Spring is coming, and with warm weather comes more outdoor workout opportunities.
Canadian spring and summers can feel painfully short, so we encourage everyone to get fit while soaking in the sunshine.
Running, jogging, biking are all great ways to get fit around the city, but strength training is important too. Thankfully, you can have it all!
This post highlights the many outdoor fitness parks and bodyweight equipment all over the Toronto neighbourhood of North York that the community can take advantage of.
Bellbury Park
Outdoor Fitness Equipment:
Parallel Bar
Monkey Bars
Push Up Bars
Hurdles
Our first stop is Bellbury park on Van Horne Avenue. The bench is a great place to warm up with bench toe taps, then work into bench jumps and elevated back lunges.
On the parallel bars, try a series of bar walks and angle bar rows to maximize your upper body strength.
This park is where the Bellbury Park Tennis Club meets, and also features a bike trail, five outdoor tennis courts, a basketball court, two playgrounds and a splash pad.
Parkway Forest Park
Outdoor Fitness Equipment:
Parallel Bar
Push Up Bars
Calisthenics Set
Our next stop is Parkway Forest Park. On the pushup bar, try a series of wide-grip push-ups followed by close-grip push-ups, then maneuver into mountain climbers, L-sits, and tricep dips.
This park also includes a baseball diamond, sports field, basketball court, hockey pad and two playgrounds.
Roding Park
Address: 600 Roding Street, Toronto, Ontario
Outdoor Fitness Equipment:
6 Hurdles
Pull Up Bars
Push Up Bars
Parallel Bars
Step Benches
2 Long Benches
Roding Park has one of the most robust sets of outdoor fitness equipment in the city.
Hurdle exercises strengthen lower body muscles while promoting strong cardio endurance. This park features Roding Community Centre at the north end, and the park also has two tennis courts, four bocce courts, and a playground.
Brian Village Fitness Route
If you’re looking for a full-body workout in the great outdoors, the Brian Village Fitness Route is a fantastic option. You’ll find this 3.75km, 5-station workout circuit right at the edge of North York by Sheppard Ave. E and Highway 404.
Circuit map signs like the one pictured above suggest which route you should take, though you can technically visit the stops in any order.
Each site also includes signage with suggested bodyweight exercises to do at each stop!
Station 1: Van Horne Park
Outdoor Fitness Equipment:
3 Push Up Bars
3 Short Benches
Station 2: Pleasantview Park
Address: 24 Margaret Avenue, Toronto, Ontario
Outdoor Fitness Equipment:
Monkey Bars
Long Bench
Station 3: Muirhead Park
Address: 6 Edmonton Drive, Toronto, Ontario
Outdoor Fitness Equipment:
Dip Handles
Pull Up Bars
3 Vault Bars
6 Hurdles
Station 4: Old Sheppard Park
Outdoor Fitness Equipment:
Rope Climb Station
Balance Beam
Station 5: Clydesdale Park
Address: 75 Kathrose Drive, Toronto, Ontario
Outdoor Fitness Equipment:
Long Bench
2 Vault Bars
Parallel Bars
Get in Shape Before the End of Sweater Weather
Looking for a new workout and diet plan to maximize your fitness before we hang up our sweaters?
Our personal trainers at HouseFit have helped hundreds of Torontonians achieve the body they’ve always wanted. Book your free 90-minute fitness assessment today!
Brian Village Fitness Route image source: https://consumersbusinessjournal.ca/2018/11/06/brian-village-fitness-route/