Outdoor community gym for Field of Remembrance

Context

The Field of Remembrance at Windlesham, Surrey, is an open public space with a field, children's play area, woods and pond, enjoyed by a wide section of local residents. The facility is owned and maintained by the village and funded mainly by public donations. Since it is the hub of the community, and since fitness and physical activity is core to its offering, the trustees wanted to install an outdoor gym for the community to use.

Challenge

The field is used by the local community for a variety of different leisure activities throughout the year, including sports activities and a summer fete. A key requirement of the project was to ensure that wherever the gym was positioned it didn’t impact of these events.

The gym needed to offer the whole community the opportunity to work out, increase strength and fitness levels. The large children’s play area on the field is used regularly by families, and if the gym could be located close to this, it would enable parents to use the gym while watching their children play.

There was already a range of bootcamp style classes running on the field. A selection of equipment that could enable the gym to be incorporated into these classes would maximise use of the equipment and give the community further confidence in using the equipment in between such classes.

The location of the gym also needed to ensure users felt safe using it. It needed to be close to facilities, especially during the winter months where the field can get very wet and muddy.

Solution

Fresh Air Fitness provided a 7-piece gym allowing 12 people to work out at once. Equipment is set in a curve running between one football pitch and the children’s playpark.

The gym was installed with grass matting to ensure people using it wouldn’t get muddy during the winter months, is accessible via the wooded area, main car park or access point close to the children’s play area.

A selection of cardio and strength-building equipment provides all abilities with the means to improve their fitness levels. Products were used from Fresh Air Fitness's Cardio Range, including a Rider, Arm and Pedal Bike, Double Air Walker and Air Skier. From the Strength range, there is a Leg Lift Station, Chest Press and Pull-Down Challenger, and Seated Leg Press - all of which provide the opportunity to build muscle across the body.

Local instructor Charlotte ran her workout sessions using the gym for several weeks, showing the community how to use the equipment to get the results they wanted to achieve.