They give free exercise opportunities in the fresh air and in lovely settings and encourage people too self conscious or who can’t afford real gyms to have a little go
Very popular on in Europe but we are getting a few more here. And it’s not that expensive, wooden exercise equipment can be put along trails in the most ordinary local parks
The weather is a bit against us here in the U.K. but I’ve been to a few and they’ve been well used and well maintained, not rusty at all
If your hospital is the one I’ve read about then the Pocket Park and the Outdoor Gym are open to patients and the public as well as the staff.
What a lovely way to work off the stress and anxieties of the past year and a half, get people exercising and reduce obesity. I think Sir Thomas Moore would have liked it.
These outdoor fitness stations are good, often seen and used in public parks.
Mostly metal construction designed for basic exercises, often used in circuit training running between stations stopping to a number of rep exercises.
There are draw backs, depending what type of stations were/are installed, I can’t see any being used by the majority of patients as part of a rehabilitation programme, usually these exercises use body weight, movement/bending, walking more a Calisthenics programme
For the Staff, the weather has been mentioned, the grass needs constant cutting, the grass wares around station, changing/shower facilities nearby for sweaty/muddy trainer, maintenance, even bird droppings brings about complaints, and not to mention Health and Safety issues
Was £31K well spent, time can only tell…… but the thinking behind the idea I am sure was well meaning
Wollongong Council build these outdoor gyms in parks and along cycleways and they seem to be used a lot, I walk by a couple and there is always someone on them. I don’t use them myself but they seem quite popular.
Edit: Unlike childrens play areas they are not protected from the sun by shade cloth either so they don’t get used during the middle of the day in summer either.
they have an outdoor gym at our local park. Seems to be used a lot in general by people who do not belong to a gym. Was particularly busy during lockdown.
Outdoor exercise weather permitting is great, a brisk walk, jog, Tai Chi class, Yoga class, football even Frisbee has benefits the indoors can’t provide
I didn’t agree with the Government banning their use during lockdown, mind people did use them, despite Police efforts of tape wrapping, (they even wrapped the Rugby posts,” ridiculous “) along with the stakeouts too
But when night falls they do attract the gangs, along with the vandalism, bottles/cans and even syringes are left discarded.
I know people will still use these stations, is the use minimal or plentiful I don’t really know.
Do the Benefits outweigh the costs and time righting the Problems they attract.
Mind this is here, hopefully the mindless vandalism, and claim culture is not as bad in your area
At our huge, regional hospital you are more likely to see staff outside the gates or hiding in the bushes having a smoke. The site has been No Smoking for many years so the staff just go outside the gates!
We have a small adult gym at our local recreation ground and I could count on one hand the people I have seen using it.
I think the hospital ones should be OK because they will be within the hospital grounds, close to the buildings and covered by the hospital security patrols and cameras
Yes, anything left open to the public at night has to be pretty vandal proof. Even children’s play areas get damaged
But if we take a chance on still having children’s play areas and make the equipment robust, no reason not to try pensioners gyms etc too. And the equipment for activity trails is very tough
I think it’s a shame if vandalism puts us off trying to do things, that way the vandals win and we all lose out
Better to build with vandalism in mind, make it as indestructible as possible, encourage neighbourhood watch, security cameras and community police patrols
I agree with you, be great if vandalism wasn’t a factor when planning and designing fitness stations, hanging baskets, and many of the other things that would benefit and brighten up our towns and cities
Sadly, here the concerns of vandalism has stop/prevented some of the better ideas being implemented by the Local Authority and Private outfits alike
What a shame, it must be a real problem where you live. We have our share of it here, mostly gangs of feral pre teens and early teens. They just vandalised a lovely special feature in one of our parks but we have some very good groups of volunteers who do maintenance
But when they plan things, they do try to make it as vandal proof as possible
I expect they looked at the research and surveys re cost / benefit before they spent the money on it.
Anything that encourages people to exercise is a step in the right direction.
I think outdoor gyms are a great idea - we all need exercise, fresh air and vitamin D from sunshine. As we don’t get a lot of sunshine in UK, why not make the most of your exercise time on dry days and do it in the open air whenever possible - especially now when we are trying to avoid gatherings in indoor venues.
People still go out walking on chilly Winter days, so why not do outdoor exercises, provided you do a warm up routine first.
It wasn’t clear from the photo exactly what equipment they had in Kettering but I know of a few places in England which have a 12 station outdoor gym, so I guess they have something similar.
We have one in our tiny local park, next to the fenced off toddlers play area.
The people I see using it the most is groups of teenagers at weekends and groups of young Mums who take their toddlers to the playground - the Mums seem to split into 2 groups to take it in turns to watch all the kids in the play area and use the adult gym area while they are there.
I must admit, I have never seen any older people using it.
Apart from bad weather restricting its use, the other downsides I can think of is that some people may feel self conscious about using outdoor exercise facilities, which may put them off. Possibly, that’s why the young people I see do it in small groups and turn it into a bit of a fun, social occasion.
My house faces The Green and across the other side our recreation association has recently provided an exercise fenced section equipped with several weather resistant devices that are used daily. Our only slight problem was getting council permission to get the project from the design stage to the actual provision.
Only time will tell how much this outdoor facility will be used.
Might have not been the best time of year to start it though, just before winter.
My DIL (to be) works there, so maybe she will be able to tell me more about it.
For those who have said about vandalism, I can’t see there being too much of that likely, as it is in the private grounds of the hospital, not out in a public park.
