearing, or complications. You will probably want to buy three run mats to race teams in relays. An absolute hit with teachers and students!

   3. Obstacle courses

      Create an assault course or obstacle course and get the teams to race over it.

   4. Bucket Swimming relay

      Get the team to do a swimming relay collecting things from the other end of the pool. Include a bucket, which is actually a real challenge to swim with as it fills up and slows you down.

   5. Blanket Volleyball

      Basically, you set up a volleyball court using blankets or large tarps for the net. The teams on either side cannot tell where the ball is coming from, so have to work together to win.

      You can play this team building game standing up or sitting down on the floor, depending on how high you can make the net.

   6. Crate Stacking

      You need proper climbing gear for crate stacking. Rig a safety line and pulley high above the place where you will be stacking your crates. The stacker has to stack the crates into a tower as tall as they can, whilst balancing on the top. They need to wear a climbing harness, and helmet, with someone belaying them from the ground.

      The team have to pass the crates up to the stacker. Takes guts and teamwork.

   7. Bucket on a rope water obstacle course

      Another teen favourite. Get a very long piece of rope or string and weave it across a series of obstacles. Up trees, through bushes, across mud, over walls. Then, feed one end of the string through the handle of a bucket that is full of water. The team then has to get the bucket of water to the other end of the piece of string without spilling any water. Good teamwork is needed to pass the bucket up and over high obstacles.

   8. Capture the Flag

      
      
      
      Capture the Flag as a team building game for teens is one of the easiest to run. Plus it will wear out the energetic ones whilst those who don’t feel up to running around can adopt different roles within the game.
      Capture the flag involves placing two flags at a distance from each other within a defined play area. Each team starts from their game base where their flag is and try to capture the flag from their opponents and return it to their base. The first team to get the enemy flag to their base wins, regardless of whether they still have their own flag. Very quick and easy to setup. Even more fun at night.

   9. Firemans relays

      Each team has to form a relay chain to get all of the water from one big barrel across an obstacle course and into another barrel at the other end. The race is timed of course.

   10. Chariot racing

       The team builds a chariot and then races across a course. The course can be as long as you like. I have raced cross country over several miles before.

       The chariot can have wheels, or be dragged like a wooden frame.

       

   11. Sedan Chair Racing

       Sedan chair racing is the same principle as the chariot race, but the team have to carry the sedan chair off the ground with their rider sitting on it. A lot more tiring.

   12. Orienteering

       The team has to work together to navigate a course finding markers along the way. They have to keep together. The fastest team wins.

   13. Go Karting

       The team can make go karts, or just go somewhere and race proper go karts. They work as a team to see who is fastest.

   14. Geocaching

       Using a GPS, you can find hidden caches all over the world using the geocaching.com website. A hitech treasure hunt.

   15. Sailing

       One way to get the team to work together is to send them on a sailing day. The skipper will teach them how to work as a crew, and they will not only learn how to work together, but also learn a new skill.

   16. Drops

       Drops are where you drop off the team of teenagers somewhere. They then have to work out how to get to a given location in a time limit.

       You can make it easier by getting them to travel to a tall building that they can see from the start point. Or you could make it harder by blindfolding them when taking them to the start, so that they don’t know where they are.

   17. Soap Box Cart Gravity Racing

       A soap box cart originates from the good old days when kids used to get a wooden soap box crate, stick some pram wheels on and race them down hills. Get you teams to design and build their soap box carts and race them down a hill.

   18. Get the Canister from Toxic Area

       This is a popular team building challenge. Set up a can inside a taped off area. Give the team some equipment to retrieve the can without touching the ground inside the area. One variation I have done is to attach an ammo box up a tall tree containing supper for the team. They have to use climbing gear to climb up the tree, retrieve the box and return without dropping it inside the area. Inside the box can be anything you want that they can cook over an open fire. We had two chickens in ours. We plucked and prepared them while others in the team made the fire. Lovely.

       If you aren’t that adventurous, you can just put sweets in the can.

   19. Now Get Out Of That Challenges

       Now Get Out of That was a UK TV programme where teams had to navigate to a given location. There they would be given a puzzle or challenge to solve. Successful completion would give the teams the clue to the next location.

       The team challenges included river crossings and getting a cassette recorder to work when the power wires were too short (use the earth lead to extend the others). The sort of tasks teens will love are things like working out how to boil some water using only a sheet of paper and a candle. They have to fold up the paper to make a container. The water soaks into the paper a bit, but this is countered by the flame. It doesn’t burn the paper if they are careful.

   20. The Great Egg Race – Invention to solve a problem

       Give the teams a problem where they have to build something to solve it. It could be a device to carry an egg the furthest over a course, or a rocket/parachute that can bring an egg back safely to earth.

