La Puente City Park
La Puente, Calif.
Community members in La Puente, Calif., are loving their new park—completely transformed from its former state and featuring loads of exciting amenities, including a custom-designed outdoor gym!
City Manager Bob Lindsey praised the gym, saying it came out "exactly as we had envisioned" and stating that the community has been enjoying working out in a "first-class park."
Greenfields Outdoor Fitness worked closely with the City of La Puente to create a unique gym design featuring three fitness clusters, each with a distinct focus. Together, they comprise an inclusive, inviting place for community members to exercise. The placement of these clusters, next to the playground, gives an opportunity for everyone in the family to have a space to get active together.
"Community response to the equipment has been very good since the park opened in late June," said Alex Bauman, director of community services. "There have been people out here almost every morning, every afternoon, every evening using the equipment, and they've just been enjoying this fitness area that this park has to offer. Part of the community response that we've gotten is [that with] the location of the equipment right next to the playgrounds they can let the kids play on the playgrounds while they use the equipment."
It's important for communities to have outdoor fitness opportunities available to them. For many, gym memberships are cost-prohibitive, and for others, intimidation and time constraints present additional challenges to working out. Regular exercise is exceptionally challenging for seniors and those with physical disabilities, which heightens their risk for obesity and related health issues.
The La Puente City Park gym addresses these challenges with a host of fitness equipment designed to be usable and inviting to everyone, regardless of their age, ability level or fitness background.
"Being raised in this city, it is amazing to see how the city has overturned this park to bring the community together," said Roxanna, a community member. "The children's equipment is amazing, but I think what's more amazing is the [outdoor fitness] equipment that was placed for the older adults. Having my mom that's elderly, the equipment is easy to use. It's wonderful to see the community come together, and there's something for everyone."
Area 1 features resistance-free units from Greenfields' Legacy Series for stretching and warm-ups. These machines are perfect for beginners and seniors because they are low-impact and intuitive to use.
Area 2 features Greenfields' Professional Series with adjustable resistance. The Professional Series has a zero-recoil design, Safe-Stop feature, and bi-directional adjustable resistance mechanism (16 levels). This park also features Greenfields' three patented (U.S. patent 11,130,139) Signature Accessible units for people in wheelchairs. The wheelchair-accessible machines are designed to both strengthen the upper body muscles used to propel manual wheelchairs, and also exercise the reverse muscles to help prevent injuries. The fitness zone at La Puente City Park allows those in wheelchairs to exercise alongside able-bodied family members and friends.
Area 3 features more Professional Series units, primarily focusing on the upper body. The exceptionally wide range of resistance levels allows those at every fitness level to use these units. For those ready for high-impact cardio, there is also a kickboxing station offering a total body workout.
A custom shade concept was created specifically for this project. Shade can be a great addition to any outdoor gym, allowing park users to exercise in comfort while still getting their heart rate up.
Finally, community members are able to use the Greenfields app to scan QR codes on the equipment, view videos of how to use each piece, create their own workouts, and track their progress.
"It's a valuable resource for [community members] to be able to come here," said Lindsey. "It serves the underprivileged communities because not everybody can afford to go to a gym paying a monthly fee. Here it's free. Come on out. Enjoy the community. Enjoy the park, and enjoy your workout."
FOR MORE INFORMATION
La Puente City Park: https://lapuente.org/community-services/parks/
Greenfields Outdoor Fitness: www.greenfieldsfitness.com
