Individuals have numerous options to perfectly customize the design of their outdoor fitness facility, fitness goals and work-outs, and at the same time - keep within their budget.
1. Design and Layout: Many individuals will already have a specific idea of the exercise area they want to achieve. Some questions to ask:
Who will be using the site?
What does the landscape look like?
What is the cost? What about budget?
What is the fitness area vision?
2. Surfacing: Experts encourage the use of excellent surfacing material such as rubber mulch or pour-in-place tiles that are glued onto a firm base. We suggest adopting these same safety standards at school playgrounds, especially if the facility can be easily accessed by children. Depending on the choice of equipment and the potential fall-height, various thicknesses and colors are available from rubber surface manufacturers.
3. Installation: Though outdoor fitness equipment is heavy and certainly requires a bit of muscle power, it is not complicated to install. Full detailed installation drawings and instructions will be provided with the shipment of equipment. The installation of the equipment is mostly a task of preparing the holes for the concrete footings. Care and skill are required to make sure the placing of the equipment aligns vertically and horizontally, and that the equipment is level.
4. Instructional Information: Basic instructional information is provided for each piece of equipment. These are sturdy and resistant to the elements.
5. Maintenance: While very little maintenance is required, it is important that someone is responsible for regular inspections.
Routine Maintenance Tasks:
Pick up litter.
Sweep walkways, trails or areas.
Check potential wear points and mechanisms with movement.
Inspect and tighten hardware connections.
Check for any damage caused to the equipment by external elements.
Level and/or replace displaced loose-fill surfacing.
Loosen any compacted surfacing so that it remains even and easy to move around on.
Preventative Maintenance Tasks:
Apply touch-up paint on high traffic equipment that's been scratched or scraped.
Inspect moving parts, nuts, bolts and hardware connections.
Correctly positioning sprinkler heads and area water flow can add years to the life of the equipment.
The center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends American adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activities every week to help maintain or lose weight. The idea of adults using playgrounds is relatively new to Americans, but outdoor fitness areas, open spaces stocked with outdoor fitness equipment freely available for anyone to enjoy, have been gaining popularity in recent years in China, Japan and some European countries.
Within the last year, adult outdoor playgrounds have been popping up all over the country. These playgrounds area packed full of low-impact fitness equipment from balance beams to pull-up bars. They are typically located near a children's play area so that working moms or caregivers can both exercise to lose weight and also watch over their children while they play on the swings or slides. Studies show that physical exercise can ward off obesity, depression, diabetes, heart disease and memory loss but the various responsibilities of children can make this impossible to add into a daily routine.
The same major safety concerns involved with selling and installing a school age playground apply when planning a playground for adults. When an outdoor fitness area is being installed near an existing play area, it is important to keep visibility in mind. The areas should be kept separated to prevent any harm for children that are too young for the equipment but should be placed within eye site so that parents and guardians working out can still see their children at play.
Outdoor fitness equipment and school age playgrounds are both commercial grade and manufactured to withstand vigorous weather conditions and constant use. They are the perfect duo when renovating a park to incorporate a new playground and an adult playground initiative.
.jpg)
