At 85, Ronald Woolf struggles to get around without the help of his mobility scooter but he was among the first to try out London’s first open-air gym for pensioners when it opened last week.
In the leafy surrounds of the capital’s famous Hyde Park, the widower had a go on a recumbent bicycle, one of six machines installed in the gym with the aim of providing gentle exercise for the over 60s.
“I’d best bring a cushion next time,” Woolf said as he stretched his legs out in the bright sunshine next to the park’s bowling green and tennis courts. “But this one’s alright for me. It’s doing me the world of good.”
Well-established in Asia and across Europe, the “pensioners’ playground” is the first of its kind in London and has been set up with £40,000 (US$57,000) from the local council.
“It’s so much nicer than a gym, being in the fresh air, in this beautiful garden. And you don’t need any fancy shoes or clothes,” said Madeline Elsdon, a member of the local residents’ association who came up with the idea.
She said she was “thrilled” with the response to the new gym, which includes a cross-trainer, a sit-up bench, the exercise bike, a flex wheel to work the arms, a foot wheel to flex the hips, and a machine to stretch the legs.
Although the gym is aimed at the over 60s, any adults over the age of 16 are allowed to use the machines — but organizers do not expect serious fitness fanatics to spend much time here as it will likely be too easy.
(AFP)
倫敦首座專為退休銀髮族設置的露天健身房上週啟用。現年八十五歲、得靠電動代步車才能四處趴趴走的朗諾•渥夫卻是首批體驗者之一。
位在知名海德公園內的這座健身房，綠意環繞，共設有六款適合六十歲以上老人使用的溫和性運動器材，喪偶的渥夫嘗試的是臥式自行車。
頂著艷陽在健身房（緊鄰草地滾球場和網球場）伸展雙腿筋骨的渥夫說：「下次該帶個軟墊來。不過，這器材我使用起來不成問題，它讓我通體舒暢。」
這種風行亞洲和歐洲各地的「退休銀髮族操場」是首次出現在倫敦市區，由當地議會撥款四萬英鎊（五萬七千美元）興建。
想出這個點子的當地住委會委員瑪德琳•艾爾斯頓說：「這比一般健身房好太多了，空氣清新又有美麗的花園，而且無需準備任何花俏的衣鞋。」
她表示，大家對這座新健身房的反應令她「非常興奮」。這座健身房內的設施包括：多弁鈰楊倌飽B仰臥起坐板、健身腳踏車、鍛鍊手臂的繩輪、鍛鍊臀肌的足踏機及腿部伸展訓練機。
儘管這座健身房主要是針對六十歲以上老人設計，但年滿十六歲的成人均可使用各項器材，不過籌辦單位不認為健身狂會花很多時間在這兒，因為這些器材都太基本、沒有挑戰性。
（法新社╱翻譯：林倩如）
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