AARP gifting a Lincoln park an outdoor fitness-focused gym for adults
FitLot exercise equipment
Courtesy image
Lincoln’s Woods Park will have a fitness-focused outdoor gym for adults near the park’s jungle gym this summer, thanks to the AARP, city parks officials said.
AARP will build the FitLot, as it’s called, as a gift and will donate money to help Lincoln Parks and Recreation staff fund three years of programming at the fitness station, said J.J. Yost of the parks department.
AARP officials want to build a FitLot in all 50 states to promote the benefits of indoor exercise training while being outside — and making them free and accessible to people, according to the FitLot website.
With an elliptical, pull-up bars and other equipment, the FitLot station is designed for group workouts, he said.
Parks officials want the station by the picnic shelter and playground area, near the middle of the park on the west side, he said.
“There’s some idea it works well to be in some proximity, but not too close, to a playground, so you don’t have children spilling over into the FitLot while it’s being actively used,” Yost told the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.
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Woods Park was selected because of its central location, on-site parking, accessibility from trails and close proximity to low- and moderate-income and senior populations, Yost said.
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Though the city’s been installing multi-use fitness equipment pieces in parks in the last few years, the FitLot will be the city’s largest outdoor fitness park, Yost said.
Last August, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln opened a fitness court on the southeast end of the downtown campus.
A crew will begin installing the FitLot in May or June with plans to open it with a community event in late July.
After it’s complete, the city will be responsible for its maintenance, Yost said.
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Reach the writer at 402-473-2657 or rjohnson@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @LJSRileyJohnson.
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