Buzz
If you’ve gone out exploring fitness trails for the Mytour Fitness Challenge, you might have stumbled upon some unmarked equipment. What’s the purpose of this low-lying bar? Or this angled bench? We’ve got the answers.
Fitness trails vary widely, so I’ll walk you through some of the stations on my local, circa-1985 Fit-Trail located in North Park near Pittsburgh, PA. This list isn’t comprehensive, but it may spark some ideas if your local trail is missing signage.
Empty Stations and Vertical Poles
Certain stations might have a sign (or once did), but lack equipment. They could ask you to perform one of the following exercises:
Reach down and touch your toes
Gently bend forward at the waist, then twist your torso to each side and the back (either in a continuous motion or by pausing briefly at each position)
Jumping jacks
Jump while kicking your leg out to the side and touching your foot, then alternate with the other leg (once you get into the rhythm, it becomes like a very active version of jogging in place)
If you have access to a pole or post, consider trying one of the following:
Rest against the pole while bending one knee to stretch your calf
Use the post for balance as you step onto a nearby, shorter post
Grab the handles at the bottom of the post while performing a lunge
Press your back against it to hold a wall sit position
Bars and Handles
I assure you, not all of these exercises are meant for pull-ups. However, it's quite likely that at least one of them might involve them.
High bars overhead: perform pull-ups or chin-ups. If pull-ups are too challenging, squat down and jump as high as you can, grabbing the bar on your way up. It’s a shortcut, but an effective one that guarantees a good workout instead of just skipping it.
Another way to use high bars: hang from them while lifting your legs toward your chest.
Monkey bars: try crossing them hand-over-hand, if you're able.
Rings hanging high above: use them for pull-ups or as a way to stretch your whole body by hanging and swinging from them. Aaaah.
Parallel bars at chest height: try walking on your hands across them, or perform dips.
Low bars: do push-ups.
Bench-like Structures
Low bench: sit on it and stretch to touch your toes.
Slanted bench with handles at the top: grip the handles and reverse-curl your legs over your head. (This might not be ideal for your back.)
Bench with a low bar beside it: sit on the bench, tuck your feet beneath the bar, lean back, and do sit-ups.
Bench with a short post beside it: sit on the bench with your feet on either side of the post, then raise your legs and clap your feet together over the post.
Unconventional Lumber Setups
Beam on the ground: use it as a balance beam.
Zigzag beams on the ground: use them either as a balance beam (for extra challenge, try it forward and backward) or as obstacles to jump over in a zigzag pattern.
Slanted beam high above: jump and aim to reach as high as you can.
Slanted beam at knee or hip height: place your hand on the beam and jump over it using both legs at once.
If you come across a piece of equipment not listed here, check out Philip Harrison’s Instagram, which is filled with instructional signs from various parcourses in the NY/NJ/CT area. Or feel free to post it below and we can brainstorm together!
