Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks 2019

outdoor ADULT Fitness parks

Best practices for promoting community health by increasing physical activity

PURPOSE

INSPIRE COMMUNITIES to advocate and utilize Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks as CRITICAL HEALTH SOLUTIONS for increasing PHYSICAL ACTIVITY and SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT.

OUR ADVISORY NETWORK

Program Developed By

©2019 PlayCore Wisconsin, Inc. All rights reserved.

DISCLAIMER

The purpose of Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks: Best Practice Guidelines for Promoting Community Health by Increasing Physical Activity is to raise awareness and provide education and considerations about incorporating fitness into communities. It is not to be considered as an all-inclusive resource. Please refer to manufacturer specifications and safety warnings for all equipment. While our intent is to provide general resources to encourage communities to include Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks as an exercise option for people, the authors, advisors, program directors, and contributors disclaim any liability based on information contained in this publication. Site owners are responsible to inspect, maintain, repair, and manage site-specific elements, and to ensure that trainers and program directors employed on-site are certified in the fields in which they provide programming. Individuals should consult with their physician prior to starting an exercise program. PlayCore and its divisions provide these comments as a public service in the interest of building healthier communities through fitness, while advising of the restricted context in which it is given.

Along with a variety of industry professionals, fitness leaders, organizational advocates, and local champions across a variety of communities, these experts played a critical role in the development of this collaborative resource. Undoubtedly, they are to be commended for their knowledge and authority, but also deeply appreciated for their intense passion for innovative fitness solutions that promote community health and capital.

“Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks can play a vital role in motivating people of all ages and levels of fitness toward achieving a healthier, more active and more productive life.”

Michael Suk, M.D., J.D., MPH

Chairman of Orthopaedic Surgery, Geisinger Health System, Danville, PA

Gary Liguori, Ph.D.

Dr. Michael Suk, M.D., J.D., MPH, FACS, is the Chairman of Orthopaedic Surgery at Geisinger Health System in Danville, PA. Previously, Dr. Suk was Associate Professor, Associate Residency Program Director and Division Chief of Orthopaedic Trauma at the University of Florida – ShandsMedical Center, Jacksonville, FL. Dr. Suk is the author of numerous scientific articles, and has spoken both nationally and internationally on a variety of topics relevant to orthopedics and health. Dr. Suk’s immersion in advocating for healthy activity began in 2003 when he was chosen by President George W. Bush as a White House Fellow to serve as a special assistant to Secretary Gale A. Norton at the U.S. Department of the Interior. During his tenure in this role, Dr. Suk organized Get Fit with US, designed to support President Bush’s domestic initiative, Healthier US, a federal interagency program based on the premise that increasing personal fitness and becoming healthier is critical to achieving a better and longer life. Dr. Suk has also served as a senior advisor on health and recreation to the National Park Service. He has also served on the board of directors of America on the Move and the American Hiking Society.

“The potential to positively impact health through Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks is limitless. Providing communities with a lowcost environment to engage in fitness for all levels of users is an outstanding benefit to any community interested in their citizens.“

Dean of the College of Health Sciences, University of Rhode Island

Thom McKenzie, Ph.D.

Emeritus Professor of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, San Diego State University

Dr. Gary Liguori is the Dean of the College of Health Sciences at the University of Rhode Island (URI), and a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Gary received his Ph.D. in Wellness from North Dakota State University (NDSU), and prior to his current position, he was head of the Department of Health and Human Performance at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and held previous faculty appointments at the University of Wyoming, Youngstown State University, and NDSU. In addition, Liguori’s research on such topics as physical activity, nutrition, obesity, physical assessment and cardiac rehabilitation has been published widely in academic journals during the past 16 years, and he has served as the Chair of the ACSM Health Fitness Specialist (HFS) certification committee, and as the Senior Editor of the first edition ACSM Resource Manual for the HFS. He served as an Editor for ACSM’s flagship textbook, the Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription (11th edition), and authors a successful Fitness and Wellness textbook with McGraw-Hill. Gary serves as a Board member of the American Association of Health and Disability and also is the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for GOfit, which is Spain’s largest provider of health and fitness facilities.

“Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks have the potential to build community! They provide an opportunity for adults in the neighborhood to not only exercise, but to engage socially. This guidebook provides a factual, up-to-date resource that may serve as a model for communities trying to implement best practices.”

Dr. Thom McKenzie is Emeritus Professor of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences at San Diego State University and former Adjunct Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego. He has authored or co-authored over 200 papers and chapters and developed numerous published assessment and curricular materials. He is a Fellow of four professional organizations and has been an investigator on 14 large-scale multidisciplinary research projects supported by NIH and collaborated on numerous projects funded by Active Living Research. He is currently studying physical activity behavior and policies in diverse settings, including homes, schools, recreation centers, and community parks.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Public Health Priority

With the steady and dramatic rise in adult obesity, promoting regular physical activity is a public health priority. It is time to think about new ways to make physical activity and exercise more available, more accessible, more affordable, more enjoyable, and ultimately, more beneficial to society.

Evidence-based benefits of Outdoor Adult Fitness

Multiple studies have shown a variety of increased benefits of outdoor exercise and new innovations are engaging adults of all abilities through creative Outdoor Adult Fitness Park initiatives across the U.S. This guidebook overviews some of the many compelling evidence based benefits of outdoor exercise. This includes improved psychological and physiological health, disease prevention, improved adherence to regular exercise, decreased tension and depression, increased energy, greater satisfaction levels, and access to green environments.

Collaborative Education and Advocacy

This collaborative initiative, championed by a variety of university scholars, health experts, and community champions, is a testament to the need and passion for educating and empowering communities to effectively plan, implement, and sustain Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks to promote overall health and wellness. Through thoughtful planning, design, and execution, Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks can provide communities with resources needed to create environments that deliver a well-rounded workout, and to help reverse the dangerous and growing trend of adult overweight and obesity.

Planning and Design

By effectively aligning Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks to total body fitness, environments can offer well-rounded opportunities for:

AEROBIC FITNESS via cardio endurance activities

MUSCLE FITNESS via strength, resistance, and endurance training

CORE FITNESS via abdomen, lower back, and pelvic exercises

BALANCE TRAINING to promote kinesthetic awareness

FLEXIBILITY TRAINING to promote stability, coordination, range of motion

Communities can also gain greater benefits when they thoughtfully engage a variety of stakeholders to consider sitespecific needs, interests, and goals. Stakeholders’ input can positively influence design typologies, targeted user groups, meaningful locations and context, safety and management, universal design to engage more users, fitness equipment selection and configuration, amenities to promote comfort and usage, programming to extend usage, marketing to attract a diverse user group, and evaluation practices to continuously drive improvement.

Community Champions in Action

Research is proving that Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks for adults engage participants in substantially more moderate to vigorous physical activity. Learn about a variety of communities, through the best practice case studies in this guidebook, that are benefiting from their strategic approach to Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks.

Taking Action for Community Health

Together we can effectively promote the benefits of parks and outdoor fitness spaces as valuable resources to increase health and wellness. We hope you find this educational tool helpful as you communicate, advocate, and champion your fitness initiative.

UNIQUE BENEFITS OF OUTDOOR ADULT FITNESS PARKS

› Free to users, providing needed resources especially in underserved communities

› People who exercise outdoors are more likely to repeat the behavior

› People who exercise outdoors are more likely to engage in the activity longer than those who exercise indoors

› Provides a social outlet for exercise

› Can be enjoyed by people of all abilities and fitness levels

› Provides exposure to fresh air, nature, and sunlight, which increases important levels of vitamin D

› May encourage a greater number of people to exercise regularly than indoor options

› Offers Outdoor Adult Fitness Park owners an outlet for revenue generation through program agreements with certified personal trainers

› Acts as a catalyst to encourage the nonexercising population to engage

› Increases interest in related community services, such as nutrition education and health screenings

› Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks located within sight lines of a playground promote active behavior in adult family members, increase the time spent at the playground, and help promote the importance of lifelong fitness on children

› Promotes pride of place among neighborhoods where Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks are located

› May qualify for increased grant funding related to obesity prevention/reduction

› Increases community capital

› Promotes healthy behavior for families in age-appropriate settings

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY NEEDS & IMPLICATIONS

The Importance of Physical Activity

In light of the well-documented health risks of physical inactivity and excessive sedentary behavior, promoting regular physical exercise is a public health priority. The decadeslong decline in physical activity seen throughout the U.S. has resulted in unprecedented increases in disease1 including a rising incidence of mental health issues.2 Therefore, it is essential to identify practical ways to engage all individuals in greater levels of physical exercise to improve individual, community, and population-level health.

Physical exercise is important for maintaining overall fitness, which includes healthy weight; building and maintaining healthy bones, muscles, and joints; promoting physiological well-being; reducing surgical risks; and strengthening the immune system. Increased physical exercise can also have a positive effect on mental health and self-esteem.

Today, rates of overweight and obesity are dramatically higher than 30-40 years ago, and overweight and obesity continue to pose a major public health challenge.3 Obese individuals are at increased risk of hypertension, dyslipidemia, Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, respiratory problems, and endometrial, breast, prostate, and colon cancers. Higher body weights are also associated with increases in all-cause mortality, or premature death. Obese individuals may also suffer from social stigmatization and discrimination based on their body size. Regular physical activity can go a long way towards helping prevent these conditions, along with managing body weight.

Health Statistics, Inactivity, and the Future

Despite the proven benefits of physical activity, only about 23% of adult Americans meet the Physical Activity Guidelines for both aerobic and muscle strengthening.4 Additionally, mean body weight, Body Mass Index, and waist circumference, often associated with an increased risk for certain diseases, have increased over the past 18 years.5 Further, CDC data show that about 70% of adults over the age of 20 are overweight, with approximately 40% (93.3 million) classified as obese,6 up from 34% in 2007-08. If obesity rates continue on their current

trajectories, by 2030 thirteen states could have adult obesity rates above 60%, 39 others above 50%, and all 50 states may be above 44%.7 Obesity could eventually contribute to more than 6 million cases of Type 2 diabetes, 5 million cases of coronary heart disease and stroke, and more than 40,000 cases of cancer in the next two decades. In addition, the medical costs associated with obesity are estimated to triple by 2030 to $66 billion annually, and the loss in economic productivity could be as high as $580 billion annually. Although the medical cost of adult obesity is difficult to calculate, current estimates range from $147 billion to nearly $210 billion per year with diabetes alone near $116 billion.8 The Surgeon General has indicated that if the obesity trend continues, we may see the first generation in recordable history that will be less healthy and live shorter lives than their parents.9

According to the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (www.health.gov/paguidelines) being physically active on a regular basis helps:

› Lower risk of all-cause mortality

› Lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality

› Lower risk of cardiovascular disease (including heart disease and stroke)

› Lower risk of hypertension

› Lower risk of type 2 diabetes

› Lower risk of adverse blood lipid profile

› Lower risk of cancers of the bladder, breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, lung, and stomach

› Improve cognition

› Reduce risk of dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease)

› Improve quality of life

› Reduce anxiety

› Reduce risk of depression

› Improve sleep

› Slow or reduce weight gain

› Promote weight loss, particularly when combined with reduced calorie intake

› Prevent weight regain following initial weight loss

› Improve bone health

› Improve physical function

› Lower risk of falls

› Lower risk of fall-related injuries

According to the American Heart Association,10 121.5 million, or 48%, of adult Americans have cardiovascular disease (CVD), 45.6%, have been diagnosed with hypertension, nearly 14% have Type 2 diabetes, and 37.6% of the population have prediabetes. All of these figures have increased since the 2013 edition of this guidebook. Not only do each of these conditions present their own health concerns, but they also contribute to many other serious health issues including congestive heart failure, heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, and diabetes.

If the 2030 trajectories are accurate, the number of new cases of Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease and stroke, hypertension, and arthritis could double again by 2030. The estimated direct costs of CVD and stroke increased from $103.5 billion in 1996 to 1997 to $213.8 billion in 2014 to 2015.10 All of these diseases can be at least partially linked to a lack of regular exercise and poor dietary habits.

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Mental Health and Well-being

In addition to physical health, mental health and well-being is also a concern of major significance. Globally, an estimated 264 million people suffer from depression, one of the leading causes of disability, with many of these people also suffering from symptoms of anxiety. Depression and anxiety have a significant economic impact; the estimated cost to the global economy is US $1 trillion per year in lost productivity.11 In 2010, worldwide, an estimated US $2.5 – 8.5 trillion in lost output was attributed to mental disorders.12 This sum is expected to nearly double by 2030 if a concerted response is not mounted.12 In view of this concern, the promotion of mental health and well-being have been explicitly included in the United Nations’ 2015–30 Sustainable Development Goals.13

Clinical literature has recognized for years that physical exercise affects overall health and brain function. Recent research14 has established how voluntary exercise can increase levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and other factors, improving learning, mental performance, and enhancing/promoting brain plasticity. Another 2019 study15 provided strong support for the idea that physical activity has an important and likely causal role in reducing risk for depression, showing a 26% decrease in odds for becoming depressed for each major increase in objectively measured physical activity. The ‘increase’ in physical activity was further described as what a person might experience by replacing 15 minutes of sitting with 15 minutes of running, or 1 hour of sitting with 1 hour of moderate activity, like brisk walking.

Regular physical exercise increases blood flow, improves cerebrovascular health, and determines benefits on glucose and lipid metabolism carrying “food” to the brain.16 It enhances cognitive function in both younger and older adults,17 improves memory,18 and improves academic achievement in comparison to sedentary individuals.19 In older adults, physical exercise prevents cognitive decline linked to aging,20 and may reduce the risk of developing dementia21 and deterioration of executive functions,22 thereby helping older people to maintain independence throughout life.23

It is clear that an active lifestyle decreases the risk of several chronic diseases and certain physical and mental disabilities, contributes to more efficient functioning of many of our body’s systems, and improves our overall quality of life. The positive benefits of regular physical activity are present throughout life, during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. None of these benefits is more important than the critical role physical activity plays in weight maintenance throughout the life span.

Improving Our Lives

Besides the health implications, sedentary behavior contributes to complications and limitations in performing daily tasks. Regular

COMPONENTS OF FITNESS

Health Related Benefits

Cardiorespiratory Endurance

Muscular Strength

Muscular Endurance

Flexibility

Body Composition

exercise and fitness make our day-to-day activities (activities of daily living, or ADL’s) easier and more enjoyable. To accomplish this, the different components of fitness need to be addressed in a comprehensive exercise plan (see table below). Although the components of fitness are grouped as either health-related or skill-related, there is considerable crossover in both training and application. Aerobic exercise helps build cardiorespiratory endurance, which not only makes daily tasks like shopping, walking through a grocery store, or running for a bus easier, it also helps to make improvements in speed and power more likely. Improving body composition can also improve speed, agility, balance, and overall sports performance. Increases in agility, coordination, balance, and power help athletes perform at their peak and older individuals avoid falls. Improved flexibility has similar dual benefits, as it makes reaching down to pick up a dropped item easier, but can also reduce sport injury. Often referred to today as “functional” fitness, training to prepare the body for real life movements and activities is important. Training your muscles to work together prepares them for daily tasks by simulating common movements you might do at home. By participating in exercise and improving fitness, we not only improve our health, we improve our ability to participate in life.

This table illustrates many of the ways that a comprehensive fitness program can improve overall health as well as quality of life.

Heart function, energy, endurance, weight maintenance

Lifting, posture, metabolism, physical ability

Carrying, stamina, metabolism, physical ability, bone strength

Range of motion, posture, coordination, blood flow

Overall health, metabolism, energy, endurance

Skill Related Benefits

Agility

Speed, endurance, athletic ability

Balance Stabilization, coordination, fall prevention

Coordination

Balance, brain development, fall prevention

Speed Metabolism, endurance, cellular function

Power Lifting, carrying, metabolism, overall health

Reaction Time Injury prevention, athletic ability

Physical activity has positive effects on brain health at all stages of the lifespan and a growing body of literature indicates that it may enhance cognition, offer protection against neurodegenerative disorders, and reduce incidence and severity of many psychological conditions including the common mood disorders anxiety and depression.24

Psychologically, the endorphins that are released during exercise help to improve mood, and make people feel less fatigued, depressed, or stressed throughout the day, even if the exercise lasts for as little as 10 minutes.

Furthermore, the inputs from the visual system as well as cognitive input may be able to act as a distractive stimulus, reducing the perception of exertion. It is likely that promoting attention to an external pleasant and green environment reduces awareness of physiologic sensations and negative emotions, thus minimizing the perception of effort, and making exercise seem easier. Additionally, mood is enhanced and perception of effort appears to be reduced in natural environments.25

Outdoor exercise also helps maintain or improve the elasticity of the blood-carrying arteries, which allows for greater overall blood flow throughout the body. This may result in lower blood pressure and less stress on the heart. Similar effects are noted in the lungs, which benefit from regular exercise by being able to move oxygen and carbon dioxide in and out of the body more efficiently.

Another well-known benefit of outdoor exercise is increased bone density, which can prevent or reverse the onset of osteoporosis. Since bone is a living tissue, it responds to weight bearing exercise by becoming stronger,26 which may allow us to have greater mobility later in life. Being outdoors also provides access to fresh air, and provides a natural way for the body to absorb vitamin D from sunlight. This is especially important for those who are overweight or obese, as research suggests people who are overweight are more likely to be deficient in vitamin D.27

Barriers to Participation

With all of these benefits, it’s hard to understand why all people don’t exercise. However, lack of access to exercise, lack of knowledge about what to do, and lack of encouragement or support are just some of the barriers to regular participation. Ask people why they don’t exercise regularly and you will get many additional responses, from time constraints to child care responsibilities, to the cost of joining a class or gym. Sometimes it’s just fear of the unknown, and many people who currently participate in fitness classes will talk about how going to that first class was the most difficult.

What can we do?

By providing outdoor fitness options for adults, we can help address some of the concerns that keep them from getting the exercise they need, increase their opportunities to workout, and make the experience more enjoyable. Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks are free to communities, making the cost barrier obsolete. Through careful site selection, we can effectively reduce the amount of time it takes to get to an exercise facility, and promote physical fitness to a greater number of people who may not otherwise have the opportunity to exercise. Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks can be positioned within sight of a children’s play space, so that parents can exercise while affording their children the same opportunity, possibly associating positive family engagement with fitness habits that children will carry forward to future generations. Additionally, there have been exciting developments in family-focused outdoor fitness opportunities, like obstacle courses, that can engage people of all ages in age-appropriate activities. Workouts can be done individually, with friends, or in a class environment, depending on personal preference, without the pressures of entering an indoor environment where overweight people might feel uncomfortable. By creating spaces where intuitive instruction is given on each piece of equipment, we reduce feelings of unfamiliarity, while increasing confidence. Classes can be tailored to a variety of user groups to encourage interaction, motivation, and crossfunctional support amongst participants. Additionally, moveable equipment like ropes, weights, and balls, traditionally found in indoor gyms, can be incorporated into the outdoor fitness gym to provide new ways to workout and engage larger groups in outdoor classes. To maintain compliance with outdoor adult fitness equipment standards, moveable equipment should be removed and stored when not in use.