   21. Scavenger Hunts and Treasure Hunts

       Give your teams a list of items or tasks they have to complete in the time given. To make your teens think, make the description of the items cryptic. A picture of Thomas Jefferson ($5 bill), or a portrait of the Queen (a stamp or money).

       If completing tasks such as visiting places, they can take a picture to prove they were there.

   22. Monopoly Runs

       Monopoly Runs are a race around a virtual Monopoly board. This is easy if you are in London. The team has to visit all of the places named on the Monopoly board as quickly as possible.

       If you aren’t in London, you can create your own board with place names of where you are.

   23. Balance on a brick

       How many people can balance on a brick at once? You can use any surface to hand, such as a milk crate. Or how many teens can you get in a phone box or in a car.

   24. Blindfold tent pitching

       This is straightforward, but is prone to lots of cheating and peeking.

   25. Blindfold instructions

       This trust building game involves a member of the team being blindfolded and guided by voice around an obstacle course. If more than one team goes at once, this adds lots of confusion as the people who are blindfolded are not sure if the instructions are for them or not.

   26. Construction

       Get the team to build something. Anything. Just the act of cooperative work improves their team work. This is a great way to support troubled teens, as they will often work well when given physical tasks where they can see the results of their labour. Community projects may be ideal.

   27. Lego structure copy

       Make a Lego structure out of different coloured bricks and place it in the next room. Each team is given a set of bricks to build an exact copy of the Lego structure. The rules are that only one person from each team is allowed to go and have a look at the structure. When they come back to their team, they cannot touch the bricks, but they can tell the others how to build their copy. Anybody from the team can go and have a look, but only one at a time. Once another person comes back from having a look, the previous person can then touch their bricks to help build.

       What you don’t tell the teams is that you have swapped one brick from each of their supplies with another team. This means that they cannot complete their copy unless they get the correct brick from another team. Of course, the other teams will not be willing to give away their bricks until they know which ones they have spare. Negotiation comes into play.

       One amazing thing I once saw was when I did this team building activity with ten teams. Some of the teams grouped together and all worked on completing one model. They could then copy the model within the room as they had a copy in front of them. All I had said is that there was a prize for every team that completes their copy of the model. It is not a race, but most teams usually want to be first and don’t help the greater group.

   28. Swamp Crossing

       Create a swamp, and then the teams have to cross it without going in it. They can be provided with a variety of useful and unhelpful equipment. Planks and bricks are commonly used. You can also get the teams to make a bridge.

   29. Follow the plans

       Give each team a set of plans that tell them how to do or build something. A prize is given for every team that completes the task in the time limit.

       What you don’t tell them is that you have not given them a full set of instructions. Take one page from each set of instructions and put it into the instruction for another team. So team A may have pages 1, 2, 4 and 5; Team B may have pages 1, 2, 3 and 5. The teams will need to work this out to finish the task. Sometimes they will improvise and work out what the missing instructions might be.

   30. Be dramatic

       If you live in NYC or San Francisco, there are some great theatre improvisation sessions that you can go to. The team building sessions get everyone working together, having fun, and even performing some comedy. A great laugh.

       If you are not so fortunate, give the teams a silly phrase on a piece of paper. The teams then have to create a short play that includes that sentence. The other teams in the audience have to guess what the sentence was.

   31. Human Marble Run

       Give each teenager in the team a length of gutter or drainpipe. The team has to convey a tennis ball or golf ball from one place to another by rolling the ball from one piece of gutter to the next. Make it interesting by making the team get the ball to traverse an obstacle course or to go up and down stairs. Not as easy as it sounds.

1. Learn a new sport

   Just have a look at the full outdoor activities list to discover a new sport they all might like to try. Sharing the learning experience is a great way to get teens to bond.

2. Chocolate making

   Make a giant bar of chocolate

3. The Search Party

   This team building activity is a great way for teens to learn and understand what is involved with organising a search party. You could even get the real emergency services involved for the practice and education.

   Two people are to act as the missing persons and wait at a known location in the woods. Everyone else is given a rough location of where they might be and they then have to form a search party to find them. To make it harder, you can have the rule that the missing people do not answer to any rescuers’ calls. Or do it at night. You will need to have a clear signal that the missing people must respond to in case the rescuers cannot find them.

4. Raft Building

    

   

   A favourite amongst teens for team building. Give them lots of poles, ropes and large barrels to lash together to form a raft. Then have a race or get them to cross a river.

5. Egg Tower Construction

   Yes it’s the “build a tower using drinking straws and tape to support an egg.” No need to say any more.

6. Target Practice

   Use any projectile to hit a target. Water, paint or flour bombs are the best. The team has to build their contraption for launching their ammo. See which team can fire it the furthest, or get closest to a target. You can also have a battle firing at each other. Eye protection is advised. Get building those trebuchets, catapults, water bombs slings and ballistas.

