Photo: mrlerone / Flickr

In the face of the credit crunch, gym memberships dropped 23 per cent last year. But The Great Outdoor Gym Company, the UK’s biggest manufacturer of outdoor gym equipment, has set up 104 outdoor gyms across the country since its launch in 2007, and plans to open 150 more this year. The best thing about these gyms: they’re free to use. As an added bonus, studies show that exercising in the outdoors, even for just five minutes a day, has a dramatic effect on mood and self-esteem.

Get your five a day

Jules Pretty and Jo Barton, researchers at the University of Essex, analysed 10 studies involving over a thousand people in the UK who took part in ‘green’ exercise ranging from gardening to sailing. They found that every outdoor activity they studied improved both self-esteem and mood, and most remarkably, had an effect within just five minutes. What’s more, spending time in nature has been found to make people more caring.

The outdoor gym revolution

Photo: Charlotte Gilhooly / Flickr

The Great Outdoor Gym Company takes its cue from China, where thousands of outdoor gyms were installed in the months running up to the Beijing Olympics. And local UK authorities who invest in the equipment are such fans that the company expects profits hitting £1 million this year. Strathclyde, where one of the company’s pilot schemes was run, reported an eight per cent drop in crime after the Outdoor Gym Company’s exercise machines were installed.

What to expect

The gyms are aimed at people of all ages and backgrounds, with the equipment being labelled with clear instructions. The biggest outdoor gyms have bikes, chest presses, treadmills, stretching bars and aerobic spaces. The machines aren’t adjustable, either in size or strength, meaning that beginners can use them easily. But for advanced gymmers, they may seem a little unchallenging.

Tags: exercise, exercise machines, gym, Keeping Healthy