May 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 44

HIT THE (OUTDOOR) GYM

Strategically placed fitness zones
throughout San Antonio's park system are
intended to combat local health issues.

equipment. In addition, most park
departments post informative signs
and instructions to help users understand how to stay safe and get the
most out of the equipment.
Parks & Recreation Magazine followed up with three park departments across the country that have
embraced this new wave of fitness
trails and zones in order to keep residents healthy and moving. Here, they
share how they did it and how these
outdoor gyms have made their parks
more popular than ever.
equipment rival what you might find
in an indoor gym: leg presses, lat pull
downs, elliptical machines, stationary bikes, rowers, back extension machines and more. Some of these pieces accommodate two or more users at
a time and are built for comfort and
ease of use.
Though fitness " trails " may have
been the standard of decades past -
with the thought that users would intersperse strength training with walking or running - many parks have
arranged the stations in one area, creating an outdoor gym or fitness zone
where people can work out together.
Because park departments aim to
get all ages and abilities out and exercising, these stations are created to
accommodate anyone from teens to
seniors and out-of-shape newbies to
highly fit, regular exercisers. In some
parks, the equipment is so popular
that lines often form as people wait
their turn to use the stations. In addition, these new all-weather machines
require little upkeep and maintenance, and are made to last.

One Swedish company, City Art
Gym, has even created outdoor fitness
equipment that doubles as public art.
It touts that these pieces are useful for
smaller spaces or where a regular outdoor gym isn't appropriate.
Among the benefits of having a
park and recreation department behind the fitness zones is the ability
to link outdoor gyms with fitness instructors and exercise groups. These
groups may be especially helpful for
seniors, who may be wary of exercising on their own or using unfamiliar

At Concepcion Park and other locations
throughout San Antonio, fitness zones
are augmented by free workout classes.

42

Parks & Recreation

| M AY 2 0 1 3 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

San Antonio, Texas
Over the last two years, San Antonio,
Texas, installed some 24 fitness areas
in city parks, each with five to eight
new workout stations. To best site their
new fitness stations, the city pored over
health data maps, eventually deciding
to focus on areas with a high concentration of people with diabetes.
" Our goal was to encourage people
to utilize the existing walking tracks
and to provide an additional opportunity for them to be able to lose



May 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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