7. The levitating Stick

   This team building activity involves the team getting into two rows facing each other. Everyone holds out their index finger and you place a lightweight cane or stick so that it rests on everyone’s fingers. The team then have to lower the stick to the ground whilst keeping their fingers in contact with the stick.

   What happens is that someone will usually apply more pressure on the stick and it will go up a bit. Someone else realises that their finger is not longer touching the stick so they raise their finger. The stick then ends up magically levitating up into the air as everyone lifts their fingers.

   It takes coordination to get the stick to the ground.

8. Bridge Building and other river crossings

   Create a virtual river using two long pieces of rope. Give the teams equipment to make a bridge. If you are feeling adventurous, do it over a real stream or river.

9. The Wall

   Find an assault course that has a ten foot wall in it. The team has to get everyone over the wall. It takes planning, as the strongest person who can lift the other up onto the wall may not be the best person that everyone else has to then pull up the wall.

10. Electric Fence

    This is one of the most popular trust building activities for youth groups. Set up a fence made of rope with large squares. This can either be ready made or you can use several pieces of rope to make a spider’s web sort of arrangement. The team then have to get every teen through the electric fence without touching the ropes. Lots of trust required.

    

11. Water Barrel Swap

    Tie a pulley to a tree branch and pass a rope through it. Tie a barrel to each end of the rope. Fill one barrel with water. Then fence off an area around the barrels. The challenge is to swap positions of the barrels without anyone touching the floor inside the fenced off area, or touch the barrels.

12. Human Knot

    Everyone crowds together and randomly holds someone else’s hands. They then have to unravel themselves without letting go.

13. Circle Lap Sit

    Get everyone into a circle. Everyone then turns to face the person to their left. They all then sit on the lap of the person behind. If done at the same time, everyone ends up sitting on a lap self supporting. If not, people fall on the floor.

14. Parachute Games

    Take one large parachute and play team building games with it. There are some great parachute games books on Amazon.

15. Location Hunt from Photo

    Give the teams a set of photos of places in the area. They then have to go to those places and prove they were there. The photos can be obvious or obscure, depending on the skills of your teens.

16. Dragon Boat Racing

    Get the team working together to paddle a dragon boat in a race. Rowing is another idea.

17. Canoe catamaran trust

    Using two canoes, balance beams between them and the team leader sits on the beam. Teams then canoe a course around the lake

18. Canal Lock Navigation

    Guide a canal boat through a lock

19. Technology Transmissions

    Get the teams to use technology to solve a puzzle or challenge.

20. Group plank skiing

    You need two planks with loops of rope attached to them. The team stands with a foot on each plank holding the rope. They then have to walk the plank skis to the end of the room or field. This requires coordination and teamwork to lift the plank.

21. White water Rafting

    Send your teens white water rafting. They need to listen to the instructor and work together to paddle in the right direction.

22. Paintball

    Paintball can be a great way to get teams to work together. They will need to formulate plans, adapt them during the game, and work together to win. If you don’t give any guidance, it will often end up as a general free for all.

23. Water Fights

    Using water fights as a team building activity for teens gives you plenty of scope to adapt to your environment. You can use rivers, lakes, boats, or just two large barrels of water at each end of a field for them to refill from. Allow a free for all, or work out a points system for achieving some goal such as capturing a flag.

24. Wide Games

    
    Capture the Flag on Amazon

    Wide games are team games played over a large area, usually at night. The most common wide game is Capture the Flag. One team of teens defends a base, whilst the other has to enter and retrieve an object such as a flag and return it to their base. I have a powerful rotating beacon connected to a car battery and fire alarm switch. The switch is held open by a block of wood. The players have to get into the camp and remove the block of wood which turns on the beacon. That way it is obvious when the game is over.

Need More Team Building Activities?

If these team building activities don’t meet your needs, you can find many more ideas in the full team building activities list containing worksheets for all of the team building activities to make it easy for you.
If you want to help teenagers to get to know each other better, try these team bonding activities.

The post Team Building Activities for Teens appeared first on Active Outdoors.

Physical team building activities are great for all ages, and enable team members to gain immediate feedback on how well they are doing. Physical team building activities are defined as any team building exercise that involves physical effort from the participants. It could involve building something big, carrying a casualty on a stretcher, or orienteering.

I have broken this guide to physical team building activities down into four sections:

• What works well
• Team Bonding
• Physical Challenges
• Military Team Building Activities

Be VERY aware of your team’s physical abilities

Before planning any physical team building activity, you must carefully consider the opinions and abilities of your team. It is all too easy to dictate that everyone is going on a 20 mile hike across wild country carrying heavy packs in challenging weather conditions. The end result will be to completely alienate and defeat quite a few members of the team. This is disastrous for your efforts to bring the team closer together. Adversity does not necessarily work.

