Polygon Rd Outdoor Gym June 2, 2009
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Camden,Green in the City , trackbackA mysterious outcrop has appeared in Polygon Road Open Space in the middle of Somers Town. It started a couple of weeks ago with a fence, then a circle appeared in the ground. Mysterious aliens? By Wednesday morning, a dozen strange machines wrapped in plastic had grown out of the circle, and it seems we are acquiring an Outdoor Gym.
A playground for (more-or-less) grown-ups, it might even encourage me away from my computer and into some exercise. Unlike ordinary gyms, where I tend to sign up for a year and go twice, it’s free. I suspect that an initiative like this could do more to improve local health than all the high-tech medical research labs ever proposed.
I’m going to ask the council if they have any plans to organise around it, as I don’t remember seeing a ‘consultation’ on the subject. Perhaps a scheme to train people to be personal trainers, or to run exercise classes? Or maybe a grassroots initiative would be a better idea. Are there any other forty-something ladies out there who fancy setting up our own Saturday morning gym session?
Judging by the children playing on the, as yet still wrapped, equipment yesterday, it will be popular. The council need to finish it off quickly, or local people will do it for them.
Comments»
Hi Kiwi,
Glad to hear you are enthused by gyms and you think they will provide health benefit – exactly why we at NHS Camden funded them.
You’re spot on with you ideas of a grassroots intiative – its exactly the sort of thing we were hoping for. Drop me an emial and I’ll see how we might support you. At the very least we can get you linked in to the proposed demo day we are planning for the site.
We area youth centre nearby and think this outdoor gym is brilliant. Everyday I see people using it from all ages and communities….Fantastic!!
I would like to know what the H&S regulations would be around bringing our YP to use the equipment during the day? Can you help?
hmm – not too sure about h&s regulations. I try to avoid them if I can.
I suggest you contact the poster of the first comment above – NHS Camden funded it, so I guess they’d know about that sort of stuff.