Why Taking Part in Outdoor Exercise Activities is Important

Running on a treadmill or using an indoor bike are both great ways to get exercise, but they do have the potential to be monotonous. You’re staring at the same wall or looking at your phone while not going anywhere. If you want to get moving but can’t bring yourself to hop on the treadmill, you’re probably not the only one. 

Fortunately, there are many ways to exercise outside. Outdoor exercise and outdoor exercise equipment have several benefits for individuals and the community at large. Let’s look at some and how you can utilize different types of outdoor gym equipment to exercise outside.

Benefits of Outdoor Exercise

One of the most attractive aspects of outdoor gyms is that people can work on their fitness in the fresh air while getting vitamin D — essential for brain and bone function — from sunlight. This helps in increasing the health benefits of a workout. But what else is there?

Better Clarity 

Simply being outdoors helps to alleviate many of the worries that bog down your mind. Spending time around nature reduces anxiety so that you can focus more clearly. This is why many people find that they quickly solve problems during a walk, jog around the park, or some other outdoor activity. 

More Space

Gyms can get crowded fast, making getting a workout stressful when it shouldn’t. Moving an activity outdoors gives you and everyone else plenty of green space to do whatever they want, whether it’s jogging or using any equipment that may be available nearby. 

Mind and Body Connection 

Your brain is constantly taking in new information from your environment. Taking your workout outdoors sends tactile sensations to your brain that help it retain more of the different types of information. As your brain senses the wind, temperature, and other sensations, it stays more engaged.

Community Engagement 

Another significant aspect of exercising outdoors or adding gym equipment to a park or playground is attracting people of all ages. While younger people frequent traditional gyms more, outdoor gyms are also quite popular among seniors. Kids and parents can also get outside together and get a healthy workout. Apart from exercise, they also allow people of different backgrounds to socialize.

New Forms of Exercise 

A home or public gym offers the same type of equipment every time you go to work out. While a treadmill or a weights machine is effective, exercising outdoors lets you challenge forgotten muscle groups. Outdoor exercise equipment such as cardio walkers and upright bicycles allow you to enjoy your favorite workouts in new positions targeting different body parts. If you really want to break away from the same old workouts, search for equipment that encourages you to climb, jump, and swing your way through courses designed to provide a high level of physical activity.

In short, there are many great reasons to take your workout routine outdoors. Keep reading if you’re wondering what type of outdoor gym equipment to add to your park or playground to help your community exercise outside.

Outdoor Exercise Equipment for Parks

There are several types of outdoor gym equipment, ranging from equipment made for cardio, strength training, balance, coordination, and flexibility training. Offering a mix is the best way to keep outdoor exercise exciting and fun. Take a look at some examples of outdoor exercise equipment from GameTime that you can easily add to a park or playground:

• Strength equipment: Chair squats, accessible chest presses, leg extensions, lat pull downs, trapeze rocks, climbing walls, and vault bar stations are all pieces of equipment that strengthen primary muscle groups. 
• Core equipment: Sit-up stations, body curl stations, plyometric boxes, and captain’s chairs can all help outdoor gym-goers enhance core fitness and support their overall health and wellness.
• Aerobic equipment: Accessible handle cycles, recumbent cycles, cardio walkers, and hurdle stations help keep hearts and lungs functioning at optimum levels in a low-impact fashion (meaning anyone can participate!)
• Flexibility equipment: Knee lift citations, accessible shoulder rotators, and skill trainers improve posture, strength, flexibility, and overall physical performance without taking up too much space in an outdoor environment. 
• Balance equipment: Balance planks, board stations, assisted functional trainers, assisted step trainers, and balance beams can help improve balance, which is a crucial element in overall fitness and health. 
• Challenge and obstacle courses: Challenge and obstacle courses are a popular option that combines different kinds of equipment that offer a great workout while engaging your mind. 

Outdoor Exercise Examples

Now that you know the benefits of exercising outdoors and examples of outdoor exercise equipment, you may need some outdoor training ideas that fit your needs. As you prepare to take your workout sessions outside, consider these exercise examples — you could even post them on a plaque in your park or playground!

• Create a routine using available outdoor equipment. For example, you could use a chair squat to do a few squats, move to the body curl station, and finish with a cardio walker. 
• Jog, bike, or run around a park or playground perimeter. To add to the intensity, you can go all out for a few laps, then take it back for another few. 
• Bring a yoga mat to use on the soft grass of a park or playground or surfacing at the outdoor gym. 
• If your park or playground has a basketball or volleyball court, you can use the outline of the court to perform running drills by sprinting from one end to the other. 

If you’re beginning to add outdoor equipment to your park or playground, you can still offer a challenging way for you and your community to get a playground workout with a routine using a park bench. Make sure your bench is stable, and repeat the workout as many times as you want. If you’re at all concerned about the quality of your bench, take a look at some of the commercial park benches we offer her. 

Playground Bench Workout Routine 

• 5-10 minute warmup (a light jog around the playground, jumping jacks, or something similar)
• 20 incline pushups against the bench
• 30-second step-ups using the bench
• 30-second crunches (sit on the end of the bench with hands on the edge of the seat, push your legs out at a 45-degree angle, then pull them into your chest, bedding your knees)
• 15 tricep dips using the bench
• Ten lunges using the bench
• 30 seconds incline mountains climbers with your hands-on bottom of the bench 
• 20 seconds box jumps with the bench (depending on its height)
• 5-10 minute cooldown (walking around the park or using other equipment to get a light stretch in)

Exercise Outside with Safe and High-Quality Outdoor Gym Equipment 

From boosting vitamin D to engaging your community, there are many advantages of exercising outdoors. There’s also a variety of outdoor equipment and workout routines that you and everyone else in your park or playground can enjoy. We understand if you need additional assistance picking out the right outdoor equipment to work the right muscles while keeping people safe from injuries. Contact us today to chat about the best outdoor fitness equipment so your community can participate in outdoor exercise activities!