There will be times when adventurous activities create the right conditions to bring team members closer together by sharing experiences, learning together and supporting each other.

You need to know the characters within your team before you embark on anything too strenuous.

Ideas for physical “shared experiences” team building activities

To get your creative juices going, here are a few ideas for physical activities that can be used as a day away from your normal environment where team members can share new experiences together.

Ropes Courses

High ropes courses provide your team with some physical challenges where they have to get across various obstacles high up in the trees. You used to only be able to find ropes courses at outdoor activity centres, but Go Ape has set up lots of ropes courses all over the UK and US.

Go Ape ropes courses involve rope swings, challenging crossings up in the trees, and great zip wires at the end of each section. You can also go Segway trekking, Zip Trekking (lots of zip wires one after the other), and mountain biking.

You will have a dedicated host who will build a day that suits your team and budget. You get exclusive use of a forest shelter, food and drink, and conferencing facilities if you need them.

The Go Ape treetop adventure lasts between 2 and 3 hours. It is suitable for all, so everyone will be able to do it. At some points there are different routes, so the more adventurous can take the extreme routes. You wear safety harnesses at all times, and get a full briefing on how it all works.

Play in the Snow All Year Round at an Indoor Ski Centre

You don’t have to travel to the Alps to take your team skiing. You can take in the alpine experience at snow centres across the country. You can learn how to ski, snowboard, and have fun doughnutting in big inflatable rings or sledges.

Whitewater Rafting

You can experience the thrills of white water rafting at locations such as the London Olympic competition course at Lee Valley just outside London. Your corporate team building day would consist of tackling 300m of fast and furious white water, obstacles and drops in a big inflatable raft.

Your team will have a qualified rafting guide steering and telling you exactly what to do. You get to learn how to control the raft under a variety of conditions, and get to rush down the rapids, surf the waves, and even pull huge wheelies when everyone sits at the back of the raft.

This is a fabulous outdoor team building day. The team building day I took part in was at Nottingham Water Sports Centre. There is the risk of capsizing the raft, which happened once to us, but all you do is lie on your back and float down river. Before you know it, the raft guide has got the raft upright and someone is pulling you back in.

If you are in the US, there are lots of rivers where you can go white water rafting, such as the Colorado River.

Paintball Team Days

Paint is a strategy game played by running around in the woods firing paint pellets at each other. This is not everyone’s cup of tea, but a great opportunity to get your own back on those you don’t get on with in the office.

You will need to plan the game strategies and organise a debrief afterwards if you want to actually develop teamwork. Otherwise all of the games risk just being a free for all shoot out where everyone looks after themselves.

Some youth organisations do not allow paintballing, as they prohibit shooting at people. But, if you are a corporate team, it is all system go! One word of caution – paintball pellets can leave some big bruises depending on how close you are when you get hit.

Sailing, Tall Ships or Yacht Charters

Sailing is a really good way to develop team work. Charter a sailing yacht with a qualified skipper, and your team will learn how to sail. The skipper will direct you all how to get the yacht to go where you want to. You will get to practice different areas of responsibility. Tasks include steering at the helm, manning a winch or handling a line, supporting and coaching your colleagues, share risk-taking and increase trust.

Adventure Associates in the US specialise in blending adventure activities and interactive experiences with team building. They can plan and host some great work team sailing days.

Assault Courses and Obstacle Course Races

Team building obstacle courses come in many forms. They range from the races at a school sports day, to something big like Total Wipeout on the TV. The military use assault courses to test the ability and endurance of personnel. These have gained notoriety with the public, and consequently events such as the Tough Mudder, Spartan Race and the Dirty Dash have become great events to take part in.

Physical Team Building Challenges

1. Firing Blind

   This is a very effective physical team building activity that requires leadership, coordination, trust and good communication. At one end of your playing field, lay out a large target area, about 3 meters in diameter. At the other end of the field is the fire team. They sit behind a large tarp held upright to block their view of the target. They have a water bomb launcher and a stack of water bombs. Using direction given by their observer who stands on the target side of the tarp, they have to try and get as many water bombs on target as possible.

2. Human pyramids

   How high can you build a human pyramid or tower?

3. Egg Toss

   How far can you throw a raw egg to a partner who successfully catches it?

4. Get the Canister from Toxic Area

   This is a popular team building challenge. Set up a can inside a taped off area. Give the team some equipment to retrieve the can without touching the ground inside the area. One variation I have done is to attach an ammo box up a tall tree containing supper for the team. They have to use climbing gear to climb up the tree, retrieve the box and return without dropping it inside the area. Inside the box can be anything you want that they can cook over an open fire. We had two chickens in ours. We plucked and prepared them while others in the team made the fire. Lovely.

   If you aren’t that adventurous, you can just put sweets in the can.