With the staggering statistics on obesity, its associated health concerns, and the projected rise of health care costs, there is a critical need to increase the locations and options for exercise. Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks are a valid way to provide access and opportunity to increase healthy active behavior, reap the benefits associated with the outdoors, and even influence others to join in along the way. Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks provide a new paradigm to the traditional indoor exercise options which can help us reverse the dangerous health trends that threaten our people and our future.

Outdoor classes can help encourage participation and build a strong motivational support network among class participants.

HISTORY OF OUTDOOR ADULT FITNESS PARKS

Exercising outdoors is as old as the concept of exercise itself. Since the beginning of time, humanity has depended on athletic prowess. “Survival of the fittest” was especially crucial throughout history and the evolution of humankind. Even before we understood the concept of fitness, people walked to reach destinations; possibly unaware of the benefits they reaped along the way. Health and fitness were important considerations in daily life and work. As the industrial revolution boomed, widespread technological advancements replaced labor-intensive jobs. Rural life gave way to city life, which generally required less movement and lower levels of physical activity.

At the dawn of the 20th century, French navy officer and physical educator Georges Hebert played a prominent role in moving physical culture forward – and did so by taking a cue from the cultures of the past. Hebert believed that concentrating on competition and performance would yield the best results and developed his natural method to consist of fundamental groups including: walking, running, jumping, climbing, throwing, lifting, defending, and swimming.28 A training session consisted of exercises in an outdoor environment that covered up to a mile of terrain,

during which participants would perform a variety of spontaneous exercises in each of the fundamental groups. Many credit Hebert as an important influencer of today’s parkour movement, which is the sport of moving rapidly through an area, typically urban, negotiating obstacles by running, jumping, and climbing.

With the United States' entry into WW1 in 1917, hundreds of thousands of military personnel were drafted and trained for combat. Post war statistics released found that one out of every three drafted individuals was unfit for combat and many of those drafted were highly unfit prior to military training.29 30 31 Interest in fitness did not grow post war. A pattern familiar throughout history prevailed, that after war is fought and won, the tendency is for society to relax, enjoy life, and exercise less. The Great Depression did nothing to increase interest in fitness.

During this time, important contributions can be credited to Dr. Thomas K. Cureton from the University of Illinois. Dr. Cureton introduced the application of research to fitness, which helped to formulate improved exercise recommendations to individuals. Cureton understood the benefits of regular exercise and worked

to expand the body of knowledge regarding fitness, including how much exercise was healthy, what types of exercise were most effective, and how physical fitness could best be measured within an individual. Among his most important contributions were the development of fitness tests for cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, and flexibility. His research resulted in multiple recommendations for the improvement of cardiorespiratory fitness, including the identification of exercise intensity guidelines necessary for improved fitness levels. His suggestions became the fundamental basis behind future exercise programs.32

The modern fitness movement as we know it today began to grow and evolve after WWII when millions of Americans were called up to serve in the military. It quickly became clear that the advancements of the industrial revolution and increase in “white collar work” were already affecting the physical fitness of the population. Military officers grumbled about the condition of draftees, but concerns peaked in the 1950’s with publication of an international study that found American children far less fit than children in other countries. In response, President Eisenhower established the President's Council on Youth Fitness with Executive Order 10673, issued on July 16, 1956.

During the 1950s, numerous organizations took initiative in educating the public about the consequences of low fitness levels including the American Health Association (AHA) and the American Medical Association. These organizations would provide merit and legitimacy to the coming fitness movement. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) was formed in 1954, and has proved to be one of the premier organizations in the promotion of health and fitness to American society and worldwide. Throughout its history, ACSM has established position stands on various exercise-related issues based on scientific research.

Dr. Ken H. Cooper, widely recognized as "The Father of the Modern Fitness Movement", is generally credited with encouraging more individuals to exercise than any other individual in history, and was an advocate of shifting away from disease treatment toward disease prevention. Early in his career, Cooper stressed the necessity for providing epidemiological data to support the benefits of regular exercise and health. Data from

thousands of individuals became the foundation for his aerobic concepts. Aerobics, released in 1968, sent a powerful message to the American people - to prevent the development of chronic diseases, exercise regularly and maintain high fitness levels throughout life.33 Dr. Cooper’s message, programs and ideas established the model from which fitness has proliferated up to modern time.

In 1968, outdoor fitness trails began to make their appearance in public parks. These trails included exercise stations positioned along a trail, with the first fitness trail designed by Swiss architect Erwin Weckermann, who was inspired by Hebert decades before. Weckermann’s fitness trails combined scientifically designed exercises with walking or jogging to provide a well-balanced physical fitness routine for the entire body. Individual exercise stations with apparatus were spaced along a walking trail or jogging path. The participant proceeded from one exercise station to the next and performed the exercises illustrated at each station. From there, Parcourse began to proliferate the United States in the running and nature-crazed 1970’s. The Parcourse system featured a number of stations set along a jogging path, along with instructions, illustrations, and markers to guide participants through a number of beneficial exercises, which together provided a full body workout. The name Parcourse denoted the recommended Par or number of repetitions suggested on each piece of equipment, designed to accommodate three levels of fitness: starting, sporting, or championship. These levels were meant to accommodate a greater number of users and provide each with the goal of an effective overall workout.

Outdoor fitness product offerings expanded to provide even more options for outdoor exercise, and that trend continues today. Fitness boot camps, senior groups, work place lunch-breakers and more began to see the value, cost effectiveness, and immediate access to using open space for exercise, and the momentum continues to grow. In fact, one study showed that 82% of leisure and health operators were aware of outdoor classes in their area, and of those who didn’t already offer them, 100% planned to add outdoor fitness classes in the next 12 months.34

UNIQUE BENEFITS

A diverse outdoor recreation system contributes to community capital by providing a high quality of life for residents. With increasing urbanization, communities are continuously seeking new ways to provide outdoor spaces and activities to residents, and outdoor exercise is one ideal option. Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks can be located by new and existing recreation areas, allowing users to exercise while enjoying natural and designed landscapes in an open-air environment. Well-defined and innovative Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks can attract new users while also contributing to overall community health. The 2010 CDC State Indicator Report on Physical Activity shows 80% of US Census Blocks do not have workout options within ½ mile, yet Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks can be placed almost anywhere; therefore, going a long way towards reducing this access barrier. Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks are important environmental infrastructure with the potential to influence a larger number of community dwellers to meet public health guidelines on physical activity in public settings.35

Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks are a fun, sustainable way to promote healthy behavior while reaping the benefits of nature.

If you had a choose, would you prefer to exercise indoors in a gym/health club, or outdoors in a park/open space?

This graph from Leisure-Net Solutions’ Outdoor Fitness Classes Report-Is It Better Outside? shows that, overall 44% of respondents stated that they would prefer to exercise outdoors compared to 38% opting for indoors. The groups showing the strongest preference for being outdoors were the older age groups and those who had stated in a previous question that they “would like to do more activity.”11

Community Benefits of Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks:

› Makes Exercise Fun

The addition of nature and fresh air helps make exercising fun and therefore more effective.36 Combining outdoor exercise, natural light and sensory stimulation has a “salutogenic” effect: reducing stress and encouraging healthy behaviors.37

› Are Eco-friendly

Equipment used in Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks requires no electricity, is low maintenance, and uses very little human resources. A majority of the materials used in their construction, including aluminum, steel, and sustainable plastics, are recyclable. The minimal impact on the natural environment is attractive to the developer, the funder, and the end user, and many participants may link positive environmental contribution with greater enjoyment of exercise

› Promotes Friendships

People who use Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks often socialize while exercising, strengthening community and interpersonal relationships. These relationships may then support increased use as participants more readily interact with each other, offering encouragement, motivation, and support.

› Are Available to Everyone

Though there are numerous indoor fitness options, they can be costly and inconvenient. Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks can remove these barriers, which is especially attractive in lower income neighborhoods. In fact, residents of high-poverty counties in the U.S. have obesity rates 145% greater than those in wealthy counties.38 By increasing the number of Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks available, especially in underserved communities, there is increased likelihood of creating positive change in overall fitness and health.

› Improves Health

Regular physical activity is essential to health and longevity. Many people report a preference for exercising outdoors, which may also have a greater

effect on mental and physical well-being. Outdoor exercise is also rated as being more restorative compared to indoors since natural environments reduce emotional and physiological stress.39 Exercising outdoors provides all the physical benefits of indoor exercise (blood flow, improved cardiovascular health, improved strength, flexibility, endurance, etc.) and can also provide vital exposure to sunlight that increases important levels of vitamin D.

› Attracts New Users to Outdoor Environments

Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks provide additional opportunities for adults to recreate and participate in physical activity outdoors. People who exercise regularly may be attracted to these new outdoor locations, and create a true fitness “destination” within a neighborhood. This may also help attract more nonusers to the new and popular destination.

› Offers Revenue Opportunities

Trainers who wish to provide fitness classes in outdoor environments can rent the space, augmenting local budgets, while providing organized classes with an alternate environment, instead of the typical indoor gym setting.

› Provides Training Opportunities

Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks are ideal locations for people with physically demanding jobs to augment their training. Firefighters, police teams, and college athletes, among others can benefit from the “real world” environment, and the ability to set up training exercises in adverse weather.

› Supports Community Capital

Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks promote growth of a healthy community. These parks attract health conscious people to a neighborhood and can often influence the behavior of non-exercisers, expanding the benefits associated with regular exercise to a greater number of people.

Health Benefits of Nature and Fresh Air

It is widely accepted that being outdoors often is good for people. Several studies have shown additional benefits to outdoor vs. indoor exercise, including improved mental well-being and physiological health,40 along with emerging evidence of benefits at the physiological41, psychological,45 and social levels42, which suggests that outdoor exercise is important for disease prevention. In addition, evidence shows that people who partake in outdoor exercise may improve adherence rates to regular exercise, thereby driving positive health behavior change.43 Outdoor exercise also contributes to our brain health by increasing oxygen flow to the brain and releasing important hormones that aid in providing nourishment to the brain. Participating in regular moderate to vigorous exercise like jogging or cycling can reduce stress and promote cell growth in areas of the brain associated with learning and memory.44

A systematic review of studies comparing indoor versus outdoor activity conducted in natural environments suggests that outdoor activity which is conducted in natural or green environments causes greater feelings of revitalization and positive engagement.45 Outdoor exercise also improves self-esteem and negative moods, such as tension, anger and depression.46 Interestingly, the first five minutes of outdoor exercise appears to have the biggest impact on mood and self-esteem, suggesting an immediate psychological health benefit.47

Studies indicate people who exercise outdoors enjoy their activity more and derive a greater level of satisfaction; this is important given that activity levels are so strongly influenced by the levels of enjoyment.43 Outdoor exercisers typically report greater enjoyment and satisfaction with outdoor activity and a greater intent to repeat the activity at a later date.48

Indoor and outdoor exercise has been compared through walking, and although both increase affective responses (feelings and arousal like revitalization, physical exhaustion, and engagement) outdoor walkers report greater pleasant affective states, enjoyment, and intention for future participation.49 Affective responses were consistently related to enjoyment in the outdoor environment. It is interesting to note that even though the self-selected walking speed was slightly higher outdoors, perception of effort was consistently lower;50 meaning people enjoyed the outdoor exercise more.

Outdoor exercise environments may also help seniors be more active. In a 2012 study, participants over the age of 66 were exposed to exercise in outdoor and indoor environments. Specifically, the researchers asked the men and women about their exercise habits and then fitted them all with tools that measured their activity levels for a week. The results showed that those who exercised outside, usually by walking, were significantly more physically active than those who exercised indoors, completing, on average, about 30 minutes more exercise each week than those who walked or otherwise exercised indoors.51

Research by Dr. Frances Kuo52 has shown that people with greater access to green environments exhibit better well-being and functioning scores in three trademark health domains: social, psychological, and physical. The research also states that access to green environments can help enhance recovery from surgery, improve immune function, promote healthy blood glucose levels, improve functional health and independent living skills among older adults, and enable higher levels of physical activity for all. With the direct correlation to so many obesity-related health issues, it is reasonable to surmise that providing Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks within walking distance of neighborhoods can have a dramatic effect when utilized by the people who live in the community. Interestingly, Kuo’s research also showed that environments with less green space are associated with greater rates of childhood obesity; higher rates of 15 out of 24 categories of physician-diagnosed diseases, and higher rates of mortality in younger and older adults. Natural light and fresh air provide a great alternative to the artificial glare and stale air found in some indoor fitness environments. People who exercise in nature may breathe more deeply, which benefits the whole body and helps make the workout more effective through increased oxygen uptake. Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks provide a unique set of exercise benefits, and are an important link to exercise, nature, and health.

EVIDENCE-BASED HEALTH BENEFITS

OF OUTDOOR EXERCISE

› Improved mental well-being and physiological health

› Disease prevention

› Improved adherence rate to regular exercise, thereby driving positive health behavior change

› Greater feeling of revitalization and positive enjoyment

› Decreases in tension, confusion, anger, and depression

› Increased energy

› Greater satisfaction levels

› Greater pleasant affective states, enjoyment, and intention for future participation

› Higher level of physical activity in seniors

› Access to green environments

Having the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park trail located near our training center has provided us with an option to train the firefighters in the outdoor environment.”

- Rick O’Rear Recreation Division Manager City of Chattanooga

Research Supports the Positive Outcomes of Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks

The provision on outdoor adult fitness parks is increasingly seen as an important strategy in realizing goals for community health and wellness, and there are progressively more studies being conducted to evaluate their outcomes. At a study53 conducted at 10 Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks in Sefton, England, 162 participants provided useable data through the online and onsite surveys. In addition, interviews were carried out with nine participants and one focus group was undertaken with four participants. The findings noted that:

› Participants generally had positive attitudes towards the outdoor gyms. Over 75% agreed or strongly agreed outdoor fitness parks are easily accessible, beneficial for their health, and enjoyable. More positive attitudes about the health benefits of using an outdoor gym, accessibility and the attitudes of friends were all associated with greater use of the equipment.

› Two thirds of participants had used one of the spaces on one occasion. Just under half of participants utilized one of the sites once in a typical week, and just over one quarter reported that they used the equipment on two or more occasions a week.

› The average length of time using the equipment in one session was 19 minutes amongst all participants, and 22 minutes amongst those who used the equipment at least once in a typical week.

› Amongst all participants who had used the equipment on at least one occasion, over half agreed or strongly agreed that the outdoor gyms had an overall positive impact on their health and that since using the equipment they felt fitter or healthier, more confident when exercising, and took part in more physical activity.

› Benefits for health were greater amongst those who used the equipment at least once a week. Over two thirds of these participants agreed or strongly agreed that the equipment had an overall positive impact on their health, and that since starting to use an outdoor gym they felt fitter and more confident exercising. Over half reported that they felt more relaxed or less stressed since starting to exercise using an outdoor gym.

› Further analysis of findings suggested that participants who were thinking of or who had started to increase their physical activity levels reported the greatest benefits of using the outdoor gym equipment for their health.

› The majority of participants agreed or strongly agreed that exercising outdoors was more beneficial for their health (70%) and more enjoyable (80%) than exercise indoors. Over 80% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the aesthetic qualities of the environment that they exercise in are important to them. Positive attitudes about exercising outdoors were associated with more regular use of an outdoor gym.

› Over a quarter of participants indicated that they disagreed or strongly disagreed that they had enough time to exercise and were confident exercising in public places. Increased confidence to exercise in public and not feeling selfconscious using the equipment were both associated with more regular use of an outdoor gym.

Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks may attract new users who would not exercise otherwise.

“Having an Outdoor Adult Fitness Park is important because you get more than you do in a gym-it’s a great way to get Vitamin D, boost serotonin, and improve overall mood and well-being.”

- Tonya Martin Certified Personal Trainer

Furthermore, a study on six National Demonstration Sites conducted by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga demonstrated additional benefits. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of outdoor adult fitness parks (OFPs) within local parks. As a corollary to the study, the researchers examined the intensity levels of exercise that can be achieved through use of the equipment in OFPs when compared to equipment typically found in an indoor fitness facility. Finally, the team gathered information from a number of park users regarding their demographics, facility use, and health status, and conducted surveys

If outdoors, then why?

and focus groups with a number of college student volunteers who used the equipment to obtain their feedback regarding their use of the equipment.

As a result, the research team discovered that there were over twice as many park users at the OFP parks relative to the comparison parks, and that the number of park users engaged in moderate to vigorous level activities there was 63%. Most importantly, the results show that maximum intensity levels can be achieved using either standard equipment found in an indoor fitness facility or outdoor fitness equipment for a variety of exercises.

Studies show that exercising outdoor, instead of indoors, may provide a better workout and help contribute to repeat active behavior.

This graph shows the main reason people chose an outdoor exercise option was primarily ‘fresh air’, particularly for the older age groups.

ALIGNING TO HEALTH BENEFITS AND TOTAL BODY FITNESS

HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS

In order to reap maximum health benefits, a wellrounded exercise program (WREP) must contain a variety of elements, each offering specific results for overall health. By including equipment that offers the following elements, you can ensure your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park provides a WREP that promotes health improvement and wellness. While it isn’t necessary to fit each of these elements into every fitness session, factoring them into a regular routine can help you promote overall health and wellness in your community.

Aerobic Fitness

Aerobic exercise, also known as cardio or endurance activity, is the cornerstone of most fitness training programs. Aerobic exercise includes any physical activity that uses large muscle groups and increases heart rate. Aerobic activity engages the heart, lungs, and blood vessels, improving efficiency of each. Your heart will become stronger, your lungs can move more oxygen in and out, and your blood vessels become more elastic, helping to prevent age related problems.

According to the American Heart Association, aerobic, or cardiovascular, exercise can help lower blood pressure, increase the good (HDL) cholesterol in your blood, and lower bad (LDL) cholesterol. It can also help regulate weight, blood sugar,54 reduce asthma symptoms,55 improve sleep quality,56 strengthen the immune system,57 and reduce the risk of many conditions, including obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, stroke, osteoporosis, and certain types of cancer.58

Muscle Fitness

Muscular fitness is another key component of a wellrounded exercise program. Strength or resistance training helps to increase bone strength and muscular fitness, as well as maintain muscle mass during a weight-loss program. This type of exercise helps by increasing overall strength, so that lifting, climbing stairs, and other activities become easier. Maintaining and building muscle is also good for your metabolism, prevents falling, prevents injury, and lifts your mood.

Normally, adults who are sedentary beyond age 50 can expect muscle loss of up to 0.4 pounds a year. Age-related muscle loss is associated with bone loss, metabolic rate reduction, fat gain, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, and various problems associated with physical degeneration/dysfunction.59

A review article by University of Michigan researchers, published in The American Journal of Medicine, shows that after an average of 18-20 weeks of progressive resistance training, an adult can add two and half pounds of lean muscle to their body mass and increase their overall strength by 25-30%.

