5 reasons to try an outdoor gym

We live in a beautiful country with lots of sunshine, fresh air and space. Yet many of us spend hours sitting indoors, often in front of a screen.

With warmer days and a new year upon us, now is the perfect time to head outdoors with the family and establish some new habits that may become a part of your workout routine.

Playgrounds are not just for kids, and across Australia councils have been installing outdoor gyms in parks, beaches and open spaces, inviting people of all ages and fitness levels to get active and have fun.

Many of these gyms are developed by a_space, innovators of outdoor workout spaces that now reside in over 300 communities around Australia.

a_space founder Dean Joel takes some time off the step up station to tell us why we should all give an outdoor workout a try.

"Exercising outdoors comes with a range of physical and mental health benefits including increased energy and decreased levels of stress, confusion and depression."

Green is good

Exercising outdoors comes with a range of physical and mental health benefits including increased energy and decreased levels of stress, confusion and depression.

While sun safety is always important, a few minutes of sunshine a day and resistance activities are great for bone health as well.

They’re free

You can use the equipment anytime without worrying about paying fees or getting the most out of your membership.

a_space outdoor gyms are set up in over 300 communities nationally and that number is rising every week.

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It’s fun for the whole family

Outdoor gym equipment is a fantastic way your family can keep active and spend quality time together, instilling life-long healthy habits. As outdoor gyms are often set up in park or community environments, your children can run around and play while you get time to exercise on the equipment. Definitely a win, win!

They’re social

We live in a time where many of us don’t know our neighbours and as a result we’re missing out on the social community environment our parents enjoyed.

Instead of looking at four walls, training outdoors means you have constantly changing scenery to stimulate your brain, plus you get to people-watch too. After doing a few sessions in your local outdoor gym, you will no doubt start to spot the regulars and your training experience will become social in no time. Better still, invite your loved ones and friends to join you.

They’re high tech and stress-free

Outdoor fitness set ups feature equipment that reflect machines you would find in a commercial gym, and are cleverly designed so you can alter your level of effort without needing to modify the settings. This makes it suitable for people of all fitness levels.

The equipment also comes with detailed, yet easy to follow instructions with images as well as a QR code you can scan with your smart phone to see videos demonstrating the exercises. This means that if you’re unfamiliar with a piece of equipment, you can quickly and easily see all of the ways you can use it, allowing you to get your workout done stress free.