5. Bucket Swimming relay

   Get the team to do a swimming relay collecting things from the other end of the pool. Include a bucket, which is actually a real challenge to swim with as it fills up and slows you down.

6. Blanket Volleyball

   Basically, you set up a volleyball court using blankets or large tarps for the net. The teams on either side cannot tell where the ball is coming from, so have to work together to win.

   You can play this team building game standing up or sitting down on the floor, depending on how high you can make the net.

7. Crate Stacking

   You need proper climbing gear for crate stacking. Rig a safety line and pulley high above the place where you will be stacking your crates. The stacker has to stack the crates into a tower as tall as they can, whilst balancing on the top. They need to wear a climbing harness, and helmet, with someone belaying them from the ground.

   The team have to pass the crates up to the stacker. Takes guts and teamwork.

8. Bucket on a rope water obstacle course

   Get a very long piece of rope or string and weave it across a series of obstacles. Up trees, through bushes, across mud, over walls. Then, feed one end of the string through the handle of a bucket that is full of water. The team then has to get the bucket of water to the other end of the piece of string without spilling any water. Good teamwork is needed to pass the bucket up and over high obstacles.

9. Firemans relays

   Each team has to form a relay chain to get all of the water from one big barrel across an obstacle course and into another barrel at the other end. The race is timed of course.

10. Chariot racing

    The team builds a chariot and then races across a course. The course can be as long as you like. I have raced cross country over several miles before.

    The chariot can have wheels, or be dragged like a wooden frame.

11. Sedan Chair Racing

    Sedan chair racing is the same principle as the chariot race, but the team have to carry the sedan chair off the ground with their rider sitting on it. A lot more tiring.

12. Orienteering

    The team has to work together to navigate a course finding markers along the way. They have to keep together. The fastest team wins.

13. Geocaching

    Using a GPS, you can find hidden caches all over the world using the geocaching.com website. A hitech treasure hunt.

14. Drops

    Drops are where you drop off the team of teenagers somewhere. They then have to work out how to get to a given location in a time limit.

    You can make it easier by getting them to travel to a tall building that they can see from the start point. Or you could make it harder by blindfolding them when taking them to the start, so that they don’t know where they are.

15. Now Get Out Of That Challenges

    Now Get Out of That was a UK TV programme where teams had to navigate to a given location. There they would be given a puzzle or challenge to solve. Successful completion would give the teams the clue to the next location.

    The team challenges included river crossings and getting a cassette recorder to work when the power wires were too short (use the earth lead to extend the others). The sort of tasks teens will love are things like working out how to boil some water using only a sheet of paper and a candle. They have to fold up the paper to make a container. The water soaks into the paper a bit, but this is countered by the flame. It doesn’t burn the paper if they are careful.

16. Swamp Crossing

    Create a swamp, and then the teams have to cross it without going in it. They can be provided with a variety of useful and unhelpful equipment. Planks and bricks are commonly used. You can also get the teams to make a bridge.

17. Scavenger Hunts and Treasure Hunts

    Give your teams a list of items or tasks they have to complete in the time given. To make your teens think, make the description of the items cryptic. A picture of Thomas Jefferson ($5 bill), or a portrait of the Queen (a stamp or money).

    If completing tasks such as visiting places, they can take a picture to prove they were there.

18. Monopoly Runs

    Monopoly Runs are a race around a virtual Monopoly board. This is easy if you are in London. The team has to visit all of the places named on the Monopoly board as quickly as possible.

    If you aren’t in London, you can create your own board with place names of where you are.

19. Balance on a brick

    How many people can balance on a brick at once? You can use any surface to hand, such as a milk crate. Or how many teens can you get in a phone box or in a car.

20. Learn a new sport

    Just have a look at the full outdoor activities list to discover a new sport they all might like to try. Sharing the learning experience is a great way to get a team to bond.

21. Raft Building

    

    A favourite amongst teens for team building. Give them lots of poles, ropes and large barrels to lash together to form a raft. Then have a race or get them to cross a river.

22. Bridge Building and other river crossings

    Create a virtual river using two long pieces of rope. Give the teams equipment to make a bridge. If you are feeling adventurous, do it over a real stream or river.

23. The Wall

    Find an assault course that has a ten foot wall in it. The team has to get everyone over the wall. It takes planning, as the strongest person who can lift the other up onto the wall may not be the best person that everyone else has to then pull up the wall.

24. Dragon Boat Racing

    Get the team working together to paddle a dragon boat in a race. Rowing is another idea.

25. Canoe catamaran trust

    Using two canoes, balance beams between them and the team leader sits on the beam. Teams then canoe a course around the lake

26. Canal Lock Navigation

    Guide a canal boat through a lock

27. Group plank skiing

    You need two planks with loops of rope attached to them. The team stands with a foot on each plank holding the rope. They then have to walk the plank skis to the end of the room or field. This requires coordination and teamwork to lift the plank.

