Totton and Eling Town Council, Multi Site Outdoor Gym Project

The Background

Totton and Eling Borough Council understood the benefits of outdoor gym equipment and, thanks to local funding, installed 4 gyms across the most popular parks in their community. The objective was to provide each site with a minimum 5 pieces of equipment, including a mix of cardio, strength and products suitable for wheelchair users, making each park fully inclusive to all ages and abilities.

Having undertaken many similar projects and demonstrating the extensive experience in the design and installation of tailored gym solutions, Fresh Air Fitness won the tender and proceeded to install outdoor gyms at Aikman Lane, Eling Recreation Ground, New Forest Park and Testwood Recreation Ground

The Challenges

Selecting the right equipment for each site would be critical to their success. As part of the planning process, we identified the demographic that attended each park.

Each location had its own challenges when it came to installation and each site required groundworks and wetpour surfacing. Once the full programme of works was approved by councillors, plant and skip hire was arranged with local businesses, enabling the project to run efficiently while supporting local business and keeping the overall carbon footprint to an absolute minimum.

Keeping everyone safe throughout installation into the parks was the next challenge. The gym equipment installation was performed by our own, highly experienced in-house team. To ensure site security and welfare, Heras fencing was utilised during installation and care taken to ensure there were no safety concerns throughout.

The Solution

Fresh Air fitness successfully installed all 4 gyms, on time and within budget. Each site comprises a variety of strength and cardio equipment, are fully accessible and include a wheelchair friendly product for complete inclusivity. Each included full ground works for longevity and finished with a wetpour surface. Each outdoor gym is supported by our mobile app and QR codes

Aikman has a large number of youths that visit regularly and so the Big Rig was the perfect solution here. Nestled between tennis courts football pitches, the Rig offers a strenuous workout for the upper body, perfect for teens to develop muscular strength and boost body confidence. The Big Rig combines a variety of workout equipment around the base too, including a chest press, lat pull down, leg press and more, making it accessible to all ages and abilities. In addition, our ever-popular double air walker and arm & pedal bike, providing a accessible piece and options for cardio training.

The other 3 sites tended to see a higher number of adults and so a selection of 10 pieces equipment was installed into each, providing 19 users stations, a mix of strength, cardio, co-ordination and flexibility equipment to allow a full body workout. The other 3 sites included cardio equipment: Double Cross Country Skier, Recumbent Bike, Self-Weighted Rower and Cardio Combi (comprising an Air Skier and Double Air Walker). Easy-to-use cardio equipment with low impact on the joints, including double-user pieces that help to create a social atmosphere while exercising And Strength equipment; Combi (comprising a Lat Pull Down and Chest Press), Leg Press, Leg Lift Station, Arm and Pedal Bike for wheelchair users, Triple Pull Up and Sit Up Bench with Dip Bar.

Signage

Each piece of equipment included an individual sign outlining safety instructions and suggested exercises. To ensure each site complied with EN16630, compliant safety signs were also installed for each gym area. The Aikman site also received a bespoke Big Rig sign, detailing instructions for use and suggested workout plans for various fitness abilities.

Launch Package

Having taken part in a ground-breaking research project, in relation to the usage of outdoor gyms, supported by Innovate UK, one of the major findings was that older people and women welcome further instruction and training on how to use the equipment. Due to this, Fresh Air Fitness provided a launch package with 4 fitness sessions at each site hosted by experienced personal trainers. These were incredibly well received and ensures maximise ongoing use of the equipment within the community.

The Result

Thanks to the funding from developers contributions from New Forest District Council, Totton and Eling Borough Council now have 4 fantastic outdoor gyms, suitable for all ages 11+ and all abilities. The community is already making good use of the gyms.