Technology has proven to be a major motivator of fitness. New mobile apps
provide incentives to work out,
inspire smart choices, and, in one extreme case,
threaten financial penalty if users don't get moving. But a new trend has exercise enthusiasts (and their less enthusiastic counterparts) looking beyond the screen, as emergent adult playgrounds aim to inspire passersby to get fit by making it appear, well, fun.
Senior Playgrounds: It’s a given that exercise helps to improve senior citizens’ overall health, agility, and quality of life, and recent studies even suggest that certain workouts may
stave off the onset of dementia. But the prospect of working out on display in a bustling gym can intimidate people of a certain age, particularly those who are just beginning their fitness regimen. To lower this barrier to entry, London’s Royal Parks Association has installed
Senior Playgrounds at four city parks (including
Hyde Park, host venue to the
Olympic triathalon). These recreation areas feature six low-impact fitness machines, designed to improve core strength, flexibility, and balance in persons over sixty.
MOMentum: Imagine parents at a playground and you’re likely to picture a benched row of moms and dads, perched vigilant but immobile on the fringe of the fun.
MOMentum aims to make use of this down time by installing outdoor gyms at public playgrounds. At the non-profit’s
two Washington state locations, free-standing machines, including self-powered elliptical trainers, incline benches, and chin-up bars, face the adjacent playgrounds so that exercising parents can still supervise kids at play. As its name suggests, MOMentum targets women struggling to lose newfound baby weight, but we see no reason that the
rising ranks of stay-at-home dads can’t get in on the fun.
NYC Parks Adult Playgrounds: With the exception of the nightclub-inspired
“party workouts” now popping up across NYC, daily exercise is a dry affair—and never less enticing than in the summer, when urbanites’ inner urges point them toward the park, not the gym. To make working out less of a drag, the NYC Parks department built an adult playground at
Macombs Dam Park in the Bronx, complete with 15 pieces of adult fitness equipment. Per the
NYT, the city now plans to build a second adult playground at
John Jay Park, which will boast updated amenities including exercise mats and, perhaps most importantly, a sign that reads “Adult Space;” i.e., no kids allowed.