28. Water Fights

    Using water fights as a team building activity for teens gives you plenty of scope to adapt to your environment. You can use rivers, lakes, boats, or just two large barrels of water at each end of a field for them to refill from. Allow a free for all, or work out a points system for achieving some goal such as capturing a flag.

29. Zombie Combat Experience

    Run around abandoned warehouses or shopping malls fighting for your life against hordes of zombies. This adrenaline-pumping team building experience is not for the faint hearted. Your team of thrill seekers get a detailed mission briefing before receiving a combat training session and being issued with airsoft weapons and ammunition. You then head into battle.

    Your mission is to work with a team of doctors, military personnel and other civilian survivors to defeat the evil zombies and end their reign of terror. Your team has to complete a series of military based tasks to find a cure for the life-threatening zombie infection and ultimately save the human race – just make sure you don’t get left behind!

30. Wide Games

    Wide games are team games played over a large area, usually at night. The most common wide game is capture the flag. One team of teens defends a base, whilst the other has to enter and retrieve an object such as a flag and return it to their base. I have a powerful rotating beacon connected to a car battery and fire alarm switch. The switch is held open by a block of wood. The players have to get into the camp and remove the block of wood which turns on the beacon. That way it is obvious when the game is over.

Military Team Building Activities

It is essential in the military that all personnel work in strong effective teams. Leadership, trust, communication and coordination are critical. If these physical team building activities ideas aren’t enough for you, you’ll love my guide to military team building activities.

The post Physical Team Building Activities appeared first on Active Outdoors.

You are so in love, but don’t want to hang around the house making out if your brother or sister will get in the way. What you need are some romantic ideas of things to do outside with your boyfriend or girlfriend, and some places to go to spend time together. To help you out, here are lots of great ideas for fun things to do with your boyfriend that are free or relatively cheap.

The Great Outdoors has a wonderful range of interesting things to do outside. It does help if it is a warm and sunny day, but there are still plenty of fun things to do with your boyfriend or girlfriend outside in winter.

Geocaching

If you have a handheld global positioning system (GPS), then you could go geocaching. Geocaching is where you get the coordinates for a hidden box and then use a GPS to find it. The boxes are usually small waterproof containers or ammo boxes with a log book inside. Some geocaches also have a few goodies such as a book or keyring. The principle is that you leave a new item in the box, and take one of the items out of the box. Look at my Geocaching page for more information on what it is and how to get started.

Theme Parks, Fun Fairs and Amusement Arcades

Theme parks are a great way to share thrilling experiences together. You and your boyfriend or girlfriend can scream your heads off on the fastest rides. If you aren’t up for too many thrills, then there are plenty of more sedate rides. Look for a Tunnel of Love!

You can find out which are deemed to be the best theme parks in the world on my page about Rollercoasters, theme parks and how to beat the queues.

For free fun things to do with your girlfriend or boyfriend, places like Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles or Brighton Pier in the UK provide a place to walk arm in arm, share fries or candyfloss, and enjoy a fun fair or amusements. You can even try to win your loved one a huge teddy.

Water Parks and Flumes

Water parks are a fantastic way to have fun together outdoors in the summer sun. You can share the thrill of the flumes and rides, and discover whether you like them or not. They are a good way to get closer, as you can find out whether your partner is a thrillseeker or scared. You can then choose whether to get more adventurous or to give them a bit of emotional support.
Find out which are the best water parks in the world and what they are like.

Hiking and Walking in the Woods or on the Beach

Hiking or just going for a walk can be very therapeutic. You can walk arm in arm exploring the countryside, and hopefully find a quiet spot to enjoy the scenery. It depends on where you are. If you live near the beach, you could go for a walk along the sand, paddle in the sea, or walk along the pier.

There are plenty of National Trust properties, woods and beaches in the UK that you can visit.  If you get National Trust annual membership for couples, it is then free to get into all of their outdoor places, including free parking.  Their website has plenty of inspiration for more things to do outdoors with your boyfriend.

Walk the Dog

If one of you has a dog, taking it for a walk can be a great excuse to get out of the house and have some time to yourselves. You could go for a walk in the park, or if you have the day to spend together, go further afield.  If you think it will be a bit dull, you might be interested in some entertaining ways to make dog walking fun.

Going to the park is always great as generally it means lazing around in the sunshine. You could make different coloured paper boats and put them on the lake, or have races with them in a stream.

Daisy Chains

If there is a patch of grass near you that is quiet, you can see who can make the longest daisy chain. There is a definite art to it. Just imagine yourself lying in the park, the sun shining down on you and a pile of torn daisies at your feet where you haven’t quite got the hang of it yet.

