Outdoor gyms: a how-to guide
Have you seen an urban outdoor gym in a park near you? In recent years, local councils have been trying to tackle our national couch potato problem by investing in obstacles and machines in public outdoor spaces that are free, and easy to use. The main provider of these spaces, The Great Outdoor Gym Company, has installed over 400 such spaces in the UK since 2007, after observing the success of similar equipment in China in the 1990s (in the future, they may even provide more than this: some of TGOC’s machines generate their own electricity). These gyms have now become a regular sight in open spaces across the UK, often near children’s playgrounds, which encourages parents to use them while their kids play. You can usually find your nearest one on your local council website. These spaces have been designed to provide low-impact training in an intuitive and easy way to use park outdoor gym equipment . The various machines target the lower body, upper body and core, not to mention c...