The Friendly Neighbour hood gym in the Park!
Cities and towns in Maharashtra state in India have what are known as green gyms or open-air gyms. I am sure other states also have them. Why are they called green gyms?
Well, they are typically located inside a public park which also has a jogging track along its perimeter, open to the blue sky and surrounded by trees and shrubs of the park. Hence the name green gym or open-air gym.
The gyms are provided with equipment to do work out for increasing flexibility, build muscle mass using just the body weight and cardio exercises. For people who are not looking to do body building in the sense of wanting to flaunt 8-pack abs and bulging biceps, this provides the ideal all round workout.
A typical gym membership with a personal trainer would set you back by about Rs.15k upwards per month. Add to it the ‘in-app purchases’ the gym will solicit in the form of healthy snack after workout, energy drinks and protein shakes etc. and you are left wondering ‘what did I sign up for?’.
On the other hand, green gyms are established and run by the Municipality of the respective town, on public land allocated for public use, and spread across various localities, using taxpayers’ money. They are absolutely free for all the residents. What’s more, unlike the airconditioned commercial gyms, these green gyms, surrounded as I said by trees and greenery, provide fresh air to the users and a 30 min work out is most likely to leave you fully energized for the workday ahead.
What's more, the park area provides opportunity for the seniors to get together for a light group yoga session and forceful laughter (laughter club lookalike) episodes. They form nice little groups of newly-relieved-from-filial-responsibilities or young mothers bringing their little ones in the evening for play time and then chatting among themselves on all the problems of the world!
These groups especially the senior ones also celebrate occasions like Independence day, Republic day in a community setting. They also treat themselves to savories and sweets on each others’ birthdays in the park itself.
These parks truly provide an environment for enhancing the community bonding and instil a sense of belonging among all age groups.
However, I find an early morning gym workout regimen very refreshing and it gets me charged for my morning walk. The government is providing this facility at no cost and the more the citizens use them, more and more parks will be added to the list and newer equipment would get provided.
I will sign out now, dear readers, but not before urging you to give these public gyms and parks a go and share your experiences. I am sure you will find it as energizing as I do!
Until next time, see ya and take care!!