If you’re on the planning team for creating or upgrading a public park, you’ve probably already considered the park’s playground needs and maybe even added a walking or biking trail. And those are excellent! But what are parents going to do after the first hour of sitting on that bench? How many days will fitness enthusiasts skip their strength training in favor of outdoor cardio? What if they could do both in the same place?
Parents who bring their kids to parks, as well as other adults and even teenagers who pass by or use the park, can often feel like parks have fewer features for them because they’re too big for the kids’ play areas. If you have a trail where parents can multitask (walk or jog while their kids play) that’s a very good start – especially if the whole trail is within visual range of the playground. But that might be a very short trial, and it is likely still missing most of the options an indoor gym can offer.
Enter: Outdoor Fitness Equipment. This can include things from adult-sized overhead ladders and psychomotor courses to inclined bars so people don’t have to touch the ground for bodyweight exercises like pushups, to actual gym-like equipment and weight machines.
Here are a few reasons to include outdoor fitness for teens and adults in your park:
- Aesthetics: Psychomotor Courses and Agility Circuits come in both steel and natural materials, so they can match any theme you’re trying to incorporate into your park.
- Utility: Kids get more out of playgrounds when their parents can feel productive during playtime. When parents run out of things to do, playtime is likely to be cut short.
- Community Health: Attract people who may be less likely to go to an indoor gym by offering a free, convenient, and pleasant location for them to exercise.
Wondering what kind of adult fitness items would fit in your area? Westplay can help! Want to include a parkour course in an upcoming park? Westplay can help! Looking for more ways to engage both kids and parents at your park? Westplay can help! We even have a page on our website dedicated to outdoor gym equipment! (Wooden section coming soon!)
For more information or an estimate, send us an email at info@westplay.ca, call us at 604-424-4168. These resources are free and available to the public because we want to help you understand the options as well as you understand your little ones and their families.
