The importance of keeping active
An active lifestyle is essential for good health. By enabling people to be physically active throughout their lives, we can contribute to a greater sense of wellbeing and better health outcomes for the community. Incorporating fitness activities into Auckland's parks helps to ensure that communities have free exercise opportunities in a safe, supportive environment. This makes it easier for people to get fit and stay fit, as set out in the Auckland Plan activity objectives, which state: "To encourage exercise, provide a mix of purpose built exercise equipment and fitness trails for young and old in areas such as play spaces, informal recreation and active recreation environments."
Designing for exercise equipment
Design for the community by:
- gaining input from surrounding sporting and recreational groups who may wish to incorporate complementary exercise equipment, such as outdoor rowing machines
- incorporate equipment that especially targets older generations and encourages them to keep moving
- incorporating signage that provides information prepared by exercise or fitness professionals, or website material that explains how the park and the fitness equipment can be used for exercise
- considering initiatives such as a park-specific recreation programmes which show people how to use the park for exercise. This could feature on the parks opening day or be an ongoing initiative
Design for safety by:
- considering the installation of areas of soft fall matting for non-structured forms of exercise, such as prone holds, sit ups, stretching and yoga
- considering locations which do not require the installation of barriers
Respond to the surrounding context by:
- clustering exercise equipment around a specific area, such as a play space, or spreading it around a larger fitness trail
Design for variety by:
- considering the use of equipment which can be used for a variety of age groups, from children and young people through to older people
- considering the use of exercise equipment which can be used for both weight training and cardiovascular exercises
- incorporating simple built elements such as steps, rails and robust seats which can be used for non-structured forms of exercise such as stair jumps, dips and stretching.
Make exercise equipment accessible to all by:
- incorporating instructions for how to use the exercise equipment correctly, including pictures showing correct form and links to web pages for video demonstrations
Ensure easy maintenance by:
- continuing formal inspections of all structures and equipment to ensure it is maintained to a high standard, and maintaining an inventory of common replacement parts
- ensuring equipment replacement is included in the budget early on
- ensuring manufactured exercise equipment can be serviced by New Zealand contractors
Prevent graffiti and vandalism by:
- locating exercise activity nodes in areas of high passive surveillance
- removing or repairing vandalised equipment immediately to prevent any potential safety hazards
- allocating adequate funds to remove and replace vandalised equipment
Select equipment for our people by:
- considering the size and weight of New Zealanders and likely users when selecting equipment. New Zealand users are likely to be heavier and tougher on equipment than in other parts of the world, where the equipment is used by generally lighter people in controlled environments
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