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Fitness trail

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A fitness trail (more recently known as outdoor exercise equipment and also known as a parcourse) consists of a path or course equipped with obstacles or stations distributed along its length for exercising the human body to promote good health. The course is designed to promote physical fitness training in the style attributed to Georges Hébert. In general, fitness trails can be natural or man-made, located in areas such as forest, transportation rights-of-way, parks, or urban settings. Equipment exists to provide specific forms of physiological exercise, and can consist of natural features including climbable rocks, trees, and river embankments, or manufactured products (stepping posts, chin-up and climbing bars) designed to provide similar physical challenges. The degree of difficulty of a course is determined by terrain slope, trail surface (dirt, grass, gravel, etc.), obstacle height (walls) or length (crawls) and other features. Urban parcourses tend to be flat, to permit participation by the elderly, and to accommodate cyclists, runners, skaters and walking. The new concept of an outdoor gym, containing traditional gym equipment specifically designed for outdoor use, is also considered to be a development of the parcourse. These outdoor exercise gyms include moving parts and often made from galvanised metal.

Fitness trail station, North Bay Park, Ypsilanti Twp., MI

History

The original parcourse was invented in 1968 by Swiss architect Erwin Weckemann with support from Swiss life insurance firm Vita. The first course was built in Zurich, Switzerland.[1] Hundreds of courses were built in Europe by 1972.[2]

Courses built in ensuing years included:

Examples

United Kingdom

Fitness Trails can include stations for the upper body, lower body, balance & coordination and climbing/jumping equipment designed to test the whole body.

Australia

Installations are found across AU.

Canada

Luxembourg

  • Among pedestrian trails there is a fitness trail in the village of Steinfort.

New Zealand

United States of America

Colorado

Lakewood (Bear Creek Lake Park)

  • There is a 1.6 mile cross country fitness course with 19 exercise stations beginning at the Pelican Point parking area [1].

California

San Francisco Bay Area

East Bay

  • There is an asphalt parcourse (remodeled in 2012), that projects into the Bay in Marina Park in San Leandro.
  • Section Two of the Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail is an asphalt paved parcourse in Moraga.
  • A dirt parcourse trail surrounds Bishop Ranch 7 office complex in San Ramon. Although the parcourse is on private property, it is open to public use.
  • Under the BART right-of-way along Masonic Ave., in Albany.
  • There are two parcourse trails in Pleasanton; one borders the northern side of Bernal Corporate Park, paralleling the Arroyo Valle, and the second is on the Owens Drive loop west of Johnson Drive.

North Bay

Peninsula

  • The first parcourse trail built in the USA still exists in the Mountain Lake Park of San Francisco's Presidio. The parcourse begins at the beginning of 9th Ave, just north of the intersection of 9th Ave and Lake St.
  • The Perrier parcourse is at the site of the former Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. This course is open for public use.
  • There is a parcourse that borders the Marina Green in San Francisco.
  • There are several exercise stations (some new and some from an original Parcourse), on the south side of Millbrae Ave. between S Magnolia Ave. and Palm Ave. along the Spur Trail in Millbrae.
  • An asphalt paved parcourse trail begins at the 5.9 mi. mark of the Bay Trail, around the perimeter of the Oracle Corporation office complex in Redwood Shores. Although the parcourse is on Oracle property, it is open to public use. There is another parcourse on the opposite (south) side of Marina Parkway, but it has fallen into disrepair.
  • A parcourse is located along Marina Parkway beginning near the intersection of Bridge Parkway and Cork Harbor Circle and ending near the intersection of Bridge Parkway and Portwalk Place in Redwood Shores.
  • There is a Parcourse with fitness stations clustered along a trail in the Holbrook-Palmer Park on the south side of Watkins Avenue between Dinkelspiel Station Lane and Middlefield Road in Atherton.
  • There is a Parcourse inside the NASA Ames Research Center. However, an official NASA ID is required to access it.
Los Angeles Area
  • A paved parcourse trail is available at Rynerson Park in Lakewood on Studabaker Road parallel to the San Gabriel River Bike Trail. This parcourse has 6 stations along a 1-mile loop.
  • Johnny Carson Park located in Burbank features a parcourse circuit with a dozen stations along a dirt path loop. It also includes a warm-up area with equipment designed to facilitate stretching.
  • The Whittwood Towne Center offers a small short vita course set up next to eh 24 Hour Fitness Gym.
  • In the unincorporated part of South Whittier at Adventure Park all around the baseball diamonds there are numerous stations.
Riverside Area
  • A dirt fitness trail, including stations with scaling walls, pull-up bars, and other activities, runs around Lincoln Park on Lincoln Avenue in Corona.
Lake Tahoe Area
  • There is an 18 station par course at North Tahoe Regional Park, which is located at 6600 Donner Road, one mile west of Highway 267 and one mile north of Highway 28 in Tahoe Vista.
San Diego Area
  • Morley Fields Sport complex - Perrier Parcourse Fitness Circuit. This fitness circuit was donated by the Groeat

Waters of France Company, distributor of Perrier water. The circuit includes eighteen exercise stations spaced over a 2.5 mile path.

  • Downtown San Diego, Embarcadero Marina Park South. Fitness course with various stations. Incorporate the Convention Center stairs into the course for a killer workout. NOTE: Area is closed frequently in the summer for concerts: Access during this time is limited to the morning - late afternoon.

Georgia

Waycross

Ohio

  • In Hamilton County, OH, Embshoff Woods, Miami Whitewater Forest, Sharon Woods, Triple Creek, Winton Woods, and Woodland Mound county parks have parcourse trails.
  • In Summit County, OH, there are two parcours trails as part of the Metroparks system. A 1.8 mile trail is at Goodyear Metropark, and a 1.4 mile trail is part of the Sand Run Metropark. Both are well maintained dirt trails in hilly, wooded settings. Both are located in Akron, OH.

Pennsylvania

  • In Frick Park, Pittsburgh, there's a paved parcourse trail starting at the intersection of Beechwood Boulevard and Nicholson Street with 18 stations. The signs along the trail date from 1975.

Maryland

Michigan

  • Washtenaw County
Ypsilanti, MI North Bay Park.
  • Delta County, Gladstone, MI VanCleve City Park

New Jersey

Tennessee

  • In Franklin, TN, Pinkerton Park, located near downtown, has a 1-mile fitness trail.

Texas

  • In Austin, the Shoal Creek Trail features a three-station parcourse near its intersection with 30th St, Texas, US.
  • In Sugar Land, A parcourse is located adjacent to Highlands Elementary School at the intersection of Williams Trace Boulevard and Edgewater Drive, Texas, USA.
  • In Missouri City, A more compact course is located behind the LA Fitness at 5402 Texas 6, on Cross Lakes Boulevard.

Virginia

  • In Richmond, Byrd Park has a 1-mile fitness trail.
  • In Vienna, Nottoway Park has a 3/4 mile fitness trail.
  • In Winchester, Jim Barnett Park has a 1-mile, 18 station parcourse.

Washington

Wisconsin

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ "VitaParcours information" (in German, French, and Italian). Vitaparcours Foundation. Retrieved February 7, 2010. English tr.
  2. ^ "The Jog Strip". Time Magazine. June 26, 1972. Retrieved February 2, 2007.
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