Thanks to warmer temperatures, St. Albertans can now exercise outside. And a new outdoor fitness circuit at the downtown St. Albert Lions Park provides just the necessary means.
Whether it’s a basic warm-up or a full-body workout, the circuit has everything for stretching and core upper and lower body fitness, said Bryan Evans, the 2014 president of the St. Albert Host Lions Club.
“They put the foundation in three weeks ago after the snow. And then we added the equipment last week and now it sits there,” he said. “There is some landscaping and final clean-up to be done but the equipment is all in.”
The St. Albert Lions Park is one of the oldest facilities in the city, offering everything from picnic sites and festival areas to a new playground, green space and a skating surface.
The club’s owned the park since 1957, said Evans. In the early 1980s, the title of the land was turned over to the city but the club has continued to add all types of facilities there, said Evans.
Only three years ago, they renovated the park completely, adding new washrooms, the playground, landscaping and a redeveloped picnic and fire pit area.
While the club runs a number of other programs in the city, including scholarships and bursaries for students and their ongoing support of the local air cadets, the park is one of their signature programs, said Evans.
“I guess, you could say we are in the third or fourth life of this park,” he said. “It’s just an ongoing evolution and ongoing commitment to that park.”
The new fitness circuit consists of four pods, which include everything from a swing flex, a core trainer, an air stride and an arm press.
Local firm Peak Play Environments installed the equipment for a cost of $60,000 to $65,000, said Evans. All of the money was fundraised and the circuit is now ready for use though the club is still waiting for some final landscaping and clean up, he added.
The St. Albert Lions Park is located across from Fire Station One on Sir Winston Churchill Avenue. Public parking is available downtown behind the St. Albert Curling Club.
