WORCESTER — Main South residents looking to get a workout in but don’t have the budget need to look no further than University Park, where the city has announced a new fitness court at the park.
The fitness court is an outdoor facility with several pieces of equipment that can be used for bodyweight-related exercises, including pull-up bars, gymnastics rings, and aerobic steps. The purpose of the court is to provide durable, fitness-enhancing equipment to the public free of charge.
“When I was first elected to the City Council, one of the things I wanted to address was how I could help young people understand what health meant to them. As we get older, we realize things we wish we had done when we were younger.” 4 Councilman Luis Ojeda said: “I was a physical education teacher for 14 years, and I learned a lot about the importance of physical activity and how it can help in many different ways as physical activity changes, and how it can be used as a tool. There’s a strong emphasis on helping people think to understand, to sort things out in their own minds because the world is moving so fast.”
Worcester City Councilman Luis Ojeda tests out some equipment at the University Park Fitness Center.
The park was built in partnership with the National Fitness Campaign and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, located on the Crystal Street side of the park. Other sponsors of the project include Consigli Construction, UMass Chan Medical School, United Way of Central Massachusetts, Reliant Medical Group, Spectrum Health Systems, and the Fuller Foundation.
“This project started with one idea and one purpose. It started with our friends at Blue Cross Blue Shield. They wanted to make health and fitness accessible to everyone in their community. , we are building these projects all over the country,” said United Airlines President Tim Garvin. The road in central Massachusetts.
The National Fitness Campaign is a public-private partnership organization that works with cities and corporate sponsors to improve fitness in different communities across the country. The campaign has a goal of building 5,000 fitness courts across the United States by 2030. The University Park location will be the 13th in Massachusetts and the first in Worcester.
At a ceremony held at the park on Monday, members of Leominster-based fitness group Revive, which focuses on supporting addiction recovery through fitness, joined forces with civil servants to Demonstrated how to use the equipment.
Cassie Bergeron of Revive Fitness will demonstrate how to use some of the fitness center’s equipment, and Anthony Bizzotto, president and co-founder of Revive, will instruct the audience.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do. I might do a few pull-ups, a few dips. I don’t know how well I can do it, but if you can, please participate. This is important to the residents.” And we care about the overall health of our city,” said City Manager Eric D. Batista.
Court users can also download the free Fitness Court app, developed by the National Fitness Campaign. This app can provide training specifically designed for the equipment available on the court.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Playground benefits: Worcester opens new fitness court at University Park