In addition to helping maintain muscle mass and bone density, resistance exercise can have a beneficial effect on metabolic rate, insulin sensitivity, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, cognitive ability, and selfesteem, as well as for decreasing body fat, resting blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-back pain, arthritic discomfort, and depression.59

Core Fitness

While most people envision the rectus abdominis (think six-pack) muscles when they hear the term “core”, this group includes the muscles in your abdomen, lower back, and pelvis. United, they help protect your back and connect your upper and lower body movements. Core strength is another key element of a well-rounded fitness training program. Core exercises help train your muscles to brace the spine and enable you to use your upper and lower body muscles more effectively. They train the muscles in your pelvis, lower back, hips, and abdomen to work in harmony with each other. This leads to better overall balance and stability, and better overall conditioning as almost all movement involves the core.60

Strong core muscles make it easier to do many activities, such as swing a golf club, get a glass from the top shelf and bend down to tie your shoes. Strong core muscles are also important for athletes, such as runners, as weak core muscles can lead to more fatigue, less endurance, and injuries.61

Weak core muscles can also leave you susceptible to poor posture, lower back pain, and muscle injuries. Strengthening core muscles may also help improve back pain.62

Balance

While often left out of exercise programs, all people benefit from balance training but older adults in particular can maintain or improve balance and reduce the risk of falls. By training to develop greater balance, people can realize improvements in coordination, athletic skill, and posture. This in turn may contribute to fewer injuries and greater stability as we age. Balance, or maintaining control of a moving center of mass over a changing base of support, is extremely relevant to many of life’s daily activities.

Optimal balance is achieved when multiple sensory systems provide information about the body’s position as it moves. The eyes (visual), inner ears (vestibular) and skin (kinesthetic) contain numerous sensory receptors that provide important feedback to the central nervous system about which muscles to activate and when. Injury, illness, neurological disorders, medications, and advancing age can affect all the systems involved in balance. Balance improves coordination and the ability to react to sudden changes in direction. Balance training is an effective way to strengthen and tone your oblique muscles, as well as the muscles of the hips, thighs, glutes, and lower back. Balance exercises are a great low intensity workout.

Flexibility

Flexibility is an important part of physical fitness. Stretching exercises are effective in increasing flexibility, and thereby can allow people to more easily do activities that require greater range of movement. Stretching also improves the motion of the joints and promotes better posture. Regular stretching can even help relieve stress. Improved flexibility produces a wide range of physical benefits and can have a positive effect on your overall well-being. It helps correct muscle imbalances, which can reduce your chance of getting injured during physical activity.63 It can also help reduce aches and pains, improve posture and balance, increase strength and physical performance, and contribute to a positive state of mind.

A matrix of commonly found outdoor fitness products is presented on the following pages to illustrate health benefits and muscles worked to help communities create outdoor fitness parks that deliver a well-rounded workout.

EQUIPMENT MATRIX

Cardio Walker/Elliptical

Strengthens lower body muscles while promoting muscular endurance & cardiorespiratory endurance

• Abdominals • Hamstrings

• Quadriceps • Abdominals

• Gluteus Maximus

High Jump

Strengthens lower body muscles, promotes muscular endurance & explosive power

• Quadriceps

• Gluteus Maximus

• Adductors • Hamstrings

Step Up

Strengthens lower body muscles and core, while promoting muscular endurance, cardiorespiratory endurance, and balance

• Abdominals • Quadriceps

• Hamstrings • Gluteus Maximus

• Calves • Erector Spinae

Cycle

Strengthens lower body muscles while promoting muscular endurance & cardiorespiratory endurance

• Abdominals

• Calves

• Quadriceps • Gluteus Maximus

• Hamstrings

Hurdles

Strengthens lower body muscles, promotes muscular endurance & explosive power

• Quadricep • Adductors

• Gluteus Maximus • Hamstrings

Bench Dips

Aerobic Muscle Core Balance Flexibility

Hand Cycle

Strengthens upper body muscles

• Biceps • Brachioradialis

• Anterior Deltoid • Trapezius

Log Jump

Strengthens lower body & core muscles while promoting muscular endurance & cardiorespiratory endurance

• Abdominals • Quadriceps

• Calves • Erector Spinae

• Hamstrings • Gluteus Maximus

Leg Extension

Strengthens upper body & core muscles while promoting muscular endurance

Strengthens lower body muscles & muscular endurance

• Quadriceps

• Adductors

• Anterior Deltoid • Pectoralis Major

• Triceps • Abdominals

• Calves • Hamstrings

Indicates Primary Benefit

Horizontal Chin-Up

Strengthens upper & lower body muscles while promoting core strength, muscular endurance, & grip strength

• Abdominals • Anterior Deltoids

• Biceps • Teres Major

• Latissimus Dorsi

Lat Pull Down

Strengthens upper body & core muscles while promoting muscular endurance

• Trapezius • Rhomboids

• Posterior Deltoid • Anterior Deltoid

• Latissimus Dorsi

Leg Press

Strengthens lower body muscles while promoting muscular endurance & cardiorespiratory endurance

• Adductors • Calves

• Quadriceps • Gluteus Maximus

• Hamstrings

Chest Press

Strengthens upper body & core muscles while promoting muscular endurance

• Triceps • Abdominals

• Anterior Deltoid • Pectoralis Major

Traverse or Climbing Wall

Strengthens upper body & core muscles while promoting muscular endurance & grip strength

• Biceps • Anterior Deltoid

• Brachioradialis • Trapezius

• Abdominals • Pectoralis Major

Pull-Up

Strengthens upper body & core muscles

• Abdominals • Biceps

• Anterior Deltoid • Erector Spinae

Monkey Bars

Strengthens upper body & back muscles

• Abdominals • Latissimus Dorsi

• Biceps • Anterior Deltoid

• Erector Spinae

Parallel Bars

Strengthens core muscles

• Abdominals • Biceps

• Hip Flexors • Anterior Deltoid

• Obliques • Latissimus Dorsi

Push-Up

Strengthens upper body & core muscles

• Deltoid • Abdominals

• Biceps • Erector Spinae

EQUIPMENT MATRIX

Roman Chair Squat

Strengthens back, leg, & core muscles

• Abdominals • Erector Spinae

• Gluteus Maximus • Hamstrings

• Quadriceps

Vault

Strengthens upper body & lower body muscles while promoting muscular endurance, cardiorespiratory endurance & explosive power

• Biceps • Triceps

• Abdominals • Quadriceps

• Gluteus Maximus • Hamstrings

• Calves • Anterior Deltoid

Captain’s Chair

Strengthens core & back muscles

• Abdominals • Hip Flexors

• Obliques

Swinging Rings

Aerobic Muscle Core Balance Flexibility

Strengthens upper body & core muscles

• Abdominals • Anterior Deltoid

• Biceps • Erector Spinae

* Latissimus Dorsi

Sit-Up

Strengthens core & back muscles

• Abdominals • Obliques

• Gluteus Maximus • Erector Spinae

Ninja Steps

Strengthens lower body muscles & promotes muscular endurance

• Abdominals • Calves

• Quadriceps • Hamstrings

Vertical Press

Strengthens upper body & core muscles while promoting muscular endurance

• Trapezius

• Rhomboids

• Anterior Deltoid • Posterior Deltoid

Plyo Box

Strengthens lower body & core muscles while promoting muscular endurance & cardiorespiratory endurance

• Abdominals • Quadriceps

• Hamstrings

• Gluteus Maximus

• Calves • Erector Spinae

Balance Board

Strengthens lower body & core muscles while promoting balance development

• Abdominals • Obliques

• Erector Spinae • Soleus

• Gluteus Maximus • Quadriceps

Indicates Primary Benefit

Stepping Pods

Strengthens lower body & core muscles while promoting balance development

• Abdominals • Quadriceps

• Calves • Hamstrings

Skill Trainer

Promotes arm & core flexibility, while promoting upper body & core conditioning

• Trapezius

• Abdominals

• Rhomboids • Posterior Deltoid

• Anterior Deltoid

Knee Lift

Promotes flexibility & development of core & hip flexors

• Abdominals • Hip Flexors

• Obliques

Balance Beam

Strengthens lower body & core muscles while promoting balance development

• Abdominals • Quadriceps

• Calves • Hamstrings

Shoulder Rotator

Strengthens upper body muscles

• Biceps • Anterior Deltoid

• Brachioradialis • Trapezius

• Abdominals

Back Extension

Strengthens core & back muscles

• Abdominals • Obliques

• Gluteus Maximus • Erector Spinae

Functional Trainer

Promotes overall mobility & flexibility while promoting core & lower body muscle development.

• Abdominals • Calves

• Quadriceps • Erector Spinae

• Gluteus Maximus • Hamstrings

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS FEATURES & BENEFITS

Socialization

Universal Design

Active Aging

Quality

Selecting equipment that offers side-by-side experiences increases opportunities for socialization. Effective spacing and positioning of the equipment can also facilitate interactions and engagement amongst users.

Consider equipment especially designed to promote accessibility and inclusion. Accessible routes of travel and signage will also require consideration for maximum usage.

Some equipment offers tailored enhancements, like hand holds and back supports, to provide additional support and stability for older, rehabilitational, or deconditioned users..

It is important to understand product specifications, manufacturer’s warranty, and maintenance recommendations in order to ensure the product lifecycle.

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

EXAMPLE APPLICATION OF BEST PRACTICE DESIGN

Aligning fitness equipment selection to total body fitness is critical for ensuring a well rounded fitness routine. Equally important are a variety of design practices. To help support the planning process, utilize this guide to communicate and ensure that the various design best practices have been addressed to meet the unique needs of the community and your site specific project.

› Programming

Community partnerships help support on-site programs for fitness classes, wellness and nutrition education, and health screenings. Signage and wireless web access further expand utilization through downloadable user guides and instructional videos.

› Marketing

Targeted marketing campaigns help spread the word to a diverse, multilingual user group and engage stakeholders in the planning, grand opening, programming, and evaluation initiatives.

› Evaluation

A variety of measurement tools, like surveys and direct observation, are utilized to engage individual users, support system-wide planning, and communicate health outcomes.

› Typology

This Fitness Cluster is arranged in a collaborative pattern to encourage group participation. Surfacing design and materials help denote traffic patterns and use.

› User Groups

To ensure the greatest usage, community stakeholders were involved in the planning to meet the needs of individual and groups of adults, seniors, and people with disabilities.

› Location & Context

This urban plaza provides connectivity to a number of corporate and neighborhood users while also being accessible to a local hospital/ rehabilitation center.

› Universal Design

Carefully planned parking, unitary routes of travel, and equipment designed to accommodate both mobility devices and multiple users help promote comfort, usability, and inclusion for adults of all abilities.

› Safety & Management

The Parks & Recreation Department oversees the management plan to ensure regular inspections and good working order. Age-appropriate signage and high visibility also promote a safer environment.

› Alignment to Health Benefits & Total Body Fitness

While equipment selections are based on community goals, users, budget, and space, it is also important that this space ensures a well-rounded fitness routine by configuring opportunities for aerobic fitness, muscle fitness, core fitness, and balance and flexibility.

CORE STRENGTH AEROBIC

FLEXIBILITY BALANCE

This space meets all of the elements of a well-rounded workout, with some pieces of equipment providing multiple benefits. Notice the bike racks and benches on both sides, and the walking/jogging trail that passes through provides additional ways to promote aerobic fitness. The clear spaces around the equipment offer areas to engage in body weight resistance exercises.

fitness, you can ensure

Outdoor Adult Fitness Park provides a well-rounded fitness routine.

SELECTING AN APPROPRIATE COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT FOR OUTDOOR FITNESS

Studies have demonstrated that activity-friendly community environments depend on characteristics such as urban form, neighborhood design, neighborhood environmental quality, greater proportion of green space, higher residential density, safety, and policies that support walking, bicycling, and proximity to recreation.64 For example, studies have shown that individuals who live near parks are more likely to achieve recommended levels of physical activity.65,66,67 Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed state-based policy and environmental indicators to track relevant data for building spaces where people can be active.68 One of the primary indicators is access to safe places for physical activity, for even when people may have the necessary knowledge, skills, attitudes, and motivation to be physically active, if there aren’t easily accessible places where they can be active and feel secure, they may be restricted or prohibited from physical activity. The report goes on to recommend urban design and land use policies and practices that support physical activity in small geographic areas (i.e., few blocks for street-scale design and several square miles for community-scale design) based on sufficient evidence of their effectiveness in increasing physical activity. To maximize the role of outdoor community recreational environments in improving health, such environments must be accessible and usable to all, including those at greatest risk of CVD and other chronic diseases. Population subgroups that are at increased risk include

lower socioeconomic (SES) persons,69 racial/ethnic minorities,70 those living in rural areas of the USA,71 and persons with disabilities such as mobility limitations.72 “Mobility limitations” describes people who have difficulty ambulating and are unable to walk short distances or climb stairs.73

In a recent study (UTC) users that were interviewed at the fitness park indicated they lived close to the space, which may affect their desire and ability to visit the fitness park on a regular basis. This research helped demonstrate the beneficial effects of placing Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks in close proximity to underserved neighborhoods. Since residents in these areas may not have resources (transportation, membership fees, etc) to join a traditional gym, the Adult Outdoor Fitness Park may be the only opportunity they have to engage in regular fitness activities.

Another important aspect of successful Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks is that they are publicly accessible, and generally free to use. The fitness area should easily connect to streets, transit facilities, pathway networks, and parking, and provide bicycle or other non-motorized means and universal accessibility for people using mobility devices. Be sure to consider site amenities like restroom access and trash disposal in the overall plan. Community connectivity to other meaningful destinations, such as neighborhoods and urban centers, is also desirable.

Often, Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks are integrated into areas where leisure activities are already being provided. Anywhere with open space, visibility, and easy public access has potential. Here are examples of locations that have utilized Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks to build community capital and promote healthy behavior.

› Parks

Since many people go to parks for active pursuits, Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks can offer another way to promote healthy behavior. Parks are a great site for fitness trails, which can be designed to take advantage of the overall landscape. The Trust For Public Land has a fantastic tool called ParkServe https://parkserve.tpl.org that allows anyone to see the landscape of parks in their community, including how many people live within a 10 minute walk of a park, how many acres of parkland is present, and where there are park deserts that need to be addressed to provide equitable experiences to all residents.

› Adjoining Public Playgrounds

For parents, locating an Outdoor Adult Fitness Park within sightlines of a playground may provide a unique outlet for them to get in some exercise while they watch the children at play. Parents today have extremely busy schedules, and even if they have available time, going to a gym requires getting a caregiver to watch the children, or finding a gym that has child care. In addition, families that have the added benefit of an adult exercise area near the playground may increase time spent at play and exercise, providing healthy benefits, and teaching children a valuable lesson about lifelong fitness that they may carry into adulthood.

› Recreation Centers

Public and private health clubs and recreation centers can realize the benefits of augmenting their indoor exercise options with Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks to attract users who prefer exercising in fresh air environments. Fitness Trails and Clusters are popular design options, as are strength-based composite structures that promote muscle development and socialization.

Design Considerations 29

› Schools

Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks are a fun way for students to meet physical fitness requirements both in class and during breaks. Be aware there are specific age requirements for fitness equipment, and school aged children under 12 will have very different needs than teens and adults. Consult your equipment provider regarding age appropriate equipment for each user group.

› University Campuses

Students benefit by having an outdoor area to exercise between classes, while coaches and athletic trainers can use them to add a rich dynamic to team training. Outdoor fitness parks can greatly enhance campus recreation, attracting students to a school in a very competitive market.

› Corporate Campuses

Companies may wish to include Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks on their business campus or rooftops to encourage healthy behavior among employees during lunch and break times. The inclusion of a space for fitness may also provide benefits regarding insurance and other Human Resource associated costs.

› Senior Centers

Providing Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks for seniors at the places they gather offers them easy access to active lifestyle options with the added benefit of fresh air. Ensure that the equipment is appropriate for seniors to promote comfortable usage.

› Hospitals/Rehabilitation Centers

Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks can provide a fresh air alternative for patient rehabilitation that may provide additional benefits to traditional indoor environments.

› Military Bases

Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks can provide training options for soldiers, as well as active lifestyle choices for families and friends living on base.

› Hospitality Venues

Hotels are seeing the benefit of Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks and are adding them to their rooftops or surrounding property in the case of larger resorts with more land area. This addition to their amenities will often attract health conscious people to choose their venue over competitive lodging options.

› Libraries

Libraries seeking to build attendance can follow the model set by the City of San Antonio, TX, which partnered with the city’s Metropolitan Health District to install a fitness center, playground, and walking trails at five libraries throughout the city. The active options compliment the library’s section of fitness resources, which includes cookbooks, videos, and reference guides.

› Training Facilities

Centers designed to train police, fire, and other emergency personnel can benefit from adding Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks to their facility, to add the ability to train in rain, snow, and other outdoor conditions.

› Derelict Home Lots

Abandoned home sites are being reclaimed by the City of Los Angeles, CA, and turned into active spaces for Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks to promote community health and pride of place.

› Homeowner Associations

Adding an Outdoor Adult Fitness Park to the neighborhood is a great way to attract healthy, active people, and may help to increase property value.

› Condo or Apartment Complexes

Building and maintaining an outdoor fitness center offers numerous benefits to both residents and investors. A fitness center positions your condo or apartment complex as a wellness-oriented property and can attract more residents that want to live a healthy lifestyle with amenities close to home. It can also increase the overall value of your property.

› Urban Plazas

City Plazas may be an ideal location for a small Outdoor Adult Fitness Park, placing them in areas with high pedestrian traffic can provide city workers and patrons in the area with an active option during lunch time. In Copenhagen, a city with less than 600K inhabitants, there are more than 60 places with outdoor gyms.74

› Truck Stops

It can be challenging figuring out how to stay fit as a truck driver when you’re driving across the country and are in a new place every day. Expanding trucker-wellness programs and fitness rooms are becoming a priority for truck stops across the country.

› Rest Areas

As with truck stops, people doing a lot of driving can benefit from outdoor gyms at rest areas. Promoting a well rounded workout can provide drivers with options to elevate their heart rate, build strength, and stretch, a much welcomed opportunity for people sitting in vehicles for extended periods of time.

› Hotels and Resorts

Hotels are beginning to understand the value of fitness facilities in attracting guests to their property, and are another great place to implement outdoor fitness equipment. Creating a place where visitors can exercise while surrounded by the beautiful beach, mountains, or other view will be greatly appreciated by guests.

Design Considerations 31

OUTDOOR ADULT FITNESS

PARK TYPOLOGIES

There are a variety of Outdoor Adult Fitness Park types to meet the needs of different communities. The right design typology will depend on space, budget, and community needs. This section is designed to present several design typologies to consider, as well as to establish guidelines and criteria that should be considered during the evaluation, planning, programming, and design process of an Outdoor Adult Fitness Park. This section also provides a methodology for planning fitness facilities by providing guidelines for determining required spaces, usage goals, design considerations, and site-specific needs.

