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A yoga session in Bryant Park
A yoga session in Bryant Park
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All the Free Outdoor Workouts You Can Do in New York City This Summer

Welcome to Workout Wednesday: every hump-day, we'll be rounding up some of the city's hottest fitness trends and studios.

"Can we have class outside?" isn't just a mantra for kids stuck in front of a chalkboard. As the mercury rises across New York City, gyms and fitness studios are breaking out of their basement classrooms and taking advantage of the weather in parks and on the waterfront both before and after work. And the best part? So many of them are totally free.


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Below, we've rounded up the complimentary workouts you can do all summer long—yoga! running! Pilates! bootcamps!—broken down by day. With plenty of options in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, you've basically run out of excuses for skipping a workout this season.

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Mondays

One of the city's newer barre studios wants to start your week off right with hour-long yoga-Pilates-ballet mashup workout every Monday morning at the park's fountain plaza through August 4th. You don't need to sign up for the 7:30am class—no registration is required, and everyone is welcome—but you can sign up for email reminders here.

You can also do barre exercises in the Brooklyn Bridge Park every Monday at 7pm—but only for the month of June. In partnership with The Y, this class meets on the Pier 2 Promenade. They've also got sunrise yoga in the same spot on this day through the end of July; check out details about signing up here.

Also for the early birds, The Rise NYC has a free workout every weekday, and Mondays are high intensity interval training in Washington Square Park. The 6:30am class is only 30 minutes long, so they recommend biking or running to the location as a warmup.

In case you need to sleep in, activewear brand Lolë has an all-levels running group that leaves from its Soho store each week at 6:30pm (one of several free fitness events they host each week). You can stash your work stuff there, plus pick up a free yellow hat to help you spot fellow runners out in the wild.

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Tuesdays

Aside from running, Lolë is back to hosting weekly classes on the water with the city's top fitness studios. Tuesday's sessions take place at Tribeca's Pier 25, and upcoming partners include Lyons Den Power Yoga, ((305)) Fitness, Bari Studio, and Ironstrength. Classes start at 6:30pm and space is limited, so claim your spot by RSVPing on their Facebook page.

In Midtown, Athleta is hosting Tuesday morning yoga classes at 10am on the lawn in Bryant Park through September. Walk-ins are welcome, but you can also reserve a spot here. Be sure to pick up your "Frequent Yogi Card" the first time you stop by, since 12 visits will earn you a $25 Athleta gift card.

On the west side? Bring your own mat for Pilates in the Park, taking place in Riverside Park at the plaza at 66th Street at 6:30pm, every Tuesday through August 25th. It's open to all levels, too. And Brooklynites get their own Pilates session with The Fitness Guru at 7pm, starting on June 23rd and running through September 8th on the lawn by the Empire Fulton Ferry—sign-up information is here.

And from The Rise, we've got a full-body workout beginning at 6:30am. The strong-willed meet at Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza, rain or shine.

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Wednesdays

Yup, you guessed it—more free fitness from Lolë. Midweek classes take place at the West Village's Pier 46 with even more cool classes: Body by Simone, Yogaworks, The Fhitting Room, and BFX Studio are just a sampling of their partners. These limited-availability classes also start at 6:30pm; you can use the same link above to book a spot.

And there's more free Pilates at the Brooklyn Bridge Park, too—this mat class is led by Cobble Hill's Body in Balance studio, and it takes place on the Pier 5 Promenade at 7pm (beginning June 24th). Be prepared to arrive early, as you'll need to fill out a release form before each session.

For Queens citizens, there's sunset yoga in Astoria Park every Wednesday at 7pm through August 26th. Bring your own mat, and RSVP at least 24 hours in advance; you can find more information about sign-ups and location here. In Brooklyn, Goodyoga hosts an hourlong class on the North 5th Pier beginning at 6:30pm—you'll be able to spot them by the balloons.

And back in Manhattan, the New York City Parks Department has two options for sunset yoga on this day: An hourlong session beginning at 6:30pm in Riverside Park (where Tuesday's Pilates class meets), and a 6:45pm class on Abby's Lawn in Fort Tryon Park that runs until 8pm. Both require you to bring your own mat and are subject to rain cancellations.

If you'd rather start early, The Rise has a quickie half-hour bootcamp (think pushups, burpees, and mountain climbers) in Bryant Park each Wednesday at 6:30am—it takes place on the fountain terrace near 41st Street.

And the November Project—remember those crazy people working out in dark mornings this winter?—keep at it in the warmer months, too. Their free workouts start at precisely 5:28am and 6:28am inside the Upper East Side's Charles Schurz Park; head here for more information.

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Thursdays

Not free for mid-day yoga on Tuesdays? You can down-dog with Athleta in Bryant Park after work at 6pm on Thursdays, too (here's that optional signup link again). If you're in Brooklyn, Bend & Bloom is hosting Free Fresh Air Yoga in partnership with Lululemon on the northern end of Prospect Park's Long Meadow at 7pm—be sure to bring your own mat.

In the Meatpacking District, Classes on the Cobbles is back—and while the Gansevoort Plaza classes aren't happening every Thursday, there's plenty to choose from when they are taking place. This Thursday, June 11th, for example, has four 40-minute classes hosted by local fitness studios, beginning with circuit training by Kore at 5:30 and wrapping up with Core Fusion by Exhale at 7:45. Head to its Eventbrite page to RSVP for classes taking place this week and on June 25th, and keep checking back at that link as the season goes on for more sign-ups.

And across the Island, there's morning and evening fitness classes at Union Square as part of its Summer in the Square series that runs from June 18th through August 13th. There's a partnership with local gyms (Atmanada Yoga, Crunch, Brick New York, New York Health & Racquet Club), plus a Paragon Sports running group that leaves from the North Plaza at 6:30pm. Click on the link above to see the full schedule.

And The Rise takes it to Macdonald Park in  Forest Hills, Queens at 6:30am for its half-hour of heart-pumping body resistance exercises.

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Fridays

The Rise caps off the week with hill workouts on the Williamsburg bridge, meeting at the pedestrian entrance on the Manhattan side at 6:30am. They'll vary between straight jogging, timed sprints, and workout stations that you'll need to run to and from.

Sundays

Want to sweat it out on the weekends? Brooklyn Bridge Park has total body conditioning courtesy of Dodge YMCA at 3pm at the Pier 2 Play Turf (beginning July 5th). Click here to learn more about signing up. And Goodyoga has another free outdoor class, this time at Transmitter Park beginning at 7pm.

Bonus: Free Indoor Workouts!

For those hot days when you sweat just by stepping outside, you can take advantage of indoor complimentary workouts. Activewear boutique Bandier pushes aside the racks to hold in-store classes with some of the city's top gyms—past partners have included Exhale, Flybarre, SLT, and BFX Studios. Just sign up for their emails or follow them on Facebook to know what's coming home.

And Lululemon stores regularly have yoga on Sundays mornings, and there's always the Sweaty Saturday series in the Meatpacking store—click that link to see which fitness studio is on deck, and be sure to RSVP beforehand, as slots fill up fast.