To think no-one uses park fitness equipment (other than daft kids)?

[Peasepottage]

Is park gym equipment ever used by anyone other than kids messing around?

Quite a few of our local parks have fixed adult gym and fitness equipment. I never, ever, see anyone using it. I do see kids messing around on it.

Does anyone use this stuff? AIBU?

I see them used quite a lot where I live, in both the nicer and less nice parts of town. Actually rarely see yobbos hanging out on them (but maybe they do after dark)

Not at all. I've seen people use it properly where I live, but appreciate it might not be the case everywhere.

I see men using them mostly

They are used a lot where I live. Usually by men either early in the morning or early evening. It might seem like they are unused if you’re visiting the park in the middle of the day.

Ours is mostly used by children but I’m really pleased to see them using it. Usually kids who are a bit too old and cool for the playground but still like using monkey bars and trying out new things. Ours is all in one place and joined together if that makes sense.

A few adults do use it as well.

Interestingly I have seen it in use often but it is always 'foreigners'

When I run in my local park there are always groups of North African looking men using it, and when I was in a London park recently there seemed to be Easter European men and women using it.

When I was in Alicante last winter the outdoor gym equipment was very busy with local young people.

So on that basis it probably depends what levels of immigration are near you? I wonder why it is that a facility that is popular with some groups isn't popular with Brits?

In the town where my sister lives it's in contant use by women.

There’s a fitness club in our nearest park they start at 10 minute intervals, go round the park 2/3 times in there little groups of 4/3 then meet at the benches with coffee/tea. They are over 60’s they look so friendly as well, they meet 3 times a week. I have looked because l was curious.

I tried some once - it was bl**dy hard work.

We need more slides and, ideally, a 'witches hat'.

The equipment in my local park is in near constant use, at least during the warmer months

I do see a few adults using it, but is there any harm in kids using it?

Mine loved the gym equipment, once they were a bit too old for the play equipment. It’s great exercise, monkey bars, pull ups, gymnastics etc

Its in constant use near where I live too.

And my teens and DH found one when out running on holiday this year so they went most days and they said there were always other people using it too.

I think its great.

i don’t have a local park, but when I’ve been in other parks where they have equipment I’ve never seen it being used, ever.

Very occasionally, there is one near where DS has a 45min class, if I'm on a get fit drive sometimes go for a walk and use it then.

The best used ones tend to be larger with callisthenic bars so people can do a more intentional, varied work out.
Plonking a couple of random cardio style machines in a field is pretty useless.

Accessibility can be an issue with badly designed gyms where it's overlooked that the population is by default not 6ft tall males. I've often encountered ones that are useless on the grounds that I don't tend to keep a step ladder in my running belt.

I used to use it but stopped after I realised a young lad was taking photos of me from behind. (I wasn't bending over or anything)

It's popular here - people of all ages use it.

When I was a kid, our local NT had a trail you could follow with all kinds of equipment and you could "do" it on easy, medium or hard mode. They had signs with different activities you could try and everything, I used to love it (as did my dad!).

It probably depends what time you go to the park. I see adults using it in the evenings quite a lot. Weekend mornings, probably all kids.

Where we used to live in east London fhe stuff in one of the parks there (Jubilee) was used a lot. Mainly by, it seemed, by Asian communities, ladies in head scarves, older men etc.

The outdoor gym equipment is all old/broken / unusable in the 2 parks near me. The children's play equipment has been replaced in both parks in the past 12 months, so maybe the gym equipment will be next.

I do. It seems to be me and the ex Ghurkas who use it.

One park has really crap equipment though and that's never used.

The properly designed calisthenics parks round me are well used. Cali is bigger in some other countries than in the UK, so attracts a range of people. Some parks and kit are designed by people who don’t know what they are doing, so they are never used.

I find them a bit odd because ours is all no mostly weight/resistance really or pull up full body weight. I've used it occasionally and other people do use it. There is talk up replacement too, so hopefully an upgrade. I agree they are a bit odd.

I think some parks could do with some diagrams showing people how to use the bars - for example you can take resistance bands to help with pull ups, or do feet on the floor ones on lower bars. Calisthenics (which is what some of these parks are) has loads of ways to make exercises easier and harder but people do need to know how. My best one locally has free community classes

There is a lots of wooden/metal circuits equipment around our rec and it gets used by bigger kids and adults.