Picnics

One of the nice things to do for your boyfriend or girlfriend is to put together a picnic and find a lovely spot to sit with your girlfriend or boyfriend by a river or in a park under a tree. You can spend hours eating, and laying in the sun. You can read stories and poetry to each other, and even write poetry just for the one you love.

Pony trekking or horse riding

It can be great fun going on a horse riding holiday with your boyfriend or girlfriend. Check out whether they like horses before you book anything though. There are pony trekking outings for an hour or even a day. Perhaps you can find one where you can ride together along the beach.

Kite Flying

Power kites are fantastic fun and are strong enough to lift you off the ground. You could spend the day in the park or on the beach with your boyfriend or girlfriend flying your kite. Depending on your kite this could be relaxing, thrilling and definitely fun! If you are up for some adventure, get yourself a power kite and see which way the wind blows you.

Boating

You could take your boyfriend or girlfriend for a relaxing day outdoors on a boating lake. Perhaps there is a canal near you where you can hire a rowing boat, pedalo or punt. For the more adventurous of you, hire a kayak, or go sea kayaking. Make sure you know how well your boyfriend or girlfriend can swim incase of emergencies. If you are feeling a bit more adventurous, you could go sailing

Things to do together at the beach

The beach is a fab place to spend time with your boyfriend or girlfriend. There are so many things to do at the beach in the sun together. You could make sandcastles or write each others’ names in the sand with pictures. You could sunbathe and rub sun screen onto each other. Lie back and read a book, or perhaps read poetry to each other. You could write your own poetry for your girlfriend.

If you don’t want to stay still, you could go for a walk along the beach or pier. Then there’s swimming in the sea, body boarding, kite surfing, surfing and even stand up paddle boarding. There is a great new toy call the Waboba Ball, which bounces when you throw it on water. Great fun for throwing and catching games with your boyfriend or girlfriend at the beach.

On the shoreline, you can go roller blading with your boyfriend or girlfriend holding hands. Not only is this romantic, but it may help you to stay upright if you aren’t that good on rollerblades. When you get tired, stop for an ice cream.

Fun things to do at the beach with friends

Go crabbing or rock pool exploring

If you and your boyfriend or girlfriend are looking for things to do on the beach together, you may have fun catching crabs, or use a net to catch fish and shrimps in rock pools. Watch out for the incoming tide!

Dune Surfing and Sandboarding

Another fun thing to do at the beach is dune surfing. If there are any dunes around, get hold of a cheap bodyboard from a seaside shop and career down the dunes. It’s exhausting as you have you have to keep climbing back up again, but a real giggle. Plus, you can then use the bodyboard in the sea if there are any waves to jump around in.  Sandboarding is similar to snowboarding, but on sand dunes.

Watch the sunset together

Grab yourself some food and drink and go out into the countyside or to the beach together. Find somewhere with a view. Put your rug down on the ground and talk while watching the sunset. If you are allowed to stay out when it’s dark, you could lay back and gaze up at the stars.

Something fun to do in the evenings along with watching the sunset with your boyfriend or girlfriend is lighting Chinese lanterns and letting them float into the sky. You do have to watch out for any local regulations regarding the use of Chinese lanterns though.

Stargazing

Looking up at the stars together is so romantic. If you can find a place away from streetlights, such as a campsite or the beach, you will be able to see the stars much better. You may see a shooting star or even be able to spot satellites. Try a spot of astronomy and identify the star constellations.  Remember to wrap up warm though. You can talk about all sorts of things.

Sit by a roaring fire

A nice fire on the beach as the sun sets could be the thing to do with your girlfriend or boyfriend. Toast a few marshmallows.

Wash the Car

You won’t be far from the house, but at least you will be outside. Washing the car can be lots of fun, and will often end up with playing about with sponges and water going everywhere. Be certain that your partner doesn’t mind before you decide to throw the whole bucket of water over them. You could make it into a money making enterprise by asking around the neighbourhood whether people want their cars washed.

Go Fruit Picking

There are plenty of places where you can go fruit picking. You can choose from strawberries, raspberries, grapes, apples, oranges, or whatever you can find. You don’t even have to like the fruit you are picking. Go off with your boyfriend or girlfriend and collect lots of strawberries for your mum. It is a great activity to do together, and you may find that you eat most of what you pick before you get home.

Make a rope swing

Make a rope swing – tyre, foot loop, plank for seat, over stream or river (not fast flowing). Find out more on my page about making the ultimate rope swings

Fun Things to do With Your Boyfriend or Girlfriend Outside in Winter

Even if it is cold and snowy, you and your boyfriend or girlfriend can have fun together. If you are fed up of being stuck indoors, then wrap up warm and get outside in the fresh air. You can go for a walk in the country, which is more magical if it has been snowing. Take a flask with a hot drink in it so that you can stop at a nice viewpoint and keep warm.