Typologies can help your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park encourage desired behavior through design execution. If you are trying to encourage walking or running, placing the equipment along a trail is a meaningful way to do so. Clusters may help encourage socialization. Visual cues in either case, through color and/or placement, can help encourage collaboration, or direct users to key elements. Here are a variety of typologies to consider in the design of your project.

Fitness Cluster

Fitness Clusters feature several pieces of equipment, often arranged in a circular or collaborative pattern to encourage group participation, which can contribute to repeat usage. This design provides users with an opportunity to talk with friends while exercising, which can increase enjoyment and fun. Fitness Clusters are designed within a “use zone,” the boundary of the area where the exercises will be contained. It is important to distinguish this use zone so that people associate it with the function it is designed for to avoid pass through traffic.

Fitness Clusters also afford certified fitness trainers with an opportunity to offer exercise classes. To this end, it is a best practice to create clear spaces among the pieces of equipment so that class members have the opportunity to perform body resistance exercises and aerobic exercises within that space. This helps to facilitate classes where users outnumber pieces of equipment. Fitness Clusters can be designed across a broad spectrum of square footage requirements.

Fitness Trail

The bottom line is that fitness zones are used throughout the day, that fitness zone users increase the amount they exercise, and that they use the parks more frequently than other park users.”

- Dr. Deborah Cohen Researcher with the RAND Corporation

Fitness Trails are designed along a pathway network to offer users the ability to incorporate additional cardiovascular exercise into the fitness routine. Ideally, a Fitness Trail is designed along a measured loop that offers easy tracking for the user, for instance a 1 mile trail with stations every quarter mile. This design makes it easy for the user to track the distance between stations as well as the overall distance traveled during their workout. Design considerations should include limiting of entrances and cross traffic on the course and locating the stations in areas that may be visible to but not in danger from vehicle traffic. Stations may be created to focus on single or multiple exercises, depending on the number of users expected. Facilitating several users at each station helps to ensure that the fitness trail can be enjoyed by a greater number of users at one time. Fitness Trails tend to be situated on a flat to semi-flat terrain, to permit participation by users of all abilities, and to accommodate cyclists, runners, and walkers, understanding that a variety of transportation modes may be used to reach the Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks. To that extent, it is reasonable to expect that bicycle parking will be minimally provided at entry points to the trail.

Design Considerations 33

› Semi Circle

› Training Zones

Used to take advantage of a vista, or in fitness areas placed near playgrounds so parents can supervise their children while working out.

› Collaborative Cluster

Fitness equipment is laid out in a collaborative pattern to encourage group participation and to encourage social behavior.

› Straight Path

Fitness equipment is positioned equidistantly along a linear path with distance markers to help users comprehend how far they have walked or run as they proceed through the exercise stations. Often used for existing paths like waterfront or rails to trails.

› Freeform Trail

Fitness equipment is positioned throughout a looping trail, providing a variety of routes and experiences for the user to enjoy. Facilitates both long and short loops, as well as multiple loops with unique routes per loop.

Fitness equipment is organized by challenge level or muscle group with color cues and/or signage to guide user through usage options.

› Trail Cluster

Fitness equipment is positioned together in a station located alongside a long pathway or trail. Unlike the trail typology, where

› Running Track

Fitness equipment placed around a path of measured distance (example ¼ mile high school track or perimeter of park) so participants can track distance walked/ran between stations. This is a great choice when additional land is not available for the fitness park.

› Double Loop

This typology maximizes space while creating two separate fitness routes that can be enjoyed together or separately.

equipment is interspersed along the trail, this layout encourages alternating running or walking a lap(s) with using the equipment.

› Social Circles

Fitness Stations laid out in a circular pattern, facing inward to encourage socialization. Great for class options as larger social circles allow room for instructor flow as well as “floor exercise” when participants outnumber equipment.

› Challenge Course

Challenge, or obstacle courses consist of obstacles placed along a path for a user to navigate. Unlike traditional fitness equipment where multiple reps are completed at each piece of equipment, obstacles are generally only completed once as the user moves along the trail, measuring the time it takes them to complete the course. Because of this element, Challenge Courses provide a great cardiovascular workout as participants move between and complete the obstacles along the way.

DESIGNING FOR DIVERSE USER GROUPS

In order to ensure your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park is usable by the greatest number of participants, it is important to consider the many user groups who will utilize the space. While user groups are as diverse as the range of outdoor adult fitness equipment, understanding the priorities of the former can help inform choices for the latter, and ensure the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park enjoys frequent use.

Planning an outdoor fitness park is no different than any other public space in that you need to understand the user groups that will be engaging in the space. As an example, fitness spaces designed for heavily used urban environments with many diverse users would likely look much different than one created to serve an adult living community. If this context is not explored and understood, the space may be irrelevant to the surroundings and the local demographic.

Host a community meeting to discover the needs and ideas of potential users, and invite people within a 5-10 mile radius to attend a discovery meeting. Ask questions about what types of fitness activities they currently participate in, and how they envision the new space playing a role in their health and fitness. If they don’t currently work out, what would encourage them to start? If they do exercise regularly, what would encourage them to do so in the outdoor gym? What options are missing in their current routine? It’s important to do this prior to designing the space so

you have the best information available to help the planners and designers create the perfect environment. It’s a good idea to have images of potential equipment posted around the room, so users can mark the ones they would like to use. This can give planners a great idea on what to include to ensure the outdoor space is used and relevant.

“It was easy and fun, kind of like being on a playground; it really took me back to the days of my youth.”

- Kendall Martin Outdoor Adult Fitness Park User

User groups may include:

› Beginners

Beginners are a great target group for Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks. While they may not have previously participated in exercise for any number of reasons, including cost and access, Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks reduce these constraints and make it easy to get started. They require no membership or check-in process, just show up and get going. The designs are such that users of all abilities will be comfortable, and each piece of equipment should feature instructions to acclimate non-users to the exercise and its benefits.

› Fitness Enthusiasts

This group can be your greatest advocates, as they understand the benefits of engaging in a regular fitness program. Be sure the equipment you choose allows users at all fitness levels to exercise so the enthusiast isn’t quickly bored. Also, by having different fitness levels available, the enthusiast is more likely to bring a friend to join in, regardless of fitness level. The enthusiasts may help create a fitness environment that is welcome to many, thereby increasing interest and use of the space.

› Seniors

Outdoor Fitness Parks are popular for users over age 65, and several observational studies have noted more than 50% of the user groups observed consisting of seniors.75 Seniors can realize many benefits, including improved memory, reduced risk of chronic disease, improved agility and mobility, and more.76 Also, seniors are more likely to use the space during typical workday hours, which helps create even more use across a given day. Seniors can also benefit emotionally in the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park by exercising with friends, spouse, or family.

› Families

Locating a fitness area within sight of a play space is a popular way to provide adults and older family members with a way to get the same benefits of play while they supervise children on the playground.

› Users with Disabilities

Remember that people of all abilities will want to use your space. Equipment is available that can meet the needs of people with mobility devices, so be sure your space includes this type of equipment in the overall design so that everyone can exercise comfortably. Pay attention to the route of travel to and from the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park, as well as the surfacing used, to ensure the entire space is accessible to all.

› Multilinguals

The people who use your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park may speak different languages; ensure that the instructions for usage are intuitive. Diagrams illustrating the exercise to be performed, as well as smart phone

Design Considerations 35

enabled instructions are valuable tools to ensuring your equipment is easy to use. Be sure to ask your supplier how they address communication needs.

› Solo Users

Your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park will be used by adults who are unaccompanied; ensure the area provides good sight lines so that they feel safe. If your park is open after dusk, ensure there is adequate lighting both on the path leading up to, and within, the exercise space.

› Classes

Offering classes at the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park can provide many benefits, ensuring the community is engaged with the space, providing a potential revenue generating opportunity by charging a fee to instructors and/or participants, and increasing usage of the park while promoting community health. Be sure your instructors are licensed to teach courses.

› NIMBYS

While not a user group, it’s important to acknowledge that sometimes development projects can be challenged by opponents who raise the rallying cry of “Not in My Back Yard.” No matter how much the proposal or infrastructure improvement is needed by the community at large, someone may object, and such opposition can derail, delay, or increase project costs geometrically. To help overcome potential citizen criticism and/ or opposition, identify, recruit, and mobilize proproject allies first. If people believe most of their fellow citizens support a development proposal, they are less likely to voice opposition to it. Be sure to listen to concerns, and address them positively to decrease likelihood of arguments. Most opposition usually falls into four categories: Misinformation, Emotional Needs, Conflicts of Values, and Conflicts of Interest. Misinformation is one of the easiest to correct by simply making sure that the actual facts are presented in a clear manner through a public information campaign. Ensuring that neighbors in the immediate vicinity feel involved and part of the process, and focusing on mutual priorities, rather than conflicting values, can often help with other types of opposition.

An important aspect of successful Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks is that they are publicly accessible, and generally free to use for at least part of the day. The fitness area should easily connect to streets, parking, and sidewalks, and provide bicycle or other non-motorized means and universal accessibility for people using mobility devices. Be sure to consider site amenities like restroom access and trash disposal in the overall plan. The Fitness Park should ideally connect to transit facilities, pathway networks, and established pedestrian traffic. Community connectivity to other meaningful destinations, such as neighborhoods and urban centers, is also desirable. Consider what fitness elements to include in order to support a well-rounded workout. How will instructional signage be incorporated to promote usage with proper form? How will the equipment be placed to encourage maximum use? Review the typologies shown in this guidebook, and consult with users of the space to understand their needs, concerns, and questions in order to ensure the space enjoys maximum usage. Include options for all levels and abilities so your outdoor adult fitness park is usable to the greatest extent possible.

Consider Unique Demographics

While this sounds like a challenge, considering the residents’ demographics is another important factor for determining the correct equipment selection. Similar to playground equipment, there is a wide selection of Outdoor Adult Fitness equipment, and understanding the user and how to appeal to their abilities and interests will have a marked effect on the overall success of the space. Outdoor fitness spaces enjoy highest use when diverse users have reasons to be there. By adding active elements so that hardcore athletes are engaged, alongside casual trainers, parents, the active aging population, and even families, you can ensure the space will get the highest use possible.

A neighborhood near a university or in a developing area with young families may be more inclined to use a fitness space containing dynamic equipment that utilizes bodyweight-focused equipment. For young parents, a focus may be proximity to a playground, splash park, grassy area, or other closely located, youth-focused activity center where children can play on age appropriate equipment that is still within visual supervisory range for the parents.

For adult living communities, hospitals, retirement centers, or in areas with high obesity rates, choosing intuitive, easy to use equipment that focuses on improving base conditioning, and promoting balance, flexibility, and movement may provide a more meaningful design. According to one study,76 factors influencing older adults’ visits to parks include accessibility, perceptions of safety, presence of facilities, park size, things to watch, events to attend, and maintenance.

For youth 13+, who have aged out of traditional playground equipment, but still value time in the outdoors if the activities appeal to them, providing an element of fun is crucial, as youth surveyed77 identified that they are looking for fun, access, and challenge when they spend time outdoors. This age group is typically underserved with outdoor amenities in parks, so considering ways to help them get outdoors may be a key in continuing the behavior as they transition to adulthood. Youth who are active outside as children are more likely to continue to do so as teens, so it is rational to assume this trend would continue into adulthood. As with many user groups, proximity is important to

Providing clear space around the equipment to accommodate classes where number of participants exceeds equipment available.

this demographic as they are usually reliant on bikes or pedestrian travel to get them from place to place.

Utilize elements that can be used in a variety of ways, modified to suit the abilities of the range of participants present, and presenting a developmental skill continuum to promote skill development. Calisthenic-driven equipment like bars offer a wealth of exercise possibilities that can be tailored to any level of athletic ability.

Whatever type of fitness equipment is chosen, one of the most important factors in its success is making potential users not just aware of its existence but also familiarizing them with its use. Be sure the equipment comes with clear, easy-to-follow instructional signs, which may be in the form of a centrally located sign, individual signage at each station, QR Codes that can be scanned, or other instructional guides.

Offering orientation classes or tutorials is also a good way to get users of all levels comfortable with the equipment, and to raise awareness of the fitness equipment in general. You may also consider offering ongoing instruction and use the equipment to teach people how to work out for free, to help keep it in use on a regular basis.

In addition, equipment often has QR codes that allow the user to connect to exercise videos so they can understand

correct form and usage. Some Outdoor Fitness Parks have scannable signs at the entrance to the fitness area that allow users to submit their input on usage and outcomes, providing the site owner with valuable data to help promote usage and funding for expansion.

Think about the surroundings

Orienting the space to take advantage of natural resources is a great way to increase comfort and usage. Since some exercises at your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park may be performed facing the sky, utilizing natural or manmade shade around these elements will be welcomed by users. Shade also helps keep users cool as they engage in activities that increase heartrate, sweat, and exertion. A variety of other site amenity considerations are offered on pages 38-39.

Consider moveable equipment

Having moveable equipment like ropes, sandbags, free weights, and bands available for use in the space can provide additional ways to use the equipment, offer a wider range of exercise possibilities, and facilitate classes, especially when the number of class participants exceeds the amount of available equipment. This can be achieved by having set times of day when moveable equipment is available, or by allowing users to “check out” the equipment from a staffed facility on the property. Many pieces of outdoor equipment provide methods for attaching ropes, suspension training apparatus and other devices that, as per ASTM guidelines, cannot be a permanent fixture of the outdoor equipment. Consider rules for use of moveable equipment within property grounds. Some sites permit hand-held weights and training equipment, but stipulate it must not be left unattended or block access to amenities. Personal trainers should be mindful of the potential impacts of such equipment and use protective matting or other measures to protect hard and soft surfaces from damage. Drag sleds and tires are generally not permitted as they can damage the grounds, and straps, ropes or harnesses should not be attached to trees or structures, but can be attached to outdoor fitness training equipment designed for this purpose. Moveable equipment should never be left unsupervised, and should always be removed when the user departs.

Ensuring community engagement begins in the planning phase.

SITE-SPECIFIC AMENITIES

In addition to equipment and surfacing, there are a variety of site-specific amenities that should be considered to support best practice design, promote comfort, and increase usage.

› Signage

Your equipment manufacturer should have signage to provide instruction for equipment use and age requirements. You may also consider a welcome sign, and other signage that can indicate the length of the trail, its route, and the fitness stations found along the way.

› Instruction

While a full-time instructor may not be an option, it’s important that users understand how to use the equipment appropriately in order to maximize the effectiveness of their workout. Many manufacturers include QR codes on the equipment or nearby signage that can be scanned with a phone camera to see and hear instructions on how to use the equipment.

› Moveable equipment

As mentioned earlier, moveable equipment like ropes, barbells, kettlebells, balls, etc. can extend the workout options, as well as the number of people who can participate at any given time. In addition, moveable equipment can add challenge to the existing permanently installed equipment, offering a greater developmental continuum. This kind of equipment can also facilitate early skill development in deconditioned users. As an example, strength bands can be used on a pull up bar to help support the user and decrease the amount of weight they are pulling up, therefore providing an outlet to complete more pull ups, facilitate slow declines, and develop the muscles faster than if the user did not use a strength band.

› Restrooms

Ensuring there are restroom facilities nearby or along the trail will help the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park be user-friendly.

› Water Fountains

Exercise, especially on warm days, can cause rapid dehydration. Providing water fountains near equipment will help encourage hydration and promote safety.

Design Considerations 39

› Seating

Providing seating along a Fitness Trail creates additional spaces for people to rest during their workout experience. This is especially useful to seniors, beginners, and others who may desire a place to take a rest break during their workout!

› Trash Receptacles

Be sure to place at least one trash bin near a clustered typology, and multiple receptacles along a trail to help control trash. Recycling receptacles are also very useful, as many users may have recyclable materials like water bottles to dispose of.

› Bicycle Racks

Be prepared to accommodate users who desire a space to securely park their bikes, as that is a great way to get to and from the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park.

› Shade

Providing shade, especially in warmer climates will help users stay cooler during their workout. In areas where heavy sun is expected, shade over the fitness stations can also help protect users from overexposure. Using natural shade from trees can make for a pleasing experience in both temperature and aesthetics.

› Lighting

If your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park will be open after sunset, be sure that the area is well lit. In the case of a Fitness Trail, it is important that the entire pathway is well lit to promote safety. Lighting also helps ensure that users are able to read instructions provided for the use of the equipment.

› Health and Safety

In addition to lighting, you may wish to consider health and safety considerations, like an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) station, or phone to help facilitate aid in case of a health emergency. Ensure personnel understand how to administer assistance with the AED.

DESIGN STANDARDS

INDUSTRY STANDARDS

To help ensure safety and usability of Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks, there are standards in place that guide the manufacture and specifications of equipment, and also the way they are placed onsite.

SAFETY STANDARDS

The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International has released standards that apply to outdoor fitness equipment. The ASTM Publication F3101-15, Standard Specification for Unsupervised Public Use Outdoor Fitness Equipment establishes parameters for the design and manufacture of outdoor fitness equipment intended for use in an unsupervised setting by individuals aged 13 and older. The standard addresses potential design issues that may cause injury, such as head/neck entrapments, entanglements, and crush/shear points caused by the juncture of two components moving relative to one another, or at an opening present at the junction of a stationary support and a rigid supporting member for a swinging component. The standard also addresses the use of ropes and cables, specifying that they must be restrained (attached) at both ends, and that they cannot be looped to create an inside loop greater than 5” (127.0 MM). It is a good idea to be familiar with the standards to ensure any equipment purchased is compliant, and to ask your manufacturer for proof of ASTM compliance.

In addition to safety of individual pieces of equipment, the standard also addresses placement of the equipment, in relation to two zones that surround each piece of equipment. The first zone is called the Training Envelope, or the maximum space in which the user and machine components traverse when the machine is operated in accordance with the instructions. (AKA-operator range of movement, equipment range of movement, use zone). The second zone is the Clearance Space, or the area beneath & adjacent to equipment designated for unrestricted circulation around the equipment and on whose surface it is predicted that a user would land when falling from or exiting the equipment. While Clearance Spaces may overlap in the overall layout to the fitness area, Training Envelopes may not.

Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks provide an opportunity for adults in the neighborhood to not only exercise, but to engage socially.

- Thom McKenzie Emeritus Professor of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences at San Diego State University

SURFACING STANDARDS

What type of surface will be incorporated into the fitness park to promote comfort and usability? Along adjoining trails, a comfortable footing like asphalt or decomposed granite may be desirable, whereas the areas immediately surrounding the equipment will require a fall attenuating surface. The ASTM Publication F3101-15 addresses safety surfacing requirements for use zones to help prevent injury from inadvertent falls. In outdoor adult fitness parks, fall attenuating surfacing is required for any equipment where the user’s

feet leave the ground, in a depth related to the fall height from the equipment. A popular option is unitary surfacing like poured rubber that dries quickly after precipitation, promotes accessibility, and is comfortable for exercises performed directly on the surface. There are several options in unitary or loose-fill materials that are appropriate; your budget, users, configurations, and maintenance options will affect the final choice. Additional exercise options can be designed into rubber surfacing, like agility dots and ladders, as well as visual cues to separate training zones within the workout area.

