Our Parks UK

Here’s to park fitness classes Our Parks UK . As a photographer it’s super important to be fit and healthy because it’s a very active job – you have to kneel, climb and get into all sorts of positions to get the best shot, and you’re often on your feet for hours at a time carrying lenses, lights, and equipment. But being on a treadmill or lifting weights in a gym made me feel like a hamster missing out on life, and I ended up doing nothing for years except the occasional yoga or Pilates at home.

Then I found park fitness classes – there are two in the park where I live and I look forward to them every week! They are so much fun because you are outside, surrounded by trees and happy people, and because you are concentrating on the exercises, your mind is actually there, if you know what I mean. It’s not that you’re thinking about problems or wishing the class was over, but instead, you completely forget about time and everything else and are just in the moment, cheering each other on, feeling the energy of the group, and also enjoying new views and perspectives: the high branches of the trees above you and the sky as you lie on your mat, or the world from a mouse’s point of view. What I am trying to say is that the park fitness classes are like little holidays during the week. I have had difficult days and for an hour I have been able to forget all the problems of the day – whereas when I go for a walk on my own, I tend to think about things even more.

At the same time, I get some exercise in. And it doesn’t stop when the summer is over – the classes run all year round! I’m so lucky to live near a park that offers these classes – free of charge, by the way – and if you live in the UK, you should definitely check out if there are any park classes in your area! Just go to www.ourparks.org.uk to sign up for a class.