A sleigh ride or horse carriage ride together is a lovely things to do. It will cost you though. You can snuggle up together under a blanket and watch the scenery go by.

Free Things to do Outside With Your Boyfriend or Girlfriend

You could build a snowman together. Have a snowball fight, although this can often go rapidly downhill when you manage to get a snowball down your girlfriends neck. Perhaps make an igloo and snuggle up inside with some hot drinks and talk. You will be amazed at how warm an igloo is inside.

Make an ice slide. Find a nice flat stretch of snowy ground and carefully walk over it to compact the snow. Once it is fairly compact, you can then begin trying to slide on it. See how far you can slide without falling over.

If you don’t fancy being truly outside, you could go shopping for winter hats. Find something fashionable or fun. Perhaps you can then find a cafe with a window seat and watch the world go by with your boyfriend or girlfriend and a nice hot cup of hot chocolate.  Or you can make a fire and toast marshmallows.

For winter sports, you and your boyfriend or girlfriend could go skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, sledging, or even better is ice skating (as you can hold hands). If you want to have a real laugh together, try snow tubing or doughnutting. This is where you go down a snowy slope whilst sitting in an enormous inflatable inner tube. When there isn’t any snow about, you can do it at your local ski slope. I have compiled a list of free outdoor winter activities that you could do with your girlfriend or other friends.

Camping

If you are adventurous enough, you could go camping together. I have put together some tips on camping with your boyfriend or girlfriend. To start with, only one night may well be enough, especially if you don’t know each other that well.  Spending too much time together in one go can make or break relationships.

You will need camping gear. If you don’t have your own, you are certain to know someone who will lend you some. It is also best going to a proper campsite with facilities rather than trying to brave it in the wilds. Have a look at my camping kit list for ideas on what you will need to take with you.

What’s Other Things Does Everyone Else Love Doing Outside?

Still looking for more ways to spend time with your boyfriend? If you are stuck for ideas of things to do for Valentines Day, you can always buy an activity gift experience. With a huge selection of activities I offer ranging from pampering spa days, driving fast cars, tanks, champagne at the top of the Shard in London, and pretty much any thing you can think of. I have compiled a list of the most popular activity experience gift ideas for you.

These are the top 3 pages that other couples love to read:

• Boyfriend and Girlfriend Summer Bucket List
• Tips for Going Camping With Your Boyfriend or Girlfriend
• The Ultimate Outdoor Activities List

The post Fun Things to do with Your Boyfriend or Girlfriend Outside appeared first on Active Outdoors.

Summary

Using purely people power to build a pyramid or tower. The most common form of human pyramid is made by four or five team members kneeling down on all fours, and then the next three climb on their backs and make another layer. The human tower approach involves the team members standing in a circle facing inwards. four or five make the base layer, and then three or four on the next layer up by standing on their team mates shoulders.

Purpose and Objective

The objective of the human pyramid team building game is to see how high the team can build a tower or pyramid using just the members of their team.

Outcomes

Apart from a few bruises and a variety of colorful words, this team building activity will demonstrate teamwork, leadership, communication and also foster team bonding.

Benefits

The human pyramid challenge requires strategy and planning, and a bit of trial and error. It helps the team members to bond and develop teamwork skills to adapt to situations as they happen, especially if they don’t go according to plan. Being a physical team building activity, the team will get immediate feedback as to how well they are doing.

You will need:

Equipment – None
Environment – Indoors or outdoors, preferably with a soft landing
Space – 5m x 5m minimum
Time – From 5 minutes
Number of people needed – 6 or more
Preparation – None
Setup and Layout – Open space

This team building activity is great in that it requires very little preparation. You do however need to think carefully about how the team members will respond to having to physically stand or kneel on top of each other.

How to Run the Human Pyramid Team Building Game

When you brief the teams, you will need to make it clear what success looks like. Do they have to hold their human pyramid for 30 seconds? Do they have to reach a minimum height? Does it have to be freestanding or can the team use equipment?

Complications and Things That can go Wrong

The human pyramid game involves physically stacking people, so there is the risk of the pyramid collapsing onto the people on the bottom. The higher the tower, the bigger the risk of injury. You will need to take all reasonable precautions to minimise injury. You can do this by getting the team to build their pyramid on grass, in water or on gym crash mats.

Human Pyramid Team Building With Purpose

Some people find it pointless to just try to see how high you can get using a human pyramid. So, to give the teams purpose, give them something to reach for. String some form of prize on rope across the top of the game area. This could be a card box with sweets in or something they need to do the next part of their course. They then know what they are aiming for and it will drive the design of the tower or pyramid.
Make sure that the goal is reachable with the number of players in each team. Or, you could leave it to them to work out that the teams have to join together to get their prize.

For more ideas, read the full team building activities list.

The post The Human Pyramid Team Building Game appeared first on Active Outdoors.