Niche Outdoor Workouts During Covid
As you consider options for your fitness amenities during the continued COVID-19 pandemic, there may be a solution you haven’t considered.
While many locales have not yet reopened gyms/fitness centers; in some areas, newly reopened gyms struggle to decrease exposure to the coronavirus. In response, many operators have moved group exercise classes outdoors to great effect. Is this something you should employ to give your residents/users a safer way to get their exercise?
While no activity is 100% safe, outdoor workouts can significantly complement your amenity offering and reduce risk over indoor group activities.
“Doing group exercise activities outdoors is going to be much safer than doing (it) indoors,” “It is much more conducive to social distancing and putting in measures that might make it less likely to see transmission,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and an infectious disease physician.
Niche Outdoor Equipment Solutions
Whether your facility is open or not, you have other options to bring fitness outside. There is equipment that can be safely used outdoors. Spin bikes, rowers and airbikes all work without power. And they’re on wheels, so they can go anywhere. You will still need to set them up a minimum of six feet apart and provide antibacterial wipes for users. And of course, you’ll want to take them back indoors after hours.
But there also are built-in permanent cardio and strength equipment that can be easily installed in various spaces around your property. Put it in empty or underused spaces like –
- any open greenspace
- kids play area
- parking garage/parking lot
- in the grassy area right in front of your community center or office
- along a walking path or trail
- tennis courts
Popular outdoor gym equipment can employ the body’s mass for resistance and can be enjoyed by all ages, regardless of the user’s fitness level. Many are also equipped for both wheel-chair users and able-bodied users. All exercise units – even those with moving parts – are virtually maintenance-free and require no lubrication. These cutting-edge hydraulic exercise apparatuses, which incorporate bi-directional pistons with adjustable resistance for a customized workout, afford an intense workout for even the fittest and strongest users. Yet they are simple and safe for novice users as well. Many units accommodate multiple users, maximizing the equipment’s’ benefits for the community.
And surely the post-pandemic era will include a lingering distrust of indoor exercise to some degree. So an investment in any of the above can serve as a long-term differentiator for your property and a unique benefit for your residents/members.
Contact an expert consultant to review your opportunities and incorporate a new outdoor fitness amenity for your users.