When selecting an equipment vendor, ensure that their equipment adheres to any written standards for the equipment you are considering by requesting a copy of their ASTM certification. To understand specifics of these and other standards, go to ASTM.org and search Outdoor Fitness Equipment.

UNIVERSAL DESIGN STANDARDS

By applying principles of universal design, you can help ensure that your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park is usable by all people to the greatest extent possible. THE ASTM Publications F3021 and F 3022 provide specifications for universal design of the fitness equipment, however, including this equipment in an overall plan and placing it so that it is accessible and integrated within the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park is vitally important to increase usability of your space and its appeal to everyone. Equipment specifically adapted to meet the needs of people that use mobility devices ensures that they are able to comfortably reach and use the equipment, and be included in the workout. Remember

that inclusion should apply to the entire environment, surfacing, minimally sloped and accessible routes of travel, restrooms, shade, and convenient parking that is easily accessible are equally important in the overall design to ensure people can move about safely and comfortably in the outdoor fitness environment.

EQUIPMENT CONFIGURATION

Within the selected typology, configuring the individual pieces of equipment is an important consideration in promoting participation and engaging the community. Here are some configuration tips to consider.

›

Spacing

Providing clear space around or within the equipment is important. While there are ASTM guidelines around placement, additional spacing consideration may help increase usage. For organized classes led by a certified fitness trainer, consider that the number of participants may exceed the pieces of equipment offered, so providing additional space provides the trainer with options to guide additional users in exercises that utilize body weight or portable equipment, like hand weights or bands. Spacing can also ensure that users with mobility devices can navigate the space comfortably.

› Placement

Users may bring friends to the outdoor adult fitness park, so configuring equipment to promote communication between them is an important consideration for use. If you are designing a fitness trail, installing equipment to facilitate more than one user at each station along the trail helps ensure that people don’t have to stop their workout while waiting for the equipment to be available, and provides options for people who walk the trail with friends.

› Sight Lines

For outdoor adult fitness parks placed within sight of a playground, communication and sight lines are crucial. Parents will want to be able to supervise their children; installing the outdoor adult fitness park in close proximity to the play area helps ensure parents can watch their children while exercising. Position the outdoor adult fitness park outside the use zone of the playground to help identify that it is not part of the play equipment and is designed for older users.

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES

Strategies For Planning, Funding, and Building Your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park

The following implementation strategies are steps that will help facilitate a proactive and collaborative Outdoor Adult Fitness Park development process, assist in defining the needs of the community, and explore additional mechanisms for ensuring long-term success.

› Commit to the Project

The first step in building a new space is to create a task force. Meet with organizational leaders to identify areas of responsibility, understand areas of concern that need to be addressed, and identify budget needs/ goals. Identify stakeholders to include and ascertain levels of support. Appoint task force leaders to drive the plan forward in key areas of responsibility like design, public input, funding, installation, and programming. Evaluate whether any master plans for the city or space will need to be amended to include the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park.

› Engage the Community

There are a number of ways to engage the community in your space, and they start in the early planning phase. Invite members of the community to a planning meeting to gauge their level of interest, and understand how they would use the space to promote personal fitness. Often, the interest of a particular community can help identify the best location. The City of Los Angeles uses community interest assessment as a key step in their planning process to install Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks in neighborhood pocket parks. The planning phase is also the time to engage potential funders and sponsors. Supporting the project provides a way for local businesses to show their dedication to the health of the community.

› Assess Community Needs

Create a Needs Assessment process and documentation. This document should incorporate input to be used as a framework for design. Be sure to identify preliminary potential locations and their advantages, including proximity to neighborhoods, and whether the space is more appropriate for a Fitness Station, Trail, Cluster, or Joint Use Fitness Zone. Consider parking adjacencies and conveniences like restrooms and water fountains to maximize comfort for users.

Schedule meetings with the public to communicate goals for the project, discuss potential locations, understand any concerns or additional feedback, and gain support. This provides an opportunity for site owners, users, maintenance staff, and neighbors to share ideas and ensure that all perspectives are taken into account. Ensuring community buy-in will help the project achieve long-term success.

Create a plan using the Needs Assessment as a guide to plan the layout, equipment, and budget needed to execute the vision that best ensure the concerns and needs of the community are included. Identify the target site, and update Master Plans as necessary so that appropriate improvements and facilities are included. These documents become your guide to implementation.

› Write the Strategic Plan

This document should incorporate what the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park will do and achieve, how it will accomplish growth, and often includes a framework for assessment. Strategic planning articulates the project’s mission, vision (long-term change), values, goals, objectives, and strategies. Will the space be open for classes? Will the instructors be third party or members of your own staff? What agreements are in place with instructors to ensure liability, maintenance, and adherence to sensible fitness plans? How will you promote the classes and fitness opportunities through the web, social media, and with target user groups?

Establish the methods to be used to promote and execute the plan, including fundraising, public awareness, grand opening announcements, and long-term sustainability/maintenance. Consider

how to utilize the local press, television, industry publications, website development/maintenance, and a social media plan. A carefully considered plan is essential to ensure your space is regularly used, maintained, and evaluated to promote community interest and engagement.

› Create a Budget

Work with suppliers of outdoor equipment to confirm the budget needed to complete the project. Be sure to share your Strategic Plan with them to ensure the space is designed to meet all of your identified goals. Discover what tools are offered by the supplier such as class plans, ask how usage instructions are presented, and what other helpful information they can provide to ensure that your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park is easy and intuitive for maximum participation.

There are many ways to structure fundraising initiatives, including sponsorships for one-time gifts or ongoing support, grants, city capital budgets, fundraising events, and more. Funding may also include local fitness professionals who donate time to lead classes, organizations who provide regular funds for maintenance, or a business that makes a large donation to choose the name of the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park. Fundraising can be organized at the grassroots level or with professional organized events to help generate funding. With obesity and overall health and wellness a major focus across the U.S., grant funding may also be a viable option to fund the space.

Be sure to thank sponsors and donors at the time of their gift, and at the grand opening of the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park. Designing and installing signage at the site is also a great way to exhibit a permanent expression of gratitude, especially for large donations, but ensure that your donors are comfortable with this kind of recognition.

› Finalize Design

Based on information gathered, decide what equipment will fit the need of the project within the budget and area defined in the Master Plan. Don’t forget to consider additional components like surfacing, shade, and site amenities. The addition of trees and plants can provide shade and beauty to the space. Be thoughtful about water, maintenance, drainage, and management of natural resources when planning.

› Identify Funding Mechanisms

You will need to consider funding for both implementation and maintenance. Consider developing private/public partnerships to strengthen sustainability for the project and augment funding. Create a funding plan with target milestones and implement the plan to gain funding support. Consider grant funding as a mechanism to promote wellness, but remember that the grant application/ funding process may take up to a year. Gather the community to discover what grass roots fundraising mechanisms can be put into action.

› Implement and Maintain

Execute your plan, ensuring all of the elements within the strategic plan are in place while your equipment is being manufactured. This is a great time to develop a schedule to include regular inspections of equipment to ensure all is in working order. Maintain surrounding landscape and surfacing elements to ensure they support and complement the fitness environment.

› Celebrate and Promote

Be sure to kick off the new Outdoor Adult Fitness Park with a grand opening event that will publicize it to the community. This is a great opportunity to promote future use by distributing information on upcoming events and classes that will be held throughout the year. In addition to the hands on environment, you may wish to partner with a dietitian to help provide nutritional tips and support to the users of the space. Introductions to fitness, caloric requirements vs. energy expenditures, and general support groups may also be attractive workshop topics for the community.

Ensure the community obtains the greatest benefit by promoting your fitness space through regular marketing campaigns, using the channels identified in the planning process, to ensure people are aware of the available classes, hours the space is open, and special events. Consider all user groups, including beginners, seniors, and people of all abilities, who may be more comfortable initially with classes targeted to their particular needs.

COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT

1. Name of community:

2. Describe the benefiting community. Include any relevant statistics as well as geographic and demographic information about the community.

3. What community needs were identified?

4. What is already being done to respond to the need(s)?

5. What resources are available locally to help meet the need(s)?

6. What opportunities for projects did you identify?

7. Which project did you select?

Why did you select this project?

8. What challenges to implementation of this project did you identify? How does the project plan take these challenges into account?

9. How will the benefiting community be involved in the project?

10. Describe the viability of the project and how it may be maintained by the benefiting community.

PROGRAMMING

EXPANDING UTILIZATION

In order to maximize the investment, you have made in your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park, and in the community itself, you’ll want to consider the design and implementation of programming, and additional resources to help educate, inspire, and facilitate healthy lifestyle choices for users, and to assist them in achieving their fitness and wellness goals. Consider ways to expand the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park by incorporating running programs, increasing family usage, and hiring certified fitness trainers to hold classes on a variety of topics and exercise disciplines to promote a wide variety of user interests. Consider cross-promotions with other locations in the community to encourage usage expansion. Expand the number of users and total body conditioning opportunities by adding more equipment or unitary surfacing like turf or poured rubber to accommodate additional exercises. Moveable equipment also provides an outlet to accommodate more users. The survey tools and data collection ideas discussed in the evaluation section of this guide can provide guidance on gathering and interpreting data, then using it as a guide on future improvement and expansion.

Recommendations for Active Lifestyles

The 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults accumulate between 150 and 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity every week. An equivalent mix of moderate- and vigorousintensity aerobic activity every week may be preferred by some and would be equally sufficient. Additional health benefits are gained by engaging in physical activity beyond 300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week.

In addition to aerobic exercise, the Activity Guidelines suggest muscle-strengthening activities of moderate or greater intensity on 2 or more days a week. This should include all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms) and done on nonconsecutive days.

For older adults, aged 65 or older, the guidelines recommend the same amount of aerobic and musclestrengthening activities, with the addition of exercises that maintain or improve balance.

Program Considerations for Adult User Groups

Users of Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks will come in many sizes, ages, and levels of fitness. Ensuring there are appropriate activities for all of them is important, otherwise you are limiting your audience. Users may also benefit from orientation classes to help them become familiar with the equipment, and different programming options.

Individual (non-class) users may or may not have a general knowledge of fitness, so ensuring there are clear instructions at each piece of equipment is important. Providing intuitive instruction, with images or smartphone enabled scans will be more easily understood by all, especially multilingual users, than long written instructions. Be sure to understand how your equipment manufacturer provides instructions for each piece of equipment. You may also want to augment these instructions on your own website with helpful tips and techniques for working out. A personal trainer or fitness expert is a great resource to assist with this, and you may even be able to trade class time at your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park for their services. Group users may be formally organized classes or simply groups of friends who choose to exercise together. Providing an overall Outdoor Adult Fitness Park design that encourages communication during exercise is important to these users. Ensure there is enough equipment as well as clear space for users who wish to augment their equipment-based workout with bodyweight training.

Incorporate Running Programs

Running is a great way to add cardiovascular activities to your fitness park, and there are a variety of great ”learn to run” programs online. Consider hiring a local coach that can hold weekly running clinics to help people learn basics like cadence and form You can alternate running a variety of distances with sets on the outdoor fitness park equipment to suit your class preferences.

Add Portable Equipment

Portable gym equipment offers another great way to create variety in the outdoor fitness park. By utilizing bands, battle ropes, medicine balls and similar equipment, users can extend their workout, incorporate functional movement, and create even more variety in their workout. Trainers can utilize portables to facilitate large fitness classes when users outnumber available equipment. Many pieces of outdoor adult fitness equipment easily facilitates the addition of ropes bands, and hanging strength trainers like rings and balls. Using weights or medicine balls on other types of equipment can help increase resistance and functional movement. Be sure to ask your product provider what options they offer in portable equipment to help increase the function of your space.

Consider Obstacle Courses

It is important to think of all ages when planning recreation spaces so that families are encouraged to spend time together. Family time fosters emotional development in children and promotes the feeling of being connected for all. Children tend to do what their parents do, so if parents have an active lifestyle, so will their children. For older children and teenagers, exercise is an important part of mental health and can relieve stress and excess energy, while helping teenagers feel they are taking care of their bodies in a positive manner. A family-oriented outdoor fitness trend that is taking hold in parks (and schools) is the permanent obstacle course, like the Challenge Course found at Riverside Park in Indianapolis, IN. (see Case Studies) Children, teens, and adults can be found competing on the course, encouraging active time for the whole family, where no one is sitting on the sidelines in an observer role. The courses are modeled after popular obstacle race courses (one of the fastest growing sports in the world today) but don’t require multiple acres or supervision.

Offer Organized Fitness Classes

Offering fitness classes is a great way to provide the community with the opportunity to get fit. Fitness classes can also be a revenue-generating prospect for your facility. It is important to ensure that the trainer you hire possesses a qualified university degree in the field or a respected personal fitness trainer

CLASS MODELS FOR

OUTDOOR ADULT FITNESS PARKS

› Permit Based Classes

Certified Personal Trainers purchase a permit, providing them with the opportunity to schedule a predetermined number of classes at your facility.

› Trainer Partnerships

Trainers provide consultation, white papers, or other services in exchange for the opportunity to use your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park to hold classes.

› Staff Trainers

Certified Trainers are hired as full time, part time, or seasonal employees to provide classes for the community.

› Organizational Partnerships

Partner with like-minded organizations that can provide resources not available within your organization. The Sonoma, CA, YMCA and County Parks executed this model to partner trainers and infrastructure. Local hospitals, nutritionists, and universities may also be target partners for programming and nutrition.

› Informal Group Classes

Schedule Informal Group-centered sessions at the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park, to encourage likeminded individuals to meet and workout together. This is especially useful with groups like beginners or seniors, who may feel more comfortable exercising among their peers.

“There is real value to Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks as training options for university’s athletic teams; I’ve encouraged the athletic training folks with UTC to utilize the trails for the various team training/conditioning runs.”

- LaCondra Mason Certified Fitness Trainer

certification. The National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) is an accreditation organization that evaluates the processes and systems used by an organization to identify professional role and scope of practice, develop exam content, and provide proper exam administration and scoring to ensure the minimal competence of the candidate certified. You can search their database at credentialingexcellence.org to look for credible fitness certifications like the ones granted by the American Council on Exercise (ACE), American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), and the Cooper Institute.

Classes may be ongoing or scheduled within a time window, as in the case of summer series classes or 6-8-week courses. The City of Henderson, NV, offers personal trainers the opportunity to rent the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park for their own classes. Trainers purchase a permit and schedule classes in advance. The City of Bellevue, WA, offers a similar program, as do several cities throughout the U.S. Other parks employ trainers as staff members to act as instructors.

Tonya Martin, a Certified Personal Trainer from Chattanooga, TN, takes her boot camp classes to the local Outdoor Adult Fitness Park to provide a fun outdoor setting that will keep the class fresh and exciting to participants. She added, “our Outdoor Adult Fitness Park is easy to use, it’s fun, people can easily track their progress, and it offers something for all levels of fitness, meaning it’s not frustrating for beginners, so they want to keep coming back.”

Even if you don’t incorporate formal classes, periodic orientation is a great way to attract regular users to the space. Since users may be utilizing equipment for the first time, providing basic instruction on the functionality of the equipment, proper form, and scaling the workout up or down to suit current fitness levels is a benefit to all who may engage with the space. Additionally, these people may become external evangelists, providing the same orientation to friends and family, and thereby expanding the usage of the fitness equipment.

Promote Nutrition Education

No fitness program is complete without considering diet and food consumption, as maintaining a healthy weight is a balance of both eating and physical activity behaviors. Eating and drinking provides the body with calories to be used for everyday activities, including exercise. The calories, or energy, needed depends on our daily activities, but even at rest, energy is needed for basic body functions, like breathing, blood circulation, cell growth, food processing, and simple movement. Calories used in these basic functions make up our individual basal (or resting) metabolic rate (BMR). BMR is largely a function of body size, sex, and age, and accounts for approximately 75% of the calories we burn each day. The remaining energy needed is affected by the physical activities we engage in each day, with tremendous individual variability.

Outdoor adult fitness parks are popular destinations for people new to exercise, so offering nutrition education classes can be a great compliment. Nutrition classes can also include healthy shopping trips, workshops on food preparation, portion control exercises, calculating calories, and the value of family meals. While most people understand they should eat “healthier,” not everyone knows what that means or how to do it. Nutrition classes or resources can help close that gap and increase the success of your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park.

Consider partnering with a Registered Dietitian (RD) as a means to expand your services to include both exercise and healthy eating. The local hospital or university, as well as the Internet, provides useful resources to help locate an RD in your area. Be sure you ask for references, review their class materials, and ask how they will measure outcomes in advance of securing a partnership.

Offer Health Screenings

Not all of your users will have adequate access to health screenings, so providing this service, even on a limited basis, can be very beneficial. As an added service to the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park, you can partner with a qualified health care provider to offer community health screenings. This provides the community with a way to learn more about their individual health, therefore providing them with baseline information to begin making their own healthy lifestyle changes. Screenings are also a cost-effective

means of identifying previously undiagnosed health issues that can be stopped from progressing.

Contact local hospitals or pharmacies to help source a qualified health care professional to carry out the screenings. You can also contact groups like the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, or work with the Nursing or Medical department of the local university. There are also groups like the Red Cross who can offer basic health screening information as part of the blood donation process, or local embassies, like the Mexican Embassy in Raleigh, NC, which offers screenings while people wait to be seen. Local military units may also be able to assist with screenings. The city of Martin, TN, applied for an Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) grant through Hope of Martin Community Development Corporation to provide free access to health screenings, which included physical, mental, dental, and eye exams. More than 125 military medical professionals gathered at a local school for a nine-day period to administer the screenings to the general public.

Utilize Partnerships

Forming partnerships is a great way to share resources. Sonoma County Regional Parks and the Sonoma County Family YMCA in California have utilized this model, providing a series of summer outdoor fitness classes held in the county parks. The Y provides the instructors, a resource that the parks did not have prior to the partnership. The six-week sessions offer a variety of classes to appeal to a broad group of users, with a shared goal of providing the opportunity to exercise outdoors.

Ken Molloy Harbor Regional Park in Los Angeles (see Case Studies) is another site that utilizes partnerships to maximize participation. Kaiser Permanente South Bay Medical Center across the street from the facility provides popular fitness classes at the park. Kaiser Permanente’s local community benefit program also granted the local YMCA $10,000 to offer exercise classes at the park to encourage community organizations to utilize the space.

Child-care centers are another potential partner. Offer a Mom & Dad’s Workout to the parents of the partnering center, the center can provide child-care options for the children near the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park during their parents’ workout.

Miami-Dade Parks’ ‘’Partnerships for Fitness’’ program includes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a partner. Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) is a locally driven CDC initiative supporting 50 communities, including Miami-Dade County in Florida, to promote physical activity and tackle obesity. CPPW also promotes transportation modes for pedestrians and cyclists, increasing healthy food and beverage options as well as tobacco cessation programs.

