The Future of Fitness

Parks and recreation departments keep a close eye on community wellness

The many recreational opportunities offered by the Grandview Heights and Upper Arlington aren’t just for entertainment – the cities are working hard to keep residents healthy for years.

“We believe that personal enrichment or personal wellness almost has to be a component of everything we offer,” says Upper Arlington Recreation and Parks Director Tim Moloney.

Both cities’ efforts begin with youth programming.

Grandview Heights tries to set children up for a life of fitness with its own youth offerings, many of which skew toward very young children. Soccer Buddies is aimed at ages 5 and 6, its children’s dance program is aimed at ages 4 and 5, and JumpBunch programs are for ages 3-5, helping children develop balance and motor skills that will be useful for staying in shape.

“It’s a … spontaneous, energetic group of very young kids with age-appropriate sports activities,” says Grandview Parks and Recreation Director Sean Robey. The program is “trying to set a foundation for moving on to items that require a little more motor skill and concentration.”

While physical activity is a big part of Upper Arlington’s youth programming – running the gamut from tumble and dance classes for very young children to organized sports such as volleyball and softball – there’s more for kids than just sports. The city’s camps are a particularly effective way to keep the kids active when school is not in session, and its educational programs such as cooking classes help children establish good health habits early, says Moloney.

“It transitions right into our adult programming with our lifelong learning and leisure offerings,” Moloney says.

Adult fitness programs are UA’s most demanded activities, and staffers make sure to offer what residents are looking for to stay fit – from standard aerobics classes to more specific programs like Zumba. The focus on adult health then transitions into the city’s focus on health for its senior citizens.

The creation of a small fitness room in the Upper Arlington Senior Center 15 years ago has led to a serious expansion of senior fitness programming, Moloney says. The center’s most recent step was to purchase a NuStep recumbent cross trainer.

“Fifteen years later, we’ve turned it into a 30-by-60 room with the most modern equipment available,” he says.

Health seminars and a weekly Weight

Watchers program are some of Grandview’s more successful non-physical wellness offerings. The city has also flirted with cooking and nutrition education classes for children, but has found those programs less appealing to young people than to adults.

Grandview’s two full-time recreation supervisors do their fair share of monitoring new trends and opportunities in fitness offerings – reading publications and other cities’ recreation brochures, attending conferences, using their personal connections. That helps the department keep abreast of new developments and old concepts that are experiencing new surges in popularity.

“Those include things like kickball, which is a fairly new program and, believe it or not, is very popular among some of our young adults,” says Robey.

The UA Recreation and Parks Department’s employees also read periodicals, talk to customers and participate in activities to ensure they stay up to date on the latest developments. The city was one of the first in central Ohio to organize a senior softball league, for instance, and now that program is huge, Moloney says.

“Our professional staff really try to stay at the forefront of what is happening in the field of fitness,” he says.

Another important component of UA’s fitness focus is its trail system. Most of its parks have looping trails to make walking and running simple, some of which were originally dead-end trails until the city heeded residents’ wishes and completed them. Thompson Park has a multiuse trail with fitness stations along the route – such trails were popular in the 1980s when the Thompson Park trail was built, and though the fad faded for a time, the Thompson Park trail is becoming popular again today.

Grandview offers its own set of trails, the most popular of which is probably the loop around the perimeter of the C. Ray Buck Sports Park, Robey says. The city has been working on plans to connect more of its trails, which residents identified as a priority in a 2007 questionnaire.

The Upper Arlington Recreation and Parks Department offers a variety of programs for children and seniors, as well as everyone in between.

Promoting good nutrition is another important step toward keeping residents healthy. Upper Arlington has a number of adult and youth classes focused on aspects of nutrition, while Grandview Heights points to the community plots at Wallace Gardens as opportunities for residents to explore not only nutrition, but also outdoor work and camaraderie.

“You’re getting at least three or four benefits from doing that,” Robey says.

Garth Bishop is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at laurand@ pubgroupltd.com.