Personal trainer using the playground as a gym

[ArtichokeAardvark]

I don't think I was bring unreasonable here, but happy to be told otherwise...

Took DS to the playground this morning. As I arrived, I spotted a personal trainer and his client working out in the soft sand area. I looked around and couldn't see a buggy nearby, so it wasn't a new mum trying to get back in shape. He had left a kettle bell lying around right by the entrance to the park where it could easily be tripped over.

I watched crossly for a while, until they got one of those plastic sports skipping ropes out - those things whip through the air and could have really hurt a child if it caught them. I figured enough's enough, so went over and asked them to leave. The trainer got very defensive, said he uses the playground a few times a week and no-one else has ever complained. He likes the soft rubber flooring and using some of the kids play equipment for his sessions. He then said he wasn't endangering any children (he shut up when I pointed out the kettle bell lying around) and that the other mums there at the time didn't mind. Eventually, they left.

Was I right, or being precious? The playground is in the middle of a big common, which even has another area with free outdoor gym equipment. Surely it's inappropriate to have heavy weights lying around where toddlers are running riot? However he's right that the other mums had just been ignoring him.

I think it's a damn cheek him using the kids 😬play area to earn a living tbh. I'm not sure I'd have been brave enough to say anything though

Ah another one of these that happens when the sun comes out. Where I live the PT groups and the dog walkers use the parks at the end of the road all year road, every day or almost every day. Then on a sunny weekend hundreds of kids come out, leave litter everywhere and the parents moan about the dog walkers and the runners. then the clouds come back out and you don't see the kids for another 3 weeks.

I don't think you were petty at all, OP.
Our playpark was largely funded by people living in the immediate neighbourhood, and adults have to have a child with them.
That should apply to a PT the same as anyone else.

The PT’s are all over Battersea Park.
Two adults (PT and trainer in the sandbox) fine if no one else wants it.
Doing strange push ups against the swing sets fine.
Swinging kettle balls with toddlers?? Common sense says not.
It’s a public space, I’m sure equipment damage is more from the teens. And age restriction for the old men who leer.
Let common sense prevail.
Battersea has private security I’d tell them, Wandsworth couldn’t give a rats ass what goes on in their parks, tell them what you want is like pissing in the wind.

My PT can’t train me in my local, big, London park because she doesn’t have a licence for it

Which borough? Although I suspect you're talking about a Royal Park, as opposed to regular parks, all the boroughs near me do not require permits for less than 5. They royal parks do (600 quid a year at most for individual clients)

YANBU.

I think you must all live in areas where the fenced-in children's playgrounds are much bigger than they are here.

In my local playground, an adult skipping with a rope would put about a sixth of the total area out of use. In fact, to avoid getting snagged on equipment, there's only one central area where you could do that - and you would be in the way of everyone entering and crossing the space.

Seems really petty

You have no idea whether that's true or not iamthechosenone. Lots of 1 year olds are much more steady and competent walkers than you describe. One of mine was fully capable of toddling off at full pelt even at 12 months, let alone several months later: as a pp said, a 23 month old is aged 1.

I use playground equipment to exercise because it offers different challenges to the traditional equipment. I’m from the US and it’s very popular to use playground equipment for functional fitness and I have never once been approached. Its absurd to police a stranger like that, you have no right. I don’t really see why you care so much about what another person does to enjoy themselves and take care of their health.

1. There is much more ‘hazardous’ equipment on the playground other than a stationary kettlebell. Children trip over their own feet while running on the playground and in my school days (when there wasn’t soft rubber floors yet) I remember everyone’s first skinned knee or broken bone (monkey bars) happening on the playground so I think you are really reaching for a justification. As far as skipping rope, that was a playground staple! So how is it harmful to a child? If it was another child skipping would that be an issue?? Or was it just because it was an adult. I promise you adults have more concern and spatial awareness than a child skipping rope and I’m sure said person wasn’t just flinging it around haphazardly without regard for children. And that’s just physical hazards, I won’t get into all the ‘hazardous’ germs lurking around.

1. I’m sure the person you confronted is a tax payer and had just as much right to use public equipment as the next person.

I’m sure the person you confronted is a tax payer and had just as much right to use public equipment as the next person

They do but a lot of councils have seen a revenue stream and expect you to pay to use the park for business use. When my son played (kids') football the team had to pay to use the pitches in the park. In my naivete I thought they could use it for free and it was first come first served! Doh. The only organisation I know that doesn't pay to use parks is parkrun.

And the football team wasn't a business, it was a club. But it collected subs and so had money. So it had to pay.

Which borough? Although I suspect you're talking about a Royal Park, as opposed to regular parks, all the boroughs near me do not require permits for less than 5. They royal parks do (600 quid a year at most for individual clients)*

Southwark, local authority park.

Sorry, quote fail.

Which borough? Although I suspect you're talking about a Royal Park, as opposed to regular parks, all the boroughs near me do not require permits for less than 5. They royal parks do (600 quid a year at most for individual clients)

Southwark, local authority park.

Not petty at all. YANBU.

Information on Southwark’s fitness permits here:

www.offpeaks.com/sports-instructors-fitness-training-license-for-parks/

Our (London) council's website says that fenced off play areas are not to be used by anyone over the age of 14, unless they are looking after children. So the personal trainer could well be in breach of a bye law.

YANBU Obviously. There was a sign saying no adults without children, and these were adults without children.

That's enough on its own but added to the fact that there were preschool children in the play area for children and it was surrounded by a huge park any part of which he could have used, including adult gym equipment, he was an utter entitled cheeky fucker to use the children's play area for his paid work training adults.

Adults using children's spaces do inhibit all but the least self aware children from using the equipment where the adults are, and preschool children won't ask an adult male to let them have a turn in the area, obviously.

YANBU. Though no idea how you can enforce it unless they're there every week at the same time. Two big hulking adults will take up space the kids should have access to and put the kids off using whatever bit of playground they're occupying, they should go and use the general exercise space or pay a gym membership if they're too fragile to exercise on grass.

Southwark, local authority park

Thanks - Interesting! Most of the councils seem to have the (to me) sensible view that 1-1 park coaching is pretty much the same as someone just using their local park and to be encouraged (as part of having a healthy population)

I'm not sure it's "a lot of parks" that charge - exclusive use of football pitches and things is different to shared use with others like PT's generally have. Would be interesting to know just how many councils do charge, that Southwark fee is a lot - higher than the current Royal Parks one which has actually come down (they didn't use to publish a fee at all, it was all on application).

Mind you I'm also surprised about the number of people who have parks which say "no adults" or "no over 12's". It is a shared space, and priority absolutely should be for kids (and older people with SEN as someone mentioned above) Playgrounds - with their safe surfaces are also great places for pensioner workouts and indeed everyone, which is why it's silly to limit it when the kids aren't around.

He needs to get a permission and licence from the local council.

Jomodog of course an entitled, possibly aggressive looking, sweating adult in physical training mode is never approached by those more vulnerable.

That doesn't mean that what you're doing is acceptable or appropriate, just that you're a bully who children and those made wary because they have children with them are giving a wide berth.

Just as an aside. The park next to me has reinforced some of the equipment as there is a secondary SEN after school club (and they do a summer club too) in the community centre across the road.

I think you are being extremely petty.

You have absolutely no right to ask a stranger to leave a public space. With regards to the kettle bell, I'm sure there are often bikes and scooters left lying around on a playground that people could also fall over.