Corporate wellness programs may also be a partnership opportunity, many companies offer employee incentives or programs to promote wellness. Your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park may offer companies an outlet to engage their employees with a cost-effective way to implement regular exercise into their lives. Contact company human resource departments to learn about their programs and how your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park may complement them.

The City of Chattanooga, TN, uses its Outdoor Adult Fitness Park, a trail located in the city’s Warner Park, as a training facility for firefighters. The Chattanooga Fitness Center, operated by the City of Chattanooga’s Department of Youth and Family Development, has been providing physical training for the new hire cadets with the City of Chattanooga’s Fire Training Academy since 1993. What began primarily as indoor calisthenics and outdoor running has evolved into highly specialized workouts geared for functional preparedness to address the demands of firefighting.

“Having the outdoor fitness trails conveniently located to us and our fitness center has provided us with an option

“We’ve eagerly embraced the outdoor trails as a valuable addition to our training arsenal for firefighters, as well as for others.”

- Ralph Aaron Fitness Trainer, City of Chattanooga, TN

to train the firefighters in the outdoor environment,” says Rick O’Rear, Recreation Division Manager with the City. “This gives us more opportunities to set up real life situations in outdoor extremes, including heat and rain. We utilize the equipment in both conventional and nonconventional ways, like following the signage directions, but also creatively using a “childlike” approach with hanging, swinging, jumping, and other playful moves to develop the functional fitness needed for the demands of firefighting. The cadets have even run the courses dressed in full firefighting gear.”

Ralph Aaron, fitness trainer with the Chattanooga Fitness Center, has been providing the physical activity training for the Fire Department since 1996. He adds, “We’ve eagerly embraced the outdoor trails as a valuable addition to our training arsenal for firefighters, as well as for others.”

MARKETING PROMOTING USAGE ACROSS DIVERSE POPULATION

To ensure that your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park is used regularly, you need to focus on effective outreach to target markets, delivering participants the results they want, while generating referral business, maximizing your return on investment, and ensuring that the program is properly scheduled and marketed.

Targeting Users

If using targeted marketing messages to promote your fitness park and/or classes, there are several questions you will want to address before designing your marketing campaign:

› Who is the target audience and who is likely to enjoy the program?

› How many people that meet this description live or work within driving distance to the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park?

› What time of day will best accommodate this group?

› What is the best way to reach them to ensure participation?

› What message will appeal to this group to encourage participation?

As an example, a basic “Introduction to Fitness” class may have a broad user appeal. If your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park is located in an urban area, you may wish to market your class to business professionals, a large urban target market that likely engages in exercise. Due to their work schedules, the best time of day is probably early morning or after 5:00 pm. Marketing to local human resource departments can be a very efficient way to reach a large number of business professionals, and may help you receive endorsements. By designing your marketing tools to promote increased energy at work, getting outdoors after a day inside sitting at a desk, and the fact that exercise relieves stress while potentially reducing health care costs, you will be appealing to both the company representatives and the employees.

Conversely, if marketing the same program to stay-athome parents, offering classes midday to avoid school pick up and drop off times would be more beneficial. Distributing your ad materials to parent groups like PTA/PTO to at local day care facilities would help you reach potential participants. Offering daycare for young children would help draw parents with children too young for school. Promoting fresh air, a mom/dad day out, the chance to participate with other parents, and improving fitness to help keep up with the kids would be a beneficial message to use.

Consider ways to expand the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park by incorporating running trails, increasing family usage, and marketing to certified fitness trainers to hold classes. Consider cross-promotions with other locations in the community to encourage usage expansion. Expand the number of users and total body conditioning opportunities by adding more equipment or poured rubber surfacing to accommodate additional exercises. The survey tools and data collection ideas discussed in the evaluation section of this guide can provide guidance on gathering and interpreting data, then using it as a guide on future improvement and expansion.

Also, consider the questions listed above when marketing to senior citizens, users with special needs, non-English speakers, and other groups that may benefit from targeted campaigns.

Spreading the Word

There are many tools that you can use to promote your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park and its classes, no matter who you are targeting. For any business, maintaining website support is an important tool in overall marketing plans. Potential users will use the Internet to search for local fitness options, and to learn more about your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park and its programs. Maximizing your online presence is a valuable way to attract users, communicate class schedules, and provide other information. If your classes are fee based, you can set up the website to handle transactions. You can use it as a tool for users to share their successes and provide testimonials. You can include descriptions of your instructors and their qualifications. The website can act as the central hub for all of the information you want to share about your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park.

Your marketing campaign can also provide resources for communication among participants. Consider the following options to help participants make connections and promote ongoing support and success.

› Social Media

Creating a blog, Facebook, Twitter, or other social media page is a great way to encourage users to join the discussion and share tips for success. Providing a social media outlet can promote encouragement among those who use your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park. You can utilize social media sites to promote events at your space, gathering advocates along the way. Social media provides an avenue for twoway communication, so your participants can share ongoing dialogue, motivation, fitness progress reports, healthy recipes, success stories, and advocate for you by sharing to their own channels and networks. It is also a fun way to share photos, motivational tips, and other great information. If you choose to set up a social media site, be sure you maintain it and add content regularly.

› Handouts

Making white papers, recipe cards, and other fitness information available to your Outdoor Adult Fitness

Park users can promote active, healthy lifestyles. The Internet is a great resource for material, but ensure that the information you provide is credible, and vetted by a professional in the field. Distribute the information electronically, or if you have a brick and mortar facility at the site, have a bulletin board clearly identified as your “Healthy Lifestyle Tips” board. Providing additional copies of the material gives your participants an easy way to take materials home to share with family or interested friends and is especially important if your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park is located in a lower income neighborhood where easily accessed Internet cannot be assumed.

› Buddy Up

Success is easier with a partner to help stay motivated. You might consider offering a sign-up sheet for fitness buddies to use the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park, or by posting your events on social sites like meetup.com or zogsports.com, which are specifically designed to promote people coming together. You may also consider a social event immediately before or after your classes to encourage communication among participants. Even a 15-30 minute “meet and greet” can be beneficial by opening up communication. Encouraging people to bring a friend they know is also a great idea and helps promote growth of your class as well.

›

Special Events

You can utilize occasions like holidays, health awareness months/days (National Heart Month, National Physical Fitness and Sports Month), and community-specific events (festivals, races, farmer’s markets) to promote your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park. You may even come up with your own idea, for instance, an Orientation Day, to promote the space with an onsite event.

› Website

If the park, community center, or school where your outdoor adult fitness center is located has a website, take advantage of it to promote the opportunity to come exercise! The City of San Antonio utilizes their website to share locations, offer training videos, and promote their fitness in the park classes. Their outdoor adult fitness classes follow a variety of formats, including boot camp, aerobic training, mommy and me, circuit training, and more. They even use the website to recruit new instructors. Community members can use the site to get class schedules, and find out about special fitness events, all in one easy to use site.

Besides your website, don’t forget the power of local media. Be sure to create press releases to promote your grand opening, new class offerings, success stories, and other newsworthy information, and then share the news with local newspapers, radio, and TV stations. If your viewing area has a local morning show, contact them to schedule an interview so that you can provide information about the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park. Ask if you can bring a video to air during the segment, so viewers can see people actively using the space during the interview. Ensure that the show will list your website and contact information at the end of the segment so that people know how to contact you to learn more. You may even want to offer a special “press only” event at the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park to orient the media to the kind of workout they can get and promote usage through advocacy.

Advocates are one of the best ways to create excitement about your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park. There is nothing more motivating than seeing the success story of a person who has made the decision to improve their health. Besides the valuable word of mouth that advocates provide, you can profile their success (with their permission) on your website, social media outlets, and through the media. You might even convince them to share before and after photos for your marketing materials. Developing an active referral network is a key component to success. Providing incentives to current participants to help you get new participants: a healthy cookbook, personal one-on-one training, or a DVD of motivating workout music are just some of the ideas you can use. If you offer classes, offer brochures or other marketing materials at each class so that interested passersby can get information on your class offering and schedule.

› Non-Class Time

Don’t forget to let potential users know when the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park is open to non-class participants. While classes are an active method to encourage use and participation, some users may prefer to participate on their own. In all of your marketing materials, be sure to list open use days or times when the space is available to anyone.

Your marketing plan holds the key to the success of your space. Be sure it engages diverse users, conveys benefits of participation, utilizes a robust communication network, and shares success along the way!

MAINTENANCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

In general, Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks require low maintenance. Regular inspections are important to ensure the equipment is in good working order. Be sure to consult with your equipment provider regarding timing of inspections, as some equipment, such as elliptical machines, stationary bikes, or equipment that is adjustable may require more frequent inspections than stationary equipment with no moving parts. Ensure equipment surfaces like seats, pedals, steps, etc are in good condition, that there are no loose parts, and that the surfaces are not damaged. The equipment should be wiped down regularly to keep it inviting to users. If your park utilizes moveable equipment like balls and ropes, be sure they are checked back in to the issuing office, as some equipment may pose hazards to unauthorized users like children if left on or near the equipment.

As fall attenuating surfacing is required for any apparatus where the user’s feet leave the ground, surfacing should be regularly checked and maintained to installation specifications. Inspect unitary surfaces like poured rubber or tile surfacing regularly for damage that may compromise fall attenuation or cause a trip hazard. Check to make sure loose fill surfaces are maintained to the required depth for fall attenuation, and that there is no trash or foreign objects present. Natural loose fill surfaces like wood fiber will decompose over time and “top-offs” will be required to maintain adequate fall attenuation properties.

If your fitness park includes timing or electronics, be sure to check that connections are sound, and that water has not permeated the system. Check with your manufacturer for additional inspection requirements. If your adult fitness park utilizes solar panels, you’ll want to regularly check for pollen, dust, or other buildup on the surface. Solar panels must be clean of debris to efficiently transform the sun’s rays into electricity, so if your panels are covered in dirt and debris, you’ll experience a lower efficiency. If you live in an area that experiences snowy weather, the solar panels should be cleared following snowfall. Make sure to dry them thoroughly to avoid streaking. If you live in a desert

or dusty environment, then you should clean more frequently as dust can gather faster than in more humid environments. For equipment or scoreboards that have a battery system, be sure to inspect and replace batteries according to manufacturer specifications to ensure the system is working at all times.

On the opposite page is a sample maintenance checklist you can use to get started. While this shows some of the basic elements to inspect on a regular basis, it is highly recommended that you work with your equipment manufacturer to understand maintenance checkpoints and frequency for the products in your unique Adult Outdoor Fitness Park. Adhering to a regular maintenance program can help ensure the community will enjoy your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park for many years to come.

You might also consider expanding the Fitness Park after the public has had the opportunity to use it. Expansion is a great way to ensure sustainability of the space as additional equipment can attract new users, as well as energize your existing user base to expand their exercise routine. Getting community feedback before any planned expansions is a good way to determine which additions would be most meaningful.

Fitness Park:

General

Inspector:

Warning and age appropriate labels are present and legible

Equipment is free of crush and shear points

Equipment is free of entanglement hazards and/or protrusions

Equipment is free of sharp points or edges

No insect, bird, or animal infestations are present

Bolt ends show less than two threads, and are rounded and smooth

Finishes

Metal surfaces are free of rust, corrosion, or loose paint

Surfaces are clean and free of graffiti or vandalism

Seats are free of damage and firmly attached

Plastic components are free of cracks/damage

Welds are intact and crack free

PVC coatings are not peeling and are in good condition

Equipment is free of sharp edges or points

Fasteners

All hardware is present, tight, and fully engaged

Pipe caps or plugs are appropriately installed at ends of tubing

Fittings/bearings are functional and squeak-free

Turnbuckles are tight and fully engaged

Cables/ropes are anchored, are not unraveled, and are firmly attached at both ends

Structural members

Footings and anchoring devices are secure and stable

Structural members are sound and securely fastened

Springs, moving components are in good repair

Housing around mechanisms is firmly joined with no gaps or protruding parts

No inappropriate projections or protrusions are evident

No entanglement hazards are present

Gripping & Stepping components

Hand grip components are secure, damage free, and do not rotate

Stepping surfaces are level, stable, and clean

Footholds, pedals, and rungs are tight and free of excess wear

Moving parts

Ropes, chains, and other climbing devices are firmly anchored to the structure and the ground

Ropes, chains, etc are free of excessive wear

Ropes 7” or less cannot be looped back on themselves, or touch another rope

Hangers and bushings are free of excessive wear

All moving components are in good condition, secure, and noise free

Surfacing

Appropriate fall attenuating surfacing is present for all equipment where users’ feet leave the ground

Loose fill surfacing is level and at appropriate depth

Use zones and training envelopes are free of debris

Surface drainage is functional with no standing water

Wear mats are properly installed, if applicable

Unitary surfaces are free of damage, tears, ruts, and debris

Accessible surfaces are free of abrupt changes in elevation, and do not have gaps greater than 1/2”

Accessible routes of travel to and throughout the use zones are available and meet specifications

Other

Instructional signage is readable and graffiti or damage free

QR Code instruction is fully functional Download

Date:

EVALUATION TRACKING AND REPORTING OUTCOMES FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

Evaluation is not a one-time event, it is an ongoing process to measure and understand the current status, ensure goals are being met, and plan for continuous improvements based on the results. Evaluation systems can be created to inform and support the individual users of the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park or for system-wide tracking and reporting. Implement methods that measure outcomes to ensure users are receiving the most benefit from the space. Onsite surveys, contact forms on your website, and social media outlets can all be effective in gathering data to measure the success and usability of your space, as well as provide input on future expansion, and help identify potential workshop topics. Be sure to use your strategic plan as a guide when planning the measurement of outcomes to ensure you are tracking data based on your established goals.

To ensure the unique needs of the community and the specific fitness park users are being met, it is vital to continuously assess, even if it is informal in nature. More formal assessment and reporting systems should occur at least annually in order for stakeholders to understand the ongoing needs, goals, and resulting outcomes.

Once you have your evaluation plan and tools compiled, it is important to share them with stakeholders to decide what actions will be taken as a result of the measurement system. Once a direction is chosen, be sure to share the results, and the actions that will be taken, with all participants to promote transparency and illustrate your dedication to continuous improvement.

Individual User Evaluation Tools

Providing a personal assessment tool helps the individual user evaluate their own results within your Outdoor Adult Fitness Park by tracking their progress. A simple spreadsheet with prompts to enter date, time, and reps to note improvement may be augmented with a space every 7-10 days to note current weight and measurements. Encourage participants to use these tools so they can monitor progress and identify when they are ready to move to the next level by increasing time, reps, or intensity. You can make this available for download on your website, in the file section of your social media site, or available for pick up in your facility’s office or other accessible building affiliated with the site.

In addition, you could suggest they keep track of their physical activity utilizing one of the many available tools to help track nutrition and exercise. To track daily caloric intake, an app like myfitnesspal.org or mynetdiary,com may be useful. There are also wearables by companies like Garmin or Fitbit that can track steps, heart rate, sleep, and other metrics to help encourage a healthy lifestyle. You might even consider starting an online community to help users of your fitness park connect and encourage dialogue, promote camaraderie, set up group workouts, and even find accountability partners. You can even utilize social media platforms like Facebook to set up groups. This is also a good way to communicate with users of the facility to promote special training opportunities, maintenance days, or make other important announcements.

“An unused facility is a terrible thing to waste. The relevance is that many facilities go unused because they are not promoted or programmed.”

- Thom McKenzie, Ph.D. Emeritus Professor of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences at San Diego State University

By visiting the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park periodically and recording data, observers can gain useful information on outcomes.

Survey Questions may include demographics as well as:

› Do they prefer exercising outdoors over indoors?

› Which equipment is used most/least often?

› How many times a month/week have they visited and used the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park?

› Do they exercise more now than they did before the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park was installed (for comparisons before and after installation of the equipment)?

› What is their main reason for using the equipment?

› How do they get to the park (e.g., walking, biking)?

› Would they recommend others to use the space?

› What are reasons for recommending or not recommending usage?

› Who do they use the space with, if anyone?

› What are the ages of the users?

› What levels of exertion do they reach? Moderate? Vigorous?

› Why do they use the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park?

› How satisfied are they with the equipment provided?

› Would they be interested in participating in organized classes at the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park?

› Would they be interested in having certified individuals guiding them through a workout while utilizing the space?

› How would they describe the benefits of the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park?

› What recommendations do they have for improvements?

Fitness Park Assessment Tools

Creating a survey for visitors to the park is a simple way to solicit feedback that helps you augment products and programming to satisfy the needs of the users. You may even consider sending a mail survey (or mail a postcard with a link to an online survey) to the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park surrounding areas asking neighbors the same questions. In creating a survey, it is sometimes helpful to consider the metrics you wish to obtain first, then structure the questions to best obtain them. This helps you focus on what you want to be able to report, and what analyses you will need to complete.

Additional questions can be added based on the individual products and programming offered at the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park, and may include feedback on targeted user group satisfaction, results of equipment expansion and/or feedback on what can be added to increase usage/results.

As part of its National Demonstration Site program, PlayCore administers Community Vitality Outcomes Assessments, capturing valuable data on fitness park usage. A series of key informant surveys, as well as onsite surveys accessed by the user via smart phone, provide opportunities to gather data, and show usage and engagement trends that help demonstrate the need, value, and outcomes for outdoor adult fitness parks, and potentially help secure funding for expansion. See Resources section for more information.

Observational Assessment Tools

Although physical activity and exercise are positively associated with good health, assessing the activity of people in “open” environments (e.g., Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks) has been hampered by the lack of objective tools for quantifying physical activity and both user and area characteristics. Measurement in these settings is especially complicated because the number of area participants and their activity modes and intensity levels change frequently.

Tools for assessing physical activity and fitness engagement in exercise areas and other park facilities using trained observers have been developed and evaluated. As direct observation exceeds other measures of physical activity because of its ability to provide detailed information on the physical and social context in which it occurs,78 these tools are of particular value to park planners and programmers.

While questionnaires and interviews are still important ways for obtaining some information, using direct observation methods is vastly different from having people self-report on how often they use a park or what they do there. The focus is on specific areas themselves, rather than on an individual, and trained observers record what is happening in the space using momentary time sampling (i.e., serial observation “snapshots”) during the day or week. Observations can be done by researchers according to a specific protocol or by park employees as they make their regular visitations to park areas.

One observation tool is System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC),79 which was designed to obtain direct information on park area use, including specific relevant characteristics of areas and who uses them. SOPARC evolved from the System for Observing Play and Leisure Activity in Youth (SOPLAY), which was designed to study student use of physical activity areas before, during, and after school.80 When using SOPARC, trained observers visit the fitness areas periodically and record information (via paper forms and/or hand held mechanical or electronic devices) on the number of people using the spaces, including their physical activity levels (sedentary, moderate, vigorous), gender (male/female), activity modes/types, and estimated age (child, adolescent, adult, senior) and ethnicity groupings. Summary counts from these serial ‘snapshots’ are tabulated to describe both number and proportion of participants by characteristic of interest. With these data, comparisons can be made among different Fitness Area types or within the same area over different time periods (e.g., time of day, day of week, season). Because the SOPARC activity level codes have been validated previously, energy expenditure estimates (Kcal/kg/min and METS) for a Target Area or park can also be calculated.

