Fitness freaks ditch gyms, turn to public places for workouts

For fitness enthusiast L. Sathishwaran, world is the playground. Leave him at a park, or at the beach or an abandoned island, he will find ways to keep himself fit. He calls it ‘street workouts’. Extremely popular in the west, these workouts involve physical activities performed at outdoor parks or public facilities. “My friends and I started out at the Nageshwara Rao Park, where we’d use all the equipment and swings there to workout. We’d practice four times a week, usually in the morning. 

Our regimen includes handstand push-ups, human bridge, hinge push-ups, pistol squat, elbow lever, rope climbing etc. We do all of this in public spaces using the equipment available around us, for free,” he says. When the group is at the beach, they jump over cars and even utilise poles at construction sites. “It’s all about the challenges you put yourself against. When you are outdoors, you put yourself to unfamiliar situations which you need to overcome. This spills over to your personal life, thus preparing you to face life’s challenges.” 

Now, Sathishwaran has set up a new space in Royapettah on his building’s terrace, where he has installed obstacle courses. “Gyms can get boring after a point. It’s doing the same thing over and over again. Working out in public spaces not only gives you variety but also inspires passers-by to join. 

For instance, there are many people in my gang who joined us after watching us work out at the park,” he says. Another group called Oval Crew that works out at Neelankarai goes by the tagline ‘Don’t waste life in a gym’. They practice military-style exercises out in the open. 

In fact, their name is derived from the Oval Grounds where they practised initially. “We started out at the Oval Grounds, where a group of fitness enthusiasts met to exercise,” says Yohannan John, founder of the group. Ajit Sigamani, of another group called Combat Kinetics, says, “We often go to a public place like the beach for boot camps. Working out in open spaces is helpful for group activities like team-building exercises.”