In-home exercise physiology sessions are really popular. Thanks to their convenience and flexible scheduling, you can fit sessions in with the other things in life that matter. But that doesn’t mean you always want to be stuck in the house. And one of the great things about living in Brisbane is that we can take our in-home sessions outside, taking advantage of the parks, walking trails, bikeways, and outdoor gyms that the Brisbane City Council has installed throughout the city. (Plus the almost always beautiful weather!) Some of our favourite spots for in-home sessions are actually outside.
Here are some of the outdoor exercise spots we love to put to use:
Moorlands Park, Toowong
This little park features a playground for kids, complemented by a playground for adults. The outdoor gym here includes parallel bars, chin up bars, suspension training rings, and plyometric boxes. There’s definitely enough here to give yourself a well-balanced full body workout. It’s also an easy spot to jump onto the Bicentennial Bikeway through a tunnel running underneath Coronation Drive.
Bicentennial Bikeway and Walking Path, Coronation Drive – Toowong/Auchenflower/Milton/Brisbane City
Ok, this one is not a gym, but it is great. The Bicentennial Bikeway (the Coro Drive Bikeway to locals) was upgraded a few years ago into a pretty flash cycle and walking path. The upgrade saw the Bikeway split into dedicated cycle and pedestrian lanes. Keeping the fast-moving people separate means you don’t have to worry about getting run over! The bikeway runs from Toowong to underneath the William Jolly Bridge, about 2.7km. This is an immensely popular stretch with well maintained paths and minimal hills. The biggest drawbacks: There’s not a lot of shade, and if you hit peak foot and cycle traffic, you’ll find it’s quite busy. There are plenty of water stops along the way though. There’s also some covered seated areas where you could do dips, step ups, and squats, if you wanted to do a combined bodyweight strength and cardio workout.
Robertson Park, Indooroopilly/Taringa
Tucked between the St Lucia Golf Links on one side and Indooroopilly State High School on the other, Robertson Park hosts a nice little walking loop. It also has several exercise stations interspersed along the path, including a climbing rope, chin up bars and step up steps. You could get a great workout here by running or briskly walking a loop with a stop at a different exercise station for each lap you do. You can also duck across the road and take a walk or run down the wide walking path that runs along Hillside Terrace in St Lucia.
Frew Park, Milton
New in 2014, Frew Park has an amazing playground complete with climbing areas that are good enough for adults to play on. If you’re looking for more traditional exercise equipment, there is also an outdoor gym area. You can cycle, use elliptical type equipment, or build strength using the chin up and dip bars. The outdoor gym area has a concrete block edging that is perfect for high squats or step ups. There is a concrete walking path so you to walk or run some laps if that’s your thing, and plenty of open space for movement in general. Plus, the an added bonus: As home to the Roy Emerson Tennis Centre, Frew Park also has a coffee shop. It’s open 7 days per week so you can recover nicely.
What do you think?