In addition to identifying the characteristics of area users, SOPARC observers also record information on the specific activity area itself, including its accessibility, usability, and levels of equipment, supervision, and organization. Evaluating these five characteristics is especially important, because each one is related to how many people use a space and how active they are there. More importantly, each of these characteristics is modifiable—either by changing policies or programming.

SOPARC has been used in numerous studies throughout the U.S. and elsewhere. In Recife, Brazil, for example, it was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Academia da Cidade Program, a government-funded intervention that provides professionally supervised leisure-time exercise classes for community members in public spaces (e.g., parks, beaches).81 In the USA, Dr. Deborah Cohen (who collaborated with Dr. Thom McKenzie on designing SOPARC) has led numerous research projects to validate the tool and to assess park use in urban and suburban communities, with a particular emphasis on examining health disparities. In one study in Los Angeles, she and colleagues studied the installation of Fitness Zone equipment by the Trust for Public Land in 12 community parks. The results showed that not only were the Fitness Zones used throughout the day in all 12 parks, but there was increased use of the general park areas in seven of the parks.82

While SOPARC was originally developed as a research tool to assess disparities in park use, it is also useful for park administrators and program planners. For example, Dr. Monica Lounsbery at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada (UNLV) led a collaborative project (OPEN-Observing Park Environments in Nevada) with park and recreation departments in Clark County and the city of Las Vegas in an assessment of local parks and trails.83 During the project, UNLV personnel trained over 28 park and recreation employees who collected SOPARC data over 4000 visits to park areas over a 1-year period. Coupled with information from focus groups, the observation data was particularly useful in identifying factors related to seasonal temperatures and park area use by different people characteristics (e.g., seniors) as well as vacancies (i.e., non-use) during specific times of the day. As a result of the collaborative nature of OPEN, the city and county now not only have baseline data on several parks and trails but also have bolstered their capacity to monitor these facilities and others well into the future.

Direct Observation of Fitness Classes in Parks

In addition to evaluating park area use, direct observation can also be used to specifically assess classes taking place in park fitness areas. The System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT), for example, a companion to SOPARC, and has been used widely in numerous settings to obtain simultaneous objective information on participant physical activity levels, the class context in which they occur (i.e., how the class content is delivered, including time allocated for fitness, skill development, game play, knowledge, and management), and instructor interactions relative to promoting physical activity and fitness.84 Instructor gender, class gender composition, class location, and number of participants are also recorded. Additionally, the SOFIT protocol also contains a rating scale that observers can use to evaluate 10 characteristics commonly associated with instructional effectiveness during exercise classes.

Observer Training

Observers need to be trained in order to be able to collect reliable information. The typical procedure is for them to study the instrument protocols, memorize category definitions, view video examples, score video segments, and match their responses to a gold standard, and then practice recording in the “live” field (preferably while receiving feedback with a trained observer). Fortunately, those interested in learning how to use SOPARC and SOFIT have access to free protocols and video training materials that they can use in a selfpaced manner.

Engaging Stakeholders and Partnerships for Evaluation

Proper identification of the current and potential stakeholders is an important step in the evaluation process. Who is invested in the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park and how can they become more engaged in the process – local funders, neighborhood associations, politicians and/or government officials, adjacent corporations focused on wellness, area non-profits that may utilize the park, etc. Understanding the needs and interests of the many stakeholders can help drive the overall evaluation strategy so that the process can be tailored.

You may also want to consider partnerships for the development of the actual evaluation methods, tools and/ or delivery. For example, partnering with a local university or college to create a measurement strategy can help ensure reliable data and outcomes reporting. Trained college students and/or volunteers can help execute the process and engage the community in yet another way.

Reporting and Continuous Improvement

Whichever methods you use to evaluate, help ensure greater participation by informing the evaluation participants effectively so that they know “what’s in it for them.” It is important to communicate that you are interested in their feedback to help plan future improvements, programs and expansions. Share the evaluation targets with stakeholders so they know of and support continuous improvements you may be implementing as a result.

Tools for assessing fitness engagement in exercise areas are available free of charge to interested communities. Visit https://thommckenzie.com for more information.

“Direct observation exceeds other measures of physical activity because of its ability to provide detailed information on the physical and social environment in which it occurs.”

- Thom McKenzie, Ph.D. Emeritus Professor of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences at San Diego State University

BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDIES: A CALL TO ACTION

DEMONSTRATING BEST PRACTICES ACROSS A VARIETY OF UNIQUE SITES

The case studies in this guidebook are a few stellar examples of the fitness innovations that are swelling across the U.S. Collectively they examine a number of locations, including hospitals, parks, and universities, and highlight the ways that each utilized outdoor adult fitness parks to promote overall health and wellness to their customers, communities, and students.

Though they are different in many ways, each example demonstrates the unique ways that the project leaders were able to evaluate their unique challenge, work with a team of designers to formulate and design a space that met their needs, and then engage their target audiences in meaningful ways. For each example, the communities have addressed the local needs and goals of their community stakeholders and implemented best practices in the planning, implementation, and continuous improvement of their initiatives. We are inspired by the many community champions that are bringing Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks to adults in their communities and we are equally focused on the meaningful outcomes that are being realized. Together, we can fight the obesity trend and promote health and wellness through Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks.

Read about the following case studies as a best-practice example of Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks:

› Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital – Alberta, CA Family-Centered Care

› Main Terrain Art Park – Chattanooga, TN

Connecting Communities Through Fitness, Public Art, and Sustainability

› Bunkie Fitness Park – Bunkie, LA

Moving Bunkie Forward: A Small Community Success

› Warner Park – Chattanooga, TN

Adult Fitness Trail in a Community Destination Park

› McKinley Park – Los Angeles, CA

Revitalizing Home Sites to Encourage Active Behavior in Neighborhoods

› Fitness in the Parks – San Antonio, TX Community-wide Initiative to Increase Physical Activity

› Chattanooga Parks – Chattanooga, TN Partnerships to Promote Fitness and Research

› Harbor Regional Park – Los Angeles, CA

An Outdoor Gym Designed to Engage People of All Ages and Abilities

› Virginia Tech – Blacksburg, VA

Attracting Students and Promoting Health and Wellness

› Riverside Park – Indianapolis, IN

Utilizing Partnerships to create Multigenerational Fun and Fitness

NATIONALDEMONSTRATIONSITE

Find an Outdoor Adult Fitness Park, become a National Demonstration Site, or register your current park on the database at www.playcore.com/nds.

Do you have a current Outdoor Adult Fitness Park in your community? Would you like to initiate a movement in your community to promote outdoor fitness and become a National Demonstration Site? We invite you to visit www.playcore.com/ solutions/outdoor-adult-fitness, and use the links there to learn how to create your own unique Outdoor Adult Fitness Park, incorporate the gathering of data and outcomes, include your space in the National Map of Fitness, and promote healthy outdoor activity through best practices in your community.

National Demonstration Sites receive complimentary signage to use onsite that will promote their commitment to excellence, and provide a way for users to share their experiences, including levels of activity, frequency, and valuable community vitality input to help community leaders champion fitness as a valid solution to improving overall health and wellness. Site owners also receive an award of certification, the use of the National Demonstration Site Seal for communication and marketing, and inclusion on the National Map of Fitness with the National Demonstration Site designation, so that other communities can witness and visit your best practice model. National Demonstration Sites will also be utilized in best practice articles, continuing education, and in follow up to discover the outcomes of the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park at the site.

PRESE N T ED BY

OUTDOOR ADULT FI TNESS P ARK S

FAMILY-CENTERED CARE

GLENROSE

REHABILITATION HOSPITAL ALBERTA, CANADA

“To be able to integrate play with therapy is a huge part in the patients’ journey, because a lot of their exercises are repetitive. So if we can provide it in a space that appeals to all senses, that is cheerful, that is happy, and where we can incorporate play with therapy, it makes them that much more motivated to do the work.”

- Wendy Dugas, President, Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation

The Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital is the largest freestanding tertiary rehabilitation hospital in North America and supports more than 87,000 patient visits annually. The hospital is focused on familycentered care that engages the whole family, including siblings, parents, grandparents, and caregivers. The Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation was created specifically to enhance the exceptional care the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital delivers to patients by raising funds that fuel innovative research and education, as well as acquire equipment and technology. Their investments from donors give patients, their families, and staff an array of tools to help positively shape their futures.

Therapy Through Playful Behavior

With children making up about 40% of the patients that visit Glenrose each year, replacing the old 30-year-old playground had long been a priority, as it failed to meet CSA standards, and was full of sand, which limited what kinds of equipment could be used in it. In 2016, with the support of the Foundation and its donors, the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital celebrated the opening of two redesigned and renewed courtyards, which included fitness areas, and play spaces for patients and their families to enjoy.

“We are committed to a culture that arranges care around the patient and their families. Play and therapy are natural partners,” says Dr. Verna Yiu, President and CEO of Alberta Health Services (AHS) the provincial

Adults enjoy their rehabilitation much more when accompanied by the sound of children at play.

health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than 4 million adults and children living in Alberta.

The courtyards feature inclusive experiences that offer people of all ages and abilities activities in which they can be active. Physical and gross motor rehabilitation opportunities include strengthening activities, and others designed to improve balance, coordination, and motor planning.

Dr. Lyn Sonnenberg, neurodevelopmental pediatrician at the AHS facility, adds, “When rehabilitating, our patients have to engage in repetitive activities for extended periods of time. So when engaged in an enjoyable activity, they tend to do it longer and don’t mind doing it over and over again.”

Creating Multigenerational Outdoor Experiences

The courtyards serve as safe, enclosed, outdoor environments for all, including individuals and families accessing both the pediatric and adult services at the hospital, children attending school through the School Rehabilitation Service, inpatient mental health residents, as well as the general public. In addition to a play area, the space includes outdoor fitness equipment designed to promote a total body workout, foster hand-eye coordination, and provide recovery activities for adults. The equipment focuses on functional movement, stretching, balance, and flexibility. “Whether a child is recovering from trauma, a grandparent is rehabilitating after a stroke, or a family is visiting a loved one, the new courtyards and playgrounds can benefit everyone,” stated David King, Chair, Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees.

By thoughtfully mixing the rehabilitational area for adults alongside the play area, the outdoor courtyards at Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital provide support and increase opportunities for people of all abilities to grow, learn, and heal together through outdoor play.

CONNECTING COMMUNITIES THROUGH FITNESS, PUBLIC ART, AND SUSTAINABILITY

MAIN TERRAIN ART PARK CHATTANOOGA, TN

“I’ve never encountered a project like this. The idea of exercise entering into urban design, much less public art, is pretty rare.”

- Thomas Sayre Sculptor and Designer of Art Installation

From initial conversations, Main Terrain Art Park grew into more than just an art park and a solution to runoff water or the revitalization of an abandoned brownfield. The collaborative project brought together several government, public art and philanthropic organizations, as well as local businesses over the course of three years of development through fruition. The City of Chattanooga explored various options of how to best manage the 1.72-acre brownfield located in the Southside of town. The City, ArtsBuild, and Public Art Chattanooga were looking for an avenue through which to cultivate public art on West Main Street and serve as an innovative representation of historical inspiration and contemporary design. Main Terrain Art Park was created with a vision that public art with a fitness focus would connect neighborhoods, people, and offer new experiences to the citizens in the community.

Funding for the artwork and the overall park came from the National Endowment for the Arts Our Town Grant—a $250,000 grant that the project’s two artist organizations secured. In addition, significant funds were provided by Lyndhurst Foundation, City of Chattanooga, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

One of 51 awards distributed across the United States, the city’s proposal described the concept of “placemaking.” This meant building a space where public art was one of many infused elements, but providing opportunities for physical activity was equally important as the visually compelling art to be featured. Rodney Van Valkenburg, Director of Grants and Initiatives at Allied Arts shared, “The idea of placemaking is how you can transform a barren, forgotten area and place something in that area that will be an attraction.”

Ross Fowler Landscape Architecture was selected to bring the City’s vision to life. However, in order to make it a functional place for citizens to effectively utilize, a stormwater management plan was needed to combat

the ongoing challenge of pollution and overflow. The large lawn areas of the park are designed as stormwater infiltration basins in which up to 1.5 million gallons of water are diverted annually from being funneled into the city’s sewer system. Rain that falls on the park is directed to the infiltration basins which have under drain systems connected to the city’s harvested rainwater system. In turn, up to 40,000 gallons of harvested rainwater is filtered, treated, and then used to irrigate the landscape.

With initial groundbreaking in October of 2012, artist Thomas Sayre and his team of designers and architects assembled a nine-part interactive sculpture over the course of three months. His inspiration was the Walnut Street Bridge; the city’s historical walking bridge which connects the Northshore with the Downtown Art District. The familiar local landmark serves as a symbolic demonstration of the city’s overall revitalization over the past decade.

The art includes a unique fitness element with concrete pylons that are each topped with a moveable steel truss designed to spin around to create a physical bridge structure, resembling the local landmark. The park includes a running track looping the interior, open lawn areas, sustainable plantings, seating, bike racks, five fitness stations along the pathway, and a stormwater management system administered by the city’s land development office.

The Chattanooga Fire Department uses the space for training, giving them options to train outdoors in real world weather conditions.

The Main Terrain Art Park filling the barren lot between West Main Street and West 13th Street was strategically designed for promoting fitness and art while also demonstrating an active approach to sustainability.

MOVING BUNKIE FORWARD: A SMALL COMMUNITY SUCCESS

BUNKIE FITNESS PARK BUNKIE, LA

“This is our first experience with outdoor fitness equipment and we love it”

- Shannon Descant Former Program Director

Move Bunkie Forward is a 3 year project funded through a Healthy Behaviors Program Grant from The Rapides Foundation, a grantmaking organization that stems from a legacy of healthcare and community service spanning more than eleven decades. The Rapides Foundation Healthy Behaviors Grant Program funds and supports project in Central Louisiana (Allen, Avoyelles, Catahoula, Grant, LaSalle, Natchitoches, Rapides, Vernon and Winn parishes) that are focused on improving overall health and wellness. Grant funds are used for a wide variety of regional projects, including improved parks and outdoor fitness equipment, mobile playgrounds and farmers markets, healthy food distribution programs, community gardens, and alcohol and substance abuse prevention programs. Many of the very small towns in the service area have no park and recreation departments, so building infrastructure to promote fitness behaviors can be a challenge.

Moving Bunkie Forward focuses on three main health improvement goals: healthy eating, active living, and the prevention of tobacco, alcohol and substance abuse. The community of Bunkie has been making

good use of the grant that they were awarded by integrating main street revitalization strategies with health improvement efforts and bringing outdoor fitness opportunities to the public at zero cost. They constructed an Outdoor Adult Fitness Park in a centralized location, and actively promote several fitness classes each week ranging from yoga to circuit training with anywhere from 15 – 25 attendees at each session. Community members enjoy meeting at the location, taking part in the classes, and encouraging each other. Bunkie uses a Facebook page to share the upcoming week’s class schedule, promote additional healthy living tips, share news of the community garden harvest, and deliver positive reinforcement and encouragement to the town residents.

The fitness park opened in late February of 2018 featuring cardio, muscle, core, aerobic, balance, and flexibility equipment to deliver residents a well-rounded workout. Bunkie is a very small town with a population of approximately 4,000, so this initiative is bringing the community together and providing an opportunity for outdoor fitness to those who may not have access otherwise. Bunkie is a stellar example of a small town banding together around a common goal and affecting change within their community.

Users of the Bunkie Fitness Park often encourage each other as they work out.

ADULT FITNESS TRAIL IN A COMMUNITY DESTINATION PARK

WARNER PARK CHATTANOOGA, TN

“There is nothing simpler than free, accessible fitness equipment outdoors.”

- Rick O’ Rear Recreation Division Manager City of Chattanooga

Warner Park boasts a community playground, a softball complex, tennis courts, a pool, a splash park, a fitness center, and a zoo. The City of Chattanooga felt it was the perfect destination to install 16 adult outdoor fitness stations to be placed along the 2/3 mile trail that winds its way through the frequently visited park. Each fitness station features two activities at four levels of difficulty, offering a total of 128 activities for a full body workout in a family-friendly, no cost environment. The system also offers warm-up and cool down stations and instructional signage that provides simple, effective, health-related messaging and programming. The Grand Opening took place on October 29, 2012, during a celebration and ribbon cutting ceremony attended by representatives from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), Chattanooga Parks and Recreation, PlayCore, UTC students, former Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield, and community members.

Through a collaborative partnership between PlayCore and experts from UTC’s Health and Human Performance Department, the partnership provided outdoor fitness and wellness opportunities to the

The stations at the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park at Warner Park provide a well-rounded workout, including options for developing balance and coordination.

Chattanooga community that will promote healthy lifestyles and physical activity in the great outdoors.

“We were trying to set things up so basically anybody could do it, from a pure beginner to an athlete,” explained Dr. Burch Oglesby, Associate Professor of Exercise Physiology at UTC and project leader. The team of professionals provided guidance with the equipment assortment, exercise activities on the system’s signage, and used current research and information to create a downloadable guide to further supplement the user’s experience. Jennie Sumrell, Director of Programs and Partnerships at PlayCore commented, “The knowledge and involvement with the advisors from UTC was critical to ensuring that users of all abilities and fitness levels have a robust, effective experience while utilizing the equipment to meet their individual levels and needs. We are proud to have partnered with them on this initiative to promote healthy lifestyles in our community.”

University students and various community groups have enjoyed using the new fitness trail equipment. The site has been used for fitness classes held outdoors to

police and fire academy trainings. Autumn Corbin, a UTC junior Exercise Science major shared, “I usually have to separate my cardio and strength training, which can be a hassle to fit both of them in with my schedule. Now, I can do both at the same time, all while being outside. I plan on incorporating this equipment into my fitness routine at least 2-3 times a week.”

“With exercise, the magic pill is keeping it simple,” stated Rick O’ Rear, Recreation Division Manager who oversees the City’s Fitness Center in Warner Park. “There is nothing simpler than free, accessible equipment outdoors.”

The Outdoor Adult Fitness Park is a popular destination on weekends due to its proximity to an inclusive playground and splash park, a Miracle League field, additional sports fields, and a zoo. Karen Allen, a local resident, added, “We come here as a family - the kids go to the zoo or the water park, then we walk the fitness trail - my husband and I use the equipment while the kids play on the grass. It’s great fun for all of us and we leave feeling like we had a great family day!”

The destination park offers aquatic facilities, ball fields, a zoo, a playground, tennis courts, and a fitness center. The fitness trail strategically connects recreation opportunities throughout the park.

REVITALIZING HOME SITES TO ENCOURAGE ACTIVE BEHAVIOR IN NEIGHBORHOODS

MCKINLEY PARK LOS ANGELES, CA

“Outdoor fitness equipment provides an important healthy alternative for engaging families into park systems. They provide additional opportunities for socialization or watching your kids play on an adjacent playground while you get

a great workout.”

- Michael Shull General Manager City of LA Department of Recreation & Parks

Los Angeles is home to many small urban neighborhoods. As many were constructed prior to the 1960’s, homes may fall into abandonment, causing unsightly or potentially hazardous situations for residents. Abandoned home sites can attract vandals, homeless, and squatters, can be used as “stash houses” for illicit drug activity, and may invite intentional damage that can accelerate deterioration. Los Angeles has creatively addressed this issue, while providing neighborhood residents with active options for leisure engagement, by creating small “lot” parks in many of these homesites. As part of the city’s 50 Parks Initiative, these parks provide opportunities for play, exercise, and enjoying of green space within close proximity to home. McKinley Park, a small Outdoor Adult Fitness Park located in the heart of an urban settlement, is one such success story.

“Outdoor fitness equipment provides an important healthy alternative for engaging families into park systems. They provide additional opportunities for

socialization or watching your kids play on an adjacent playground while you get a great work out. It is a valuable free resource provided by many Recreation and Parks Departments for exercising and they provide a step in the right direction for combating health issues facing many of our communities,” commented Michael Shull, General Manager for Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.

To determine where to locate new lot parks, the city evaluates neighborhoods to identify potential locations, then meets with neighbors and hosts community meetings to ascertain their interest in a park and seek their design input. “If the community is not enthusiastic, we move on,” stated Shull.

McKinley Park was the result of neighbors expressing an interest in exercise options for adults. The small park is completely dedicated to fitness, with several pieces of equipment configured to provide a total body workout. The park opens at sunrise and closes at dusk, so working residents often exercise in the morning before departing for their jobs, while stay at home parents or retired neighbors utilize the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park throughout the day. The gate is automated, with a recorded announcement to help residents know when it’s time to leave. This automation, utilized at many of the neighborhood “lot” parks, helps city staff lower cost of maintenance by not having to open and lock the park in person. The pocket park also includes seating, a drinking fountain, and trash receptacles.

Drive through the neighborhood around McKinley Park and you will notice the positive effect the Outdoor Adult Fitness Park has had, not just on the health of residents, but in their pride of place. Freshly painted homes, neatly clipped yards, and fresh plantings all attest to the delight and satisfaction that having their very own outdoor space to exercise has given the residents. Instead of an overgrown lot or abandoned house, the neighborhood has a sparkling gym of their own to use.

The Outdoor Adult Fitness Park at McKinley Park provides the urban neighborhood healthy opportunity for socialization and family engagement.

Unused home sites, like the one shown at right, are overhauled with fitness equipment and beautiful art features like the fence that surrounds McKinley Park, shown at bottom right.

COMMUNITY-WIDE INITIATIVE TO INCREASE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

FITNESS IN THE PARKS SAN ANTONIO, TX

“Everyone who has used the fitness stations has remarked that they utilize the park more because of the opportunity to exercise more parts of their body.”

- Sandy Jenkins Project Manager City of San Antonio Parks

Thousands of San Antonians are diagnosed with diabetes annually, with the current population standing at 14%, double the national average. With an increase of obesity resulting in higher rates of diabetes, the City of San Antonio’s Parks and Recreation Department in conjunction with the Metropolitan Health District and Mayor Julian Castro’s Fitness Council, took action through a city-wide initiative to address these staggering statistics, and get community members moving to embrace a healthier lifestyle.

Focus and attention were given in areas of the community that have a high percentage of people with diabetes; an exhaustive community wide needs assessment was conducted. “Community members expressed they wanted more economical fitness options outdoors that were convenient, affordable, and fun,” shared Sandy Jenkins, the City of San Antonio’s Parks Project Manager. Installing outdoor fitness stations featuring high quality equipment allows users to combine cardio workouts with a total body workout. Using the equipment is seen as a critical solution to the City’s coordinated efforts.

The campaign was funded in part through a grant from

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that was awarded to the city to work with the health district to fight obesity and address the city’s diabetes epidemic. The majority of the installations were made possible from $15.6 million in federal stimulus money San Antonio received as an American’s Recovery and Reinvestment Act funded grant entitled Communities Putting Prevention to Work. Each installation had a cost from $12,000 to $40,000 per park depending on the number of stations and types of equipment and amenities provided. In addition to the equipment, most of the fitness parks include signage, lighting, benches, and decomposed granite surfacing.

Over the course of two years, the City of San Antonio has installed more than 30 fitness parks with even more on the horizon. Each location offers five to eight new workout stations that have been incorporated along trails, in parks, and at other key community destinations such as libraries and senior centers. These stations allow users to combine cardio workouts along trails with a total body workout using the equipment. A survey of citizens who utilize the park equipment revealed that the new fitness stations increased the frequency of park visits and the duration of their visits. According to results gathered at four of the parks that feature new fitness stations, the time spent at the parks has increased to 58.33%, 42.11%, 39.13%, and 50% respectively.

“Everyone who has had the opportunity to use the fitness stations has remarked that they utilize the park more because of the opportunity to exercise more

parts of their body,” Jenkins said. “Early on, we got several comments from people who had quit their gym membership because they could get their full- body workout in the parks.”

Additionally, San Antonio’s successful Fitness in the Park program offers group exercise aimed at increasing physical activity while encouraging community interaction and social support systems. These classes are taught by professional instructors and are provided at no cost to participate. Citizens can enjoy Zumba, yoga, Pilates, kickboxing, boot camps, walking for seniors, circuit training, taekwondo, and more. They have found great success in promoting wellness through impactful marketing efforts and providing unique incentives to citizens that engage in the free programs. Community members are encouraged to participate in fitness events and activities and track their efforts on their Fit Pass SA Passports. Participants who accumulate 50 or more points earn gift packs and are entered into grand prize drawings for gift cards and prizes to various fitness, wellness, and nutrition retailers.

Parks and Recreation Director Xavier Urrutia said, “The City of San Antonio has taken a coordinated and focused approach across City departments to increasing fitness opportunities for our citizens.”He added “In a relatively short period of time, we’ve already begun to see improvements in our healthrelated statistics. We’re very encouraged.”

A variety of group fitness programs are offered at no-cost to encourage community interaction.

PARTNERSHIPS TO PROMOTE FITNESS AND RESEARCH

CHATTANOOGA PARKS

CHATTANOOGA, TN

“These Fitness Zones can be used by people at any stage of life. They not only encourage better health but also bring people together to enjoy places throughout our community. This is vitally important to our department’s mission.

Fitness Zones promote healthy activities which in turn, make the communities in and around Chattanooga become healthier places to live, work and play.”

- Lurone Jennings Department of Youth and Family Development Administrator

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) understands that gym membership fees and lack of proximity can be huge barriers to exercise for people living in underserved communities. Through a collaborative effort with the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Tennessee, the TPL used sophisticated mapping software and GIS data to identify locations in Chattanooga where outdoor gyms would serve the greatest need, looking specifically for communities with higher rates of stroke, diabetes, cancer, and less access to gyms. The organization understands that focusing on high-need areas is a meaningful way to impact the community. They identified six target sites, then built six separate “Adult Fitness Zones” on city property in these Chattanooga communities. The Fitness Zone locations include Carver Center, East Lake Center, South Chattanooga, Eastdale, East Chattanooga, and Brainerd. At East Lake, a playground was also installed near the Fitness Zone, to accommodate young families and give parents a way to engage their children in healthy behavior within sight of their own workout efforts. The East Lake site also places an emphasis on users with mobility devices, ensuring that people of all abilities have opportunities to access the equipment. That site alone draws about 50 people each day to use the exercise equipment.

“We were very intentional on the sites that were selected,” said Jasmin Rippon, former TPL Philanthropy Director for the state of Tennessee. “We chose priority areas, then looked for spaces that were near recreation centers because we knew there would be people there that would bring people out to the Fitness Zone, and help them use the equipment. That type of involvement has proved very beneficial, as new users can speak to recreation center employees, as well as other users who are more familiar with the equipment, to get pointers on usage, as well as ideas on how to work toward their personal goals.

The six fitness zones were also the site of a study, conducted by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, to understand the usage and benefits of Outdoor Adult Fitness Parks. The study, see page 19, demonstrated that nearly twice as many park users chose parks with outdoor gyms as opposed to comparison parks with no outdoor fitness equipment. It also demonstrated that the majority of users, 63%, were reaching levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity, and that outdoor gyms provide benefits for muscle development equal to their indoor counterparts. Users of the park have access to usage guidelines via QR codes on the equipment, so that inexperience and unfamiliarity is not a barrier to a good workout.

Studies conducted at Chattanooga Fitness Zones showed that the majority of users reach moderate to vigorous physical activity levels.

AN OUTDOOR GYM DESIGNED TO ENGAGE PEOPLE OF ALL AGES AND ABILITIES

HARBOR REGIONAL PARK LOS ANGELES, CA

“With the reopening of Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park, we saw a real opportunity to support the health of our neighbors by installing fitness equipment that would appeal to all ages, and provide free fitness classes that would engage community members at every fitness level.”

- Barbara Carnes, MD Pediatrician and Area Medical Director at Kaiser Permanente South Bay Medical Center

Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park is a 231-acre Los Angeles City Park serving Wilmington and Harbor City areas as well as the South Bay region of California. The Park contains 40-acre Machado Lake, one of the last wetlands in Los Angeles, which also serves as a flood control retention basin during storm events. The park today is an amazing transformation from what it was 20 years ago, as it had become run down, faced pollution issues, and was not considered a family friendly destination. Over the past decade, many efforts have been put into place to restore the park and its wildlife habitat, with funding for the project coming from a variety of sources. Lake Machado, which had been closed, was reopened in June 2017 following a three-year, $111 million restoration project. Today, Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park / Machado Lake is home to over 300 separate species of migratory birds. The lake is part of the natural water habitat of Southern California for native animals and plants, and the park features paved pathways, hiking and bike trails, nature deck, hundreds of additional trees, and new grass, pedestrian bridges, benches, and a large outdoor fitness area.

When the park decided to add fitness to the park, they knew that a multigenerational space was needed to help ensure that local families found the exercise options meaningful. They wanted to ensure that, while the fitness area would be designed

for adults, that there was a family friendly area as well, so parents didn’t have to worry about finding a caregiver to watch their children when they wanted to work out. They also wanted to be sure that the space made sense for athletes at all levels of fitness, from beginners to competitive level. With funding from Kaiser Permanente in place, the team worked with GameTime to fulfill their vision of a fitness and play area for people of all abilities. The resulting area is a model fitness environment, as well as a PlayCore National Demonstration site for fitness.

To help expand the park’s capabilities, Kaiser Permanente Southern California awarded the Los Angeles Parks Foundation a $95,000 community benefit grant to contribute toward the exercise equipment. Additionally, Kaiser’s South Bay Medical Center, located near the outdoor fitness park, agreed to provide popular fitness classes at the park. Kaiser Permanente’s local community benefit program also granted the YMCA $10,000 to offer exercise classes at the park to encourage community organizations to utilize the space and expand exercise programming.

Barbara Carnes, MD, pediatrician and area medical director at Kaiser Permanente South Bay Medical Center added “With the reopening of Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park, we saw a real opportunity to support the health of our neighbors by installing fitness equipment that would appeal to all ages, and provide free fitness classes that would engage community members at every fitness level.” The circuit is a comfortable space for adults of all ages and abilities to work out, with three separate adult fitness areas throughout the overall

space, in addition to a playful climbing area that is fun and useful for both children and adults. The three fitness areas for adults include a therapeutic area, with a focus on rehabilitation, active aging, deconditioned users and balance and flexibility. The main fitness area contains a well-rounded selection of equipment that encompasses aerobic conditioning, muscle and core development, balance training, and flexibility exercises. This area provides users of all abilities the opportunity to work out in a gym-like atmosphere while enjoying the great outdoors, with exercises that suit all levels and abilities, as well as opportunities to utilize the equipment in new and more challenging ways as their fitness levels increase. The third area is a more advanced area, with a “muscle beach” like selection of bars, rings, and other upper body apparatus designed to promote grip, spatial awareness, and advanced athletic skill. Adjoining the three adult zones is an all age area with a focus on climbing. While adults also use this area, it is age appropriate for children, so they can play in a fitness-focused playful environment along with their adult family members.

The efforts have paid off. Since the park reopened, park attendance has increased more than 75 percent, according to city officials, and thousands enjoy the renovated park every week. A refreshing, cool breeze from the lake is a great complement to the variety of equipment to meet all strength, cardiovascular and flexibility training needs; and the option to participate in various exercise classes such as Zumba, boot camp and yoga, as well as bring the entire family, ensures that Harbor Regional Park will be a meaningful destination for years to come.

Kaiser Permanente works with the local YMCA to offer regular classes at the fitness park.

ATTRACTING STUDENTS AND PROMOTING HEALTH AND WELLNESS

VIRGINIA TECH BLACKSBURG, VA

“The addition of this space has provided VT students with exciting ways to engage in healthy, outdoor activity.”

- Allison Cross Director of Recreational Sports, VA Tech

There was a time not so long ago that campus recreation was pretty limited. The business of higher education was higher education, and was not focused on student free time or recreation. In the 21st century, that is no longer the case at all, and at many colleges, campus recreation is central to the mission and branding of the institution and a key differentiator in attracting students. In recent years, universities have come to the realization that their academic prestige alone may not be enough to attract the world’s top students, athletes, and overall academic participants. In an era when students are more mobile and discerning than ever, university officials have gone on a major building boom to add amenities that help their campus stand apart. One of the biggest ways colleges are attracting students is with top of the line amenities, and campus recreation is at the top of that list. Additionally, campus recreation opportunities are critical to the health and well-being of students, While the “freshman 15” is certainly a concern, the stress of attending university, mentally financially, and academically, can take a physical toll. Campus recreation spaces not only offer fun activities, they can help students cope better as well.

Virginia Tech University is a thriving and dynamic college in Blacksburg, Virginia. Their forward thinking campus recreation team is continually looking for

Students often cite campus recreation facilities as a major draw when choosing a school to attend.

ways to enhance the college experience and improve quality of life for students, faculty, and the surrounding community. As a part of an all-new, comprehensive outdoor recreational space on campus, Virginia Tech University added an exciting outdoor fitness area for all to enjoy. The goals of the project were to provide an outdoor fitness space that encouraged repeat use and longer sessions, was viable for all skill levels, had space for multiple users, and included training stations for advanced users and team conditioning exercises. “We’re trying to improve the outdoor amenities, particularly around the residential quadrant of campus,” said Frank Shushok, senior associate vice president for Student Affairs. “If we create great spaces for students to do fun things, they’ll use it.” The outdoor fitness park was installed at the Prairie Quad in front of the University’s Lee Hall, to be close to where students live.

The resulting Outdoor Adult Fitness Park is anchored by a composite fitness structure to provide students and faculty with a wide range of fitness and training opportunities in a compact space. With 20 fitness stations, there is plenty of room for multiple users at once, and each of the stations offer variable options for all fitness levels, across all components of a wellrounded workout. Anchored in poured rubber surfacing, the area is creatively designed in school colors with their team logo embedded in the surface. In addition to the composite structure, the area also includes custom Traveling Rings to develop upper body mobility, grip strength, and give students a fun way to mimic the “ninja” craze that is so popular with younger people. Parallel Bars (accessible), an Assisted Dip Station, Horizontal Chip Up Station and Fitness Rack complete the freestanding equipment, and promote the overall site with all components of a well-rounded workout.

The addition of the outdoor space has also freed up space in the indoor facilities and made it possible for more people to enjoy campus recreation amenities.

UTILIZING PARTNERSHIPS TO CREATE MULTIGENERATIONAL FUN AND FITNESS

RIVERSIDE PARK INDIANAPOLIS, IN

“We are very excited to open the first fitness park of its kind in the Midwest. This project at Riverside Park provides a safe play space for children and families in the Riverside community.”

-

Kalen Jackson

Colts Vice-Chair / Owner

Riverside Park in Indianapolis, IN, provides a unique opportunity for families to work out together. The park serves a large and vibrant community, and Colts Fitness Park serves an estimated 30,000 individuals annually. The first outdoor fitness course of its kind, Colts Fitness Park opened to the public in September, 2016, when Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett joined Colts players, cheerleaders and mascot Blue for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The park includes a PLAY 60 Challenge Course, 40-yard dash and adultappropriate outdoor fitness equipment. With over 5,000 square feet of space, the park easily lends itself to multigenerational family fun. While the fitness equipment is designed for adults only, the challenge course and 40-yard dash can be enjoyed by everyone.

Indianapolis Colts, Indianapolis Parks Foundation and Indy Parks helped make the project possible with funds coming from the 50/50 Gameday Raffle and the NFL Foundation. Officials say the new park is part of the Colts initiative to encourage residents of all ages to be active at least 60 minutes each day through the NFL’s PLAY 60 Campaign.

One element of the space is a 40-yard dash that has a timer and scoreboard for each of the two running lanes, so family members young and old can compete, test their running ability, and receive excellent

cardiovascular benefits along the way. Since the 40 yard dash is an important part of NFL training, and the combine, it’s a fun, but meaningful tie in to the footballfunded space.

The challenge course, located next to the 40-yard dash is a fun, new way to get multigenerational exercise. Based on elements from the growing sport of obstacle course racing, as well as ninja warrior, and the NFL combine, the course is easily achievable for people of all fitness levels. Designed to promote balance, flexibility, grip strength, aerobic conditions and muscular/core development, the course provides a total body workout. Each obstacle is designed to be ability based, with several ways to traverse so that people can constantly challenge themselves and improve performance and condition as they use the course. Additionally, the course is designed to work with the Challenge Course app, available for both iOS and Android. Participants can time their performance, then upload their results to the app, giving them the opportunity to compete in a fun, friendly way with each other and with users of challenge courses all over the world. App users are awarded points for performance improvements, encouraging other users, number of times they use the course, and more, so people of any fitness level have the opportunity to see themselves on the leaderboard. Schoolroom classes using the app can time multiple students, making the platform a fun and intuitive way for teachers to measure performance and physical condition of their students. Adjacent to the course is a dedicated fitness area for adults. It features equipment like chest press machines, ellipticals, chin-up bars, and other strength and conditioning equipment, giving people the opportunity to get a gym quality workout in a free, outdoor arena. The area is designed to bring together people of all ages and fitness levels and to encourage them to be more active together.

Creating a multigenerational recreation space was important to the Indianapolis community, and to the Indianapolis Colts. In a statement published on the Colts website, Colts Vice Chair and Owner Kalen Jackson stated, “We are very excited to open the first fitness park of its kind in the Midwest. This project at Riverside Park provides a safe play space for children and families in the Riverside community.”

Visitors to the space will see children running the 40yard dash with their parents, teenagers from a local high school sports team training on the Challenge Course after school, and entire families playing together. This is a space that draws together people of all generations, and from all walks of life.

The facilities at Riverside Park were specifically designed to promote physical activity that is intergenerational.

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