World's Best Outdoor Gyms: Top Designs |Gym Consultant — wellness designers + gym consultants
The Best Outdoor Gym Designs Right Now
Equinox / Into The Wild, L.A. (members only outdoor gym design)
High-end gym brand Equinox were quick to scramble into action when the US went into lockdown, it seems they were able to access a rooftop carpark area and convert it quickly into a semi-permanent outdoor gym design complete with spin studio and functional fitness zones as well as a strength training area.
The location in Los Angeles means consistently good weather, ideal for this type of gym set-up. Exercising in an open-air environment allows members to enjoy fresh air while working out. This outdoor gym helps to improve health by providing a holistic fitness experience. It would be a far more complicated move to pull off in New York at this time of year for obvious reasons. this highlights one of the key challenges of any outdoor gym - how to protect equipment and customers from the weather, be it extreme heat and sunshine or cold and rain.
In typical style, the Equinox team have given this new concept some funky branding, calling it Into The Wild, and one senses they’ll be watching its success very closely to evaluate whether to roll the gym design idea out into other locations in future, in part as a response to Covid-19 (and other viruses in future?) but also as a way to make use of otherwise unused or unwanted real estate, such as rooftop car parks in commercial real estate developments.
Tulum Jungle Gym with Bodyweight Equipment (pay per use outdoor gym design)
The Tulum Jungle Gym started small and has slowly evolved into one of the world’s most extreme examples of what is possible when collaborating with craftsmen who understand their raw materials, have a sense of design and are able to think creatively to find new solutions to age-old problems.
This may well be a highly Instragammable outdoor gym design but it is also a seriously well thought out gym designed to be used and abused, not just looked at on screen.
We met one of the Co-founders Alistair on a Wildfitness retreat many years ago and he struck as a down to earth, determined character with his eye set on some future fitness business that was then nothing more than an idea.
Alistair’s military background meant he was physically and mentally tough enough to get this project off the ground, recruit the right craftsmen to build the bodyweight equipment in Tulum and deliver a fitness experience to pro athletes as well as those looking for a fun activity during their holiday. The gym also offers bodyweight training facilities for all fitness levels.
LA7 at The G Hotel Seashell, Egypt (hotel outdoor gym design)
LA7 is a Cairo-based boutique gym concept with a roster of high-level fitness coaches that includes celebrity trainer Heba Ali and a sophisticated, semi-glam brand image that has obviously struck a chord in the Middle-East.
Interestingly, it looks like they may soon be moving into hotels themselves, perhaps inspired by the Equinox model in the USA, for more info on that keep an eye on @la7hotels on instagram.
In the meantime, the brand has popped up at the equally hip The G Seashell hotel on the Egyptian coast, seemingly targeting a very similar demographic to the LA7 city gyms.
Their set-up here is an expansive beachfront outdoor hotel gym that includes strength machines, functional rigs, manual treadmills, AirDyne bikes and punching bags in a semi-covered outdoor space that still has acres of room for movement and play. The open space allows for various activities, making it ideal for the community. Additionally, the gym is equipped with shoulder press machines, perfect for building strength in the shoulder, chest, and triceps muscles.
Nike Training Outdoor Project in Fresh Air, Barcelona, Spain (public outdoor gym design)
If anything, this facility is now a victim of its own success. Locals need to time their visit to avoid the crowds, especially during the tourist season but there is generally plenty of outdoor gym equipment to go around, from pull-up bars, parallel bars, to monkey bars, gymnastics rings, push-up bars, dip bars and everything in between. Personal training services are also available, offering tailored fitness programs to meet individual needs.
Specialist manufacturer MyEquilibria in Italy provided the full outdoor gym design and equipment set-up here, packing the available space with hard-wearing poured concrete and stainless steel inox that genuinely appears to be indestructible, no matter how much use and abuse it receives!
Located on Barceloneta beach, the outdoor gym is on full view from the boardwalk, yet is set-back by around 50m providing just enough privacy from the crowds whilst ensuring the odd exhibitionist still gets to show off their calisthenics skills.
Nike also operate the Nike Box nearby, a fitness hub with the latest footwear available to trial, fitness classes, storage lockers and so on for anyone with the Nike app on their phone - but no actual sales take place. Both projects appear to be largely about brand-building for the US brand in fact, even if their visual presence in the outdoor gym remains very low-key.
Woodsman Fitness, Rixos Premium Hotel, Dubai (hotel outdoor gym design)
Turkish brand Woodsman have quickly established themselves as a major player in the outdoor gym design world thanks to their all-wood gym equipment designs that have serious Instagram appeal, particularly for the Middle-Eastern audience. Compared to Dench Fitness Gym in Walthamstow, London, which offers a holistic approach to health and fitness with a variety of spaces, machines, and classes, Woodsman Fitness stands out with its unique all-wood equipment and outdoor gym settings.
Recently aligned with the Rixos hotel group, known for their oversized hotel properties, Woodsman do one thing and they do it well - equipment, there is far less gym design work here than in some cases, instead they double-down on their own brand of gym equipment and rely on that to create a memorable guest experience.
Working with solid wood like this when there are specific weights to aim for with each piece of equipment is no small task but their efforts are being rewarded.
A lot of the intellectual property has already been created clearly, meaning that a roll-out in new outdoor gym locations now comes easier to this exciting newcomer brand. We expect to see more of them in this region in the near future!
https://www.rixos.com/en/hotel-resort/rixos-premium-dubai-jbr
Porto Montenegro beach gym by Biofit (pay-per-use / hotel outdoor gym design)
Our 800m2 outdoor gym within the Porto Montenegro mixed-use real estate development services day guests at the adjacent 64m long Yacht Club pool as well as the 5-star Regent Hotel. Group fitness classes are operated by the nearby Sports Club instructors, while music and key access are managed by the Yacht Club reception. The gym includes all the essentials, such as green spaces, picnic tables, a playground, a zipline, and an outdoor gym. Additionally, there are tennis courts available as part of the recreational facilities.
We designed and commissioned a number of pieces of equipment for this outdoor gym design using local artisans - it turns out that yacht owners are always looking for craftsmen who work with metal and wood so we had plenty of options when it came to finding someone to cover our competition kettlebells in waterproof paint to match the colours of the Yacht Club flag.
Similarly, we commissioned bespoke jump boxes and parallette bars, combining them with battle ropes, suspension trainers, lifting logs, slam balls, clubbells, a giant rubber tyre, sandbags, A-frame pull-up structure and even a small